Naming Arkansas: Curious Place Names from Greasy Corner to Sock City - Paperback

by Daniel Boice (Author)

The History Behind the Names

The place names of Arkansas reflect four centuries of settlement and human response to the state's unique geography. Each new group of settlers brought their own rich memories, heritage and hopes for a better life, all of which manifested in the names of the places they encountered and the towns that grew. Merchants and businessmen (and women), especially railroad officials, eagerly attached their own names to the new stations and towns that sprang up in the late nineteenth century, while bureaucratic bumbles and confused legends led to unique names. And all the while, irrepressible humor combined with local patois to generate names like Greasy Corner, Oil Trough, Pig Eye, and Smackover. Arkansas place names provide a rich treasury for residents and visitors seeking to better know the history and popular culture of the Bear State.

Author Biography

Dan Boice grew up in West Michigan and attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids. He received master's degrees in history and library science from the University of Michigan and has worked at academic libraries in Illinois, South Carolina, Iowa and Arkansas. He is currently the library director at the University of Arkansas-Monticello. With a dilettante's love for other languages, he especially enjoys the etymological riches of English and its regional variants.