Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-01-17
YANKEE LOCAL NAMES
soMe OF THE oo0 TITLES ~
WHICH LOCALITIES ARE KNOWN.

WHICH LOCALITIES ARE KNOWN.
nsv Kite Ed Was NaosA-Whsrs -
usx WIS., Ran DswA- - . frain-NsA
B..sii,.'. Cssssfsssaos- L>s>sso~
Bars.ry Csass ssd CArississ shsrs-
Can you direct me 10 the RcAArdson
neighborhoody' said . newspaper man.
tramping along q dusty country road
last summer. Two farmers leaned On
their rakes and looked at each other in
quiringiy.
"Richardson neighborhood: Never
heard O. no such place. Guess you must
mean the Coop. Used to Richardson
live there once.
Ii is JUS, this way all over New Eng
land. Every township is subdivided into
localities and eighborhocsis bearing odd
and distinctive names Often they are
more than odd; they are quaint and &C.
centric, and sometimes laughable. This
same Coop was bounded on the east by
the Rock o Dundee, On the north By tine
City, solitary house. standing where
four roads met and on the west by Shada-
gee. And 50 it is in every town. there II
an unwri.ten geography of New England
THE HOGS CREASE.
Boston may have at one time been
blessed with queer subdivisions Of this
sort. but they have now nearly AL been
swallowed up in the North End, the West
End, the South End. etc. Lynn, on the
other hand, abounis with them. There
are Rail Hill, Breeds End, Blood Swamp,
New Light Hill. Pan Swamp, Vinegar
Hill. Sadiers Rock and Pudding Hill.
This last L ,Ine came 10 be applied from
the fast tnat the father of Preserved
Sprague, who lived in this section, was
noted for the quality of his buildings.
What is now Market square was once
known as Kite End. 1t received its name
at the hands OF the late Joshua c. Oliver,
who published little sheet known as
The Tattler. and. out of spite, he nick
named the locality Kite End. and its peo-
pie Kite Enders.
Manchester, n. H.. boasts Of a section
snown as the Barbary Coast. a name
given il by an old sailor. Here too, are
found Jacobs Ladder, Pig Village and
Phinenton square The city itself has
,een variously known as Harrytown,
kingston, Derryfield and Nomoskeag.
In the suburbs of Bangor, Me-, on the
inc of the old Veazie railroad, is vii
age still known as Hogtown. Years
ago, when the railroad was in full opera
4 a lnv uls.vx
'etween Bangor and Oldtown. a terrible
accident occurred there one morning. A
woman living near the track was the
happy possessor of a very large hog, and
the animal in its meanderings came
upon the road in front of an advancing
train The hog had never been accus-
toned to turn out for anything, and did
not propose to commence with trifling
thing like an engine. It therefore held
its ground, and dying hog was soon
rolling down tine embankment
The train stopped, as was its custom
upon all occasions, even to allow pas
senger to alight and cut twig. Out
came an angry woman, hrandishing her
arms and wildly calling upon the con-
ductor of the train to pay for the fatally
| injured porker. In those days the con
ductor Of the line was of as much i'm
poriance as the general manager, and he
fatty refused to pay for the hog. saving
that the owner ought to have kept him
away from the track. This settled the
matter. and he started his train and left
her When that train returned, how
ever, there was sorrow ON board. The
woman had taken the fat from the hog,
and for long distance had CREASED the
rails so that it was impossible to pass the
place None of the modern appliances
for surmounting such obstacles were
Then known, and the train was hopeless
ly stalled. X cfuK was employed to helI
the trainmen. and it took hours to clean
the grease from the rails SO that the train
could proceed. Since that time the place
has been called iogtown.
OTHER ODD NAMES.
To everybody in the city Of Portland
the neighborins town Of Cape Elizabeth
is known by the simpler name of Poo
duck This is a contraction Of its an
cient Indian name Of Purpooduck
Augusta has among its subdivision.
Rotten Row, Slab City, Mud Mills. and
Britt's Gully. Suburban Lewiston is
made up of patches" There are the
Baby patch. the Strawberry patch, the
B!eachery Hill patch, the Foundry patch
Water street patch. and the Gas Hous.
patch.
Portsmouth. n. H., has its oddly nance
localities, and these have been well de
SERTED in Thomas Bailey Aldrichi
"Story of Bad Boy" One Of the bes
known is Christian Shore. The name o.
the district is supposed to have com,
from some early settler named Christian
who lived upon and owned the land OF
that side of Strawberry Bank creek, a
the inlet now called the North pond wa
named by the early colonist
In Providence. X. l., and its vicinity
there are locations known by some pc
culiar names that are not to be found il
the maps or directories. There are Squav
Hollow. Chicken Foot alley, Bulldo:
square. Shoe Fly Village. Maiden
Prayer park and variety of others les
familiar to the general public.
In this state Gloucester Is especially
rich in these queer localities Loblolly
cape, and was probably the scene of al
old time feast, at which "loblollv." ;
dish made from Indian meal. was tn
bill of fare. Cat pond is probably nance
from the plant called pussy willow,
which grew on its margin. Donefudg
ing is the name applied to that strip o
Sguam river between the cut bridge ant
the old town landing. There are variou
derivations OF this. One is that. tn,
river being shallow near this locality
the boatmen in the olden time, who uset
poles to propel their crafts, we're done
Judging or propelling with their pole
when the deep water in thi, vicinity wa
reached. Goose cove, on tne northern
side of the cape, was probably SO oallet
from the tame geese which we're kept il
that place -Boston Dispatch in New
Nor, ,>nn.
Abraham's Oak.
The old oak at Mamre in Syria, or, q
it is known everywhere. "Abrahami
Oak, is one Of the most famous and ven
cradle trees ia the world. It is rever
enced alike by Jew. Christian and Ma
hometan. for it is supposed to mark thu
spot where the patriarch pitched his ten
in the desert. There is a superstition IL
Jerusalem. and in all the country about
that whoever shall cut or injure this tres
will lose his first born son. So for cen
turtles it has been allowed 10 toss il,
gnarled and contorted limbs in the gale.
which sweep from the Mediterranean
over the Syrian plains.