Ferguson, late director of the Arkansas History Commission, proposed an alternate explanation. Toad Suck sits along the river and its tavern was a frequent stop for boatmen, who were said to “suck on the bottle until they swelled up like toads.”ĭr. Toad Suck, ArkansasĪ widely accepted story about Toad Suck’s name dates back to the days of steamboat travel on the Arkansas River. The name was eventually borrowed for a nearby stream, Idiot Creek, and officially applied to the community on maps. They began referring to the surrounding area as Idiotville. Because of the camp’s remote location, locals said that only an idiot would work and live there. Most of its former residents worked at a nearby logging camp called Ryan's Camp. Idiotville is a ghost town and former logging community northwest of Portland. The entrance to the track had a sign above it that read “Enter Course.” Locals began to refer to the town as “Entercourse,” which eventually evolved into “Intercourse.”Īnother proposed origin has to do with an old usage of the word intercourse-everyday social and business connections and interactions. One story ties it to a racetrack that used to exist just east of the town. There are a few explanations floating around about the origin of the name, but none with a lot of solid evidence to back them up. The town of Cross Keys, nestled in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, changed its name to Intercourse in 1814. During the debate, a gust of wind blew open the church doors and everyone heard the ringing of sleigh bells close by. Several children got excited and shouted “Santa Claus!” A light bulb went off in someone’s head and by Christmas morning, the town had a new name. The last town meeting of the year was held late on Christmas Eve after church services. The standard version of the story goes like this: the townspeople held several meetings over the next few months to select a new name, but could not agree on one. The new Santa Fe would need a new, distinct name to get one of their own.įact and legend blur when it comes to how the town settled on calling itself Santa Claus.
There was already another Santa Fe, Indiana, with a post office. But when they applied to get a post office two years later, they were turned down. In 1854, a group of pioneers settled in southwest Indiana and established a small town called Santa Fe. What's in a (bizarre) name? Here are some strangely named places and the stories, legends, and theories about their origins.
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