Saturday, November 24, 2012

Things I Find Fascinating: Incredible, Interesting, And Ironic Illinois Place Names

Like Pennsylvania, Florida, South Carolina, and any other states I've done before on this blog, the state of Illinois has quite a few curiously named towns, cities, and other places. Regardless of the potential noble origins of these names, regardless of the perfectly logical reasons they ended up being called what they are, I find it my duty as a blogger of fascinating things to catalog the strangest among these Illinois place names. Enjoy!


1)  Why Do I Feel Like I've Been Here Before...Somewhere Else?  Even more than some of the previous states I've done of these, Illinois seems to have a high number of place names taken from other places around the country and even around the globe.

CITIES
Manhattan
Charleston
Atlanta
 Oakland
Akron
Albany
Brooklyn
Cincinnati
Detroit
Houston
Birmingham
Omaha
Philadelphia
Raleigh

STATES
Kansas
Oregon
Washington
Wyoming
Maryland
Mississippi
Missouri
Maine
Nebraska
Ohio
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia

INTERNATIONAL
Peru
Ottawa
Athens
Cairo
Cuba
Marseilles
Paris
Ontario
Palestine
Rome


2)  I'm In The Mood For Love:  Cupid must live in Illinois, based on all the love-related places that are located there. If we had to pinpoint exactly where all those love arrows originate, I'd bet it's in one of these towns, villages, or cities.
Loves Park
Lovington
Boody
Blissville
Jubilee
Licking  (Ugh, T.M.I.!)
Lovejoy
Ogle County
Paradise
and my two favorites...
Romeoville
and
Joliet


3)  That Sounds Familiar, Too:  Several other Illinois place names sound very familiar as well, but aren't necessarily associated with cities, states, or countries located elsewhere. See if these ring a bell for you, too.


Harvard
Princeton
Sleepy Hollow
Woodstock
Winnebago
Golf
Arrowsmith
Metropolis
English
Hometown


4)  Native American Place Names:  These are always among my favorite entries, not because I enjoy picking on Native Americans. On the contrary, I enjoy discovering new Native American words -- I think they sound beautifully lyrical. Here are some of Illinois' finest.

Pontooosuc
Wauponsee
Woosung
Oquawka
Kankakee
Kewanee
Nippersink Lake
Na-Au-Say
Aptakisic Creek
Pistakee Highlands
Peoria
and of course...
Chicago
and
Illinois


5)  Just Plain Weird Place Names:  This is the portion of our show where I list a bunch of non-themed place names with oddball names and add my appropriately (or sometimes inappropriately) snarky comments. Prepare to groan...frequently!

Prophetstown  (you wanna go where 
everybody knows your future)

Sandwich  (you're making me hungry)

 Cornland  (okay, seriously!
now I want some corn!)

Goofy Ridge  (I'd be right at home there)

Grand Detour  (this is a thinly veiled
euphemism for "we are SO lost")

Lost Nation  (yes it is, sadly...)

Aroma  (I can smell it from here!)

Bible Grove  (money doesn't grow on
trees, but apparently Bibles do)

Money Creek  (oh, okay, it grows in creeks)

Bonus  (formerly known as Extra Credit)

Chili  (just down the road
 from Ketchup and Mustard)

Dement  (come here, go crazy!)

Downers Grove  (what a bummer!)

Drummer  (what a drummer!)

Embarrass  (a shameful place to live)

Equality  (I can dig it)

Fidelity  (always an admirable virtue)

Harmony  (wouldn't that be nice?)

Liberty  (count me in!)

Justice  (the blinder the better!) 

 Funk's Grove  (they grow
 funk music here? way cool!)

Hurlbut  (formerly known as Tossbackside)

Looking Glass  (should you visit? go ask Alice)

Normal  (I wouldn't recognize it if I saw it)

Omphghent  (I'm sorry, what?)

Half Day  (I'd rather have a whole day)

Flossmoor  (I know, I know -- my
dentist tells me that every time I go!)

Santa Claus  (I thought he lived a bit father north)

Paw Paw  (Maw Maw feels left out)

Shabbona  (m-m-m-my Shabbona!)

South Muddy  (that's icky!)

North Hurricane  (that's windy!)

Sublette  (it's better than breaking your lease)

Talkington  (formerly known as Chattertown)

Wysox  (a better question is, Wyshoes?)

Waldo  (I FOUND HIM!!!)

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