Savage, Minnesota - Where is Hollywood?

The town of Savage, Minnesota was named in honor of Marion Savage. Who was Marion Savage? Marion Savage was a great horse breeder and acquired a promising harness racing horse by the name of Dan Patch in the late 1800’s. Marion loved this horse and experienced great success in one of America’s most popular sports at the time, harness racing. Dan Patch was never defeated in any of his races. During the 1906 Minnesota State Fair, Dan Patch broke the world record of 1:56. There were over 90,000 spectators in the grandstand that day! Savage was a great promoter and the horse became a legend. Savage was one of the first people to promote an animal with consumer and livestock products. In the early 1900’s you could find Dan Patch pocket watches, tobacco and livestock products everywhere. Savage and his great horse went on to become American idols long before other race horses like Man O War or Sea Biscuit. In 1916, Dan Patch’s heart stopped suddenly and the horse died. Thirty two hours later after his favorite horse had expired, Marion Savage died from a heart attack. Where is Hollywood?

The Truth about the name of your hometown

The stories reported on this blog about how a town acquired its name is like writing about American history. It depends upon who is writing it. We try to base our information on historical facts, personal accounts and sometimes legend. From this information, we try to come up with a reasonable conclusion. This site is a work in progress and your opinions and additional information are encouraged. They could also change our opinion. Our goal is to exchange information and have fun! If you contact Joe at http://www.monkeyseyebrow.org/, he can tell you 4 or 5 different versions behind his hometown.



Keep up those comments!

Railroads Made Enon, MO go Backwards

Back in the 1800's, the railroads had a lot of power. When the tracks were being built, the railroad officials would post signs with the name of the community nearby. If a small community or village had not chosen a name, the railroad officials would post a sign "NONE" - meaning the community had no name. Well, when it became time for this tiny town in Missouri to choose its name, the citizens could not agree on a particular name. After much debate, the citizens decided to take the sign the railroad officials used (NONE) and reverse the spelling. Yes, in the end this community chose ENON! Enon, Missouri is located Southeast of Columbia, Missouri.

How Monkey's Eyebrow Really Got Its Name

Monkeys Eyebrow, KY has always been a mystery to me. After a lot of research, I have found that the name occurred from a legend. According to the legend, if you look down upon this area it looks like a monkey’s eyebrow. Okay, but what does a monkey’s eyebrow look like? I had visited the area last year to obtain further enlightenment. The town is located on a long eyebrow curve. I couldn’t find any mountains nearby so I couldn't look down on the town. After arriving home from my trip, I was still puzzled. Then one day I got an email from Joe! Joe has a farm at Monkey’s Eyebrow. Joe told me that the legend is correct but you need to take out your map and then look down at the town. I didn’t really get it until I looked closely at the map and then it hit me. Joe was right! The town is located next to the Ohio River. The way this river twists through this region it takes the shape of a monkeys face. And if monkeys do have eyebrows the location of the town is where an eyebrow should be. Take a look for yourself! Thanks Joe, I have slept much better after our conversation.

Anyway, there isn’t much left of the town but Joe’s farm is still there. But there is still one mystery left about the name of this town. Often Monkey’s Eyebrow is spelled without an apostrophe. Not to lose any more sleep, Joe and I have decided that back then maybe punctuation wasn’t such a big priority.

By the way, Joe has a great web site that you need to check out. Thanks again Joe! http://www.monkeyseyebrow.org/.

Strange and Fascinating Information Revealed About Your Hometown!

I'm the guy who has to stop along the highway to check out all those historical markers. In doing so for the last twenty years, I have started a habit of finding out how towns acquired their names. Living in the Midwest, I could never resist finding out how a town like Peculiar, MO or Liberal, KS ever got a name like that! This has been a work in progress and I invite anyone out there to contribute to the cause. I will be sharing stories of these names of America's towns and cities throughout this blog and welcome your stories.
By the way, I have always lived in Independence (Missouri that is) most of my life. Independence has always been about 27 miles north of Peculiar, 247 miles right of Liberal, and only 77 miles south of Tightwad! Just wanted to get your compass adjusted!