tennessee Archives - Fascinating Names

Pumpkin Center

So, I don’t actually have a story to about why Pumpkin Center is called Pumpkin Center, but I do have some interesting, random, Pumpkin Center facts.

I was looking for information on Pumpkin Center, MO, (where Kay Barnes‘ mother was born), to continue the Missouri theme, and found that since the highway was put in there isn’t much left of that town, except for maybe a couple of buildings and a photo by the road.

However, while looking for Pumpkin Center information, I discovered that there are no less than 23 towns called Pumpkin Center in the USA. There are Pumpkin Centers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia. Some states, such as Oklahoma, have several towns called Pumpkin Center. Also, in Colorado there’s a town called Punkin Center, Population 9.

So, if anyone knows why there are so many places called Pumpkin Center, or has a story about why any of the Pumpkin Centers is called Pumpkin Center, I would love to hear them.

Mimosa

I mentioned yesterday that I would write about Mimosa, TN, so here’s what I know, then we’ll leave Tennessee alone for a while.

Mimosa hasn’t always been called Mimosa. It used to be called Bucksnort. There was a fellow in town named William (“Buck”) Pamplin. We’ll let his grand-niece, Lily May Pamplin, take over the story:

It was like this: William loved whiskey. He would get soused to the ears with the sweet, smelly stuff, and when he did, he would roar and snort till everyone around heard him. They would say: “Just listen to Buck snort.” His snorting became so frequent and the comment was made so often, that the neighbors soon found themselves running the last two words together, thus the place was called Bucksnort.

In the course of time, a post office was needed. The Government wanted to know what name the community wished to be known by. Since William still owned and lived on the site, and since he still kept up his snorting, the neighbors and near-by farmers decided on Bucksnort. It was approved by the Government and the first post office and surrounding community became Bucksnort.

So, that’s how the original Bucksnort, Tennessee got its name, but then in 1898 the town changed its name to Mimosa. The story of how the name Mimosa was chosen must not be as colourful though because it is difficult to find.

Bucksnort

Bucksnort, TN, is a small, unincorporated town in Tennessee. It is close to Spot, TN, (actually, we should probably say that Spot is close to Bucksnort, since Bucksnort is larger and better known).

So, why is Bucksnort called Bucksnort? According to a legend on the back of a T-shirt that’s apparently sold at the gas station, (which may have good sandwiches), in Bucksnort, (I-40, exit 152), ~~there was a trader named Buck who lived in the area, and locals would say they were going to “Buck’s to get a snort.”~~ ~~It looks like this may not be true – see Tyler’s comment below.~~ Update again: There seems to be some debate between the two stories. Check the comments from Tyler and westtenguy below. However, I’m not too sure, as there’s a very, very, similar story about Mimosa, TN, (to be featured later).

After hearing the name Bucksnort, some people have gone to great lengths to see the town. I found a forum post, (scroll down), about a fellow from the Netherlands who went to find Bucksnort. When he got there he didn’t find much, but did find out that where the interstate is now is where the town used to be, and it was actually moved a bit to make space for the highway. Now all that’s left of the original townsite is a dirt road, (although all that’s there at all is a gas station, motel, and maybe a garage or adult store).

Bucksnort, Tennessee is also the hometown of wrestlers Bunkhouse Buck and “Dirty White Boy” Tony Anthony. Tony Anthony even had a signature move called the Bucksnort Blaster.

Oh yeah, that guy from the Netherlands? He’s a member of a band called the Trailer Trash Tremblers. Here’s a video of their song, Bucksnort, Tennessee:

Spot

I saw somewhere that that there’s a town called Spot in Tennessee and thought it would be fun to write about, but from what I can tell there’s very little to write. There is indeed a place called Spot, TN, in Hickman county. Apparently it’s at 564 feet elevation, and that’s about all I can find.

According to Google Maps, it’s at the intersection of Only Road and Old Richmond Road, a couple of miles from the I-40. In the street view there’s a house there. If anyone knows more about Spot, Tennessee, please let me know.

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