Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1897-10-02
NAMES In JERSEY.
SOME OF THE TOWNS THAT MAY BE
FOUND IN EVERY ATLAS.

mai and Fresh From the SOFIA Native
Jerseyman's Explanations Of some of
the Applications.
"Other states may be bigger and
richer and turn in heavier vote, . said
the man with the woodbine whiskers
twining gently about bis face, tbut for
picturesqueness Of nomenclature New
Jersey takes the gold medal"
You're from Jersey, sir, / suppose, !"
said the man who had just come in
from the smoking car.
II am sir, and I'm proud Of it, l
come III on this train every day to bust
ness in the city, and in my leisure mo-
ments make study Of the geography
Of my native state. ! may say, sir-I
think ] may say with confidence-that
few men are so well informed as | upon
this interesting subject of New JERSEYS
geographical nomenclature You OBJ
serve, sir, that / say New jersey, not
Jersey, which is an undignifed behead-
ing Of q noble title.
Possibly it is because I'm New
Yorker, said the man across the aisle,
but have always thought New York
to be pretty strong on interesting
names.
"A great error, sir. " declared he of
the whiskers "a very great error.
Your names are mainly corrupted In
dian titles or direct cribs from ancient
davs-Ithaca, Marathon, Utica, Homer,
Virgil, Syracuse, Sempronius, Moravia.
Rome, Cato, Palmyra and score Of
others You have borrowed the glories
that should have been buried with
Greece and Rome. Our titles, sir, are
dug up from the soil and replete with
meaning Let me cite some.
Here he pulled a small notebook from
his pocket, aud the other man, with
regretful politeness, said he would be
glad to learn something on the subject
Consider. sir, f" continued the Jersey
tic, 1.-The appropriateness Of such names
as Ragtown, Breakfast Point, Camp
Cav, Polifly, Radix, Pluckemin, Pock-
town, Tillietudelum and Suceasuna .
Some of them sound familiar, y said
tho New Yorker, but are all Of those
real names?"
Every one Of em on the map, sir, "
replied the other warmly. I'm give
you 800 for any one of these that isr t
real place, and they fairly reek of
the soil Now. here's another batch
Bone Hill, Wickatunk, Bamber, Atco,
Wollyield, Blue Anchor, Blazing Star
Hockamick, Jahokeyville, Oney's Hat
Kalarama, Flyat, Flickeryille. Zings-
en-, Wakeaka and Batsto.
They sound as if they were taken
from Jabberwocky, remarked the New
Yorker They re utter nonsense.
Taken straight from the country
side, +" averred the geographer. They
may not be very strong on sense. Those
names | cite merely as instances of pure
beauty of sound If you're looking for
meaning, / can give that to you. For
instance, there are Barley Sheaf and
Wheat Sheaf, POLITICALLY suggestive Of
the agricultural riches Of our beautiful
state, OEr domestic animals are COM
memorated in such fitting titles as
Goosetown, Hensfoot, Hogtown, Mon
keytown, Horseneck and Peacocktown,
while for other animals there are skunk
town, Pole Tavern, which used to be
Polecat Tavern; Postertown (if a poster
ain wild animal l don't know what.
isl, Snake Hill, Turtletown, Frogtown,
and | don't know but what Batsto
ought to come in there. The frogs get
another show ut Manunka Chunk,
which is the name they gave it them
selves, singing of nights out in the
swamps
Now, for the temperance folk there
are blazing signs of warning in such
names as Whisky Lane, Gin Point, Jug
town and Bum Tavern There used to
be an innkeeper in the latter place, by
the way, who sued the authorities once
a year for maintaining such a title and
always compromised for cents, with
which he bought himself drink and
was well satisfied, One year the authori-
ties started in to fight the case and the
innkeeper in disgust quit the business
and Bum Tavern simultaneously. A
place with a suggestive title is Naugh
right, which got its name from a large
farm owners sign, nailed on a tree at
the roadside, No right of way here.
They got calling him Old No Right,
and when the village sprung up they
called it after him, but man who had
spelling reform the wrong way made it
as it now stands. Speaking of spelling,
there's ons village you can spell either
Packnack, Pacquanac, Pequanac or
Pequannock, but you can't pronounce
it as the natives do, no matter which
way You choose.
There are some names more sug-
gestive than beautiful-Scrabblet
Scrapetown, Slabtown, Samptown and
Solitude, for instance. Some belle their
names, like Recklesstown, which is as
peaceful as graveyard and in the
same general line Of business, keeping
its inhabitants buried far from the cares
of this busy world. Then there's Round
about, which is IA plain four corners
crossing, and Small Lots, with nothing
but wide stretches of countryside. AS
for Pellettville, I've heard that there
ism drug store there, but can t swear
as to that, not having been there for
many years "