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Despite
odd names all over Lone Star State,
'Top 10'
of the U.S. are commonplace hereby
Bill Bradfield |
When
Russell Ash's book The Top 10 of Everything 2000 was published, its listing
for the ten most common U.S. town names was led by Fairview, followed in order
by Midway, Oak Grove, Franklin and Riverside (tied), Centerville, Mount Pleasant,
Georgetown, Salem, and Greenwood.
Texas has all of these places -- a
generous supply, resulting from the state's large number of towns and villages
-- even though there's also here an abundance of names that are unusual, even
unique.
Compilers for the 2002-2003 edition of the Texas Almanac
listed ten populated Fairviews in Texas. There are a dozen or more locations
around the state where places named Fairview ceased to exist. The largest Fairview
in Texas is between Plano
and McKinney in Collin County,
where a population of 2,644 was reported in the 2000 Census. The next largest
is New Fairview in Wise County, with 877 residents.
The almanac lists
15 populated villages and hamlets named Midway. More that a dozen Midways
have vanished from the Texas road map in past years. With a population of 288,
Midway in Madison County is the only incorporated town by this name. Unlike others,
it didn't acquire its name because of a location midway between other places.
Joseph Addison Clark, who moved to Madison County in 1855, simply named the community
for his hometown of Midway, Kentucky. Clark later relocated at Thorp Spring, where
with his son, Randolph, he established Add-Ran College (now Texas Christian University).
In Hidalgo County, Midway North and Midway South are fast-growing unincorporated
towns where populations of 3,946 and 1,711, respectively, were reported last year.
Texans live in six towns named Oak Grove, but nine other Oak
Groves have disappeared through the years. A town in Kaufman County with 710 population
is the largest of the present-day towns.
Franklin
(pop. 1,470), the county seat of Robertson County, is the only populated town
of its name in Texas unless one counts Ben
Franklin, a crossroads community in Delta County. Two other Franklins are
no longer on the map.
Similarly, the state has a shortage of towns named
Riverside. Two have disappeared, with only the Riverside (pop. 425) north
of Huntsville in Walker
County remaining.
Three more names on the Top 10 list also are counted
among the state's 254 county seats: Centerville
(pop. 903) in Leon County, Mount
Pleasant (pop. 13,935) in Titus County, and Georgetown
(pop. 28,339) in Williamson County.
Salem, the ninth most popular
name among U.S. towns, is represented in Texas by only three populated places,
each with fewer than 100 residents. Greenwood, number ten on the national
list, is represented by a suburb with two thousand residents on the west side
of Midland; by a Wise County village (pop. 76) with its own post office, and by
even smaller Greenwoods in Hopkins and Red River counties.
© Bill Bradfield
January 2001
See
Texas Towns A to Z
|
The
Naming of Texas Towns Texas
Town List - Over 2,500 Texas TownsTexas
on a First-name Basis
Of the roughly 2,000 town names on the official
state map, over 400 of them are first names.Those
strange town names by Bob Bowman
While some early East Texans
named their towns for families, their hometowns or landmarks, othes were a tad
more creative...
Jasper
and Newton Counties, Beyond the Sabine
Despite
odd names all over Lone Star State, 'Top 10' of the U.S. are commonplace here
by Bill Bradfield Why
did they name it that? by Archie P. McDonald
Wonder
Why They Named it That by Archie P. McDonald A
Geography Lesson by Bob Bowman New
Geography - Place name tweaking of several Counties and County Seats by Mike
Cox
Place name tweaking of several Counties and County Seats
Twin
Towns by Mike Cox Cut
and Shoot, Gun Barrel City, Gunsight, Point Blank and Winchester by Mike CoxBoo-boo
towns by Mike Cox
The Texas map is sprinkled with cities and towns that
got their names by mistake...Population
Ranks by Mike Cox
The historic urban population hierarchy and population
figures dating back to 1850... Unique
town names by Bob Bowman |
Texas
Town Names / History - Recommended Books | |
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