Take the north Georgia cities of Winder or Jefferson for example. Winder was Jug Tavern until the city was renamed after a railroad man – John L. Winder – who is credited with bringing the Georgia, Carolina & Northern Railway to town. Jefferson, once named Thomoccoggan, was named in honor of President Thomas Jefferson.
But other times, the origin of a town’s name isn’t quite so easy to determine.
The Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader has an interesting series they call Project Dateline. As part of the series, they examine the histories of towns like Typo, Ky.
Looking at a map of Georgia shows a multitude of towns and communities with unique names: Arcade, Center, Between and Social Circle to name a few. I have some ideas about where some of these colorful town names originate, but I’d like some feedback from the experts.