Georgia

The Peach State.  The Empire State of the South.  Birthplace of Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, and Josef Stalin.  The first Christian nation, famous for its Black Sea resorts, towering mountains, and ...  Whoa, think I got the wrong Georgia there.

Okay, I think I've got it all straightened out now.  That's better ...


10. Industrial City of Gordon, Murray and Whitfield Counties Catchy, ain’t it?  What do you think they actually call it?  Industrial?  Tricounty?  ICGMWC?  Murgorfield?  Gormurwhit?

If you don’t count El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula, ICGMWC is probably the longest town name in the whole U.S.  Unfortunately, though, it’s just Industrial City these days.  And those are a dime a dozen (well, at least a dime a couple).

Whatever it gets called, though, it doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of industry – or much of anything else for that matter.  In fact, I couldn’t even find it on Google Maps.  According to MapQuest, it’s in the northwest of the state – right next to Angelville, Soapstick, and Crane Eater.

Probably not the Industrial City

we were looking for

9. Dacula The place to be on Halloween the next time you catch yourself in the northwest Atlanta metropolitan area.

“Dacula” is actually a combination of letters from Decatur (a nearby town) and Atlanta.  I’m not too good at anagrams, but here are some additional possibilities:

• Tarantula Cadet
• Caudal Tater Ant
• Actuate Land Rat
• Actual Trade Tan
• Taut Adrenal Cat

No, no, you’re quite welcome.  Just name a library or something after me.  

According to Wikipedia, “The city of Dacula has a storied and colorful history dating back to a triple homicide in 1910.”  Nothing quite as colorful as a triple homicide, I always say.  Today, Dacula’s just more boring suburban Atlanta sprawl.

By the way, it’s pronounced daCULa.  

Not every town in Georgia has a 

yin-yang symbol on their town seal

8. Eldorendo “You know, that place that’s got all that gold.”  “El de something, right?”  “Yeah.  Was it Eldehooroo?”  “Nah. It’s something like  Eldoroodoo.”  “You’s both wrong.  I think it’s Eldorildo.”

Eldorendo was named after its first postmistress, Eldorendo Virginia Higgs Brown.  Where that came from is beyond me.

The description of Eldorendo from Wikipedia is so priceless I just had to throw it in here in toto:

Eldorendo is generally located on U.S. Route 27 and Georgia State Route 1 about halfway between the cities of Colquitt and Bainbridge. Some of the major roads in the Eldorendo area are Old Eldorendo Road, Brinson Airbase Road, Donaldson Road and Church Street. The majority of the citizens in the Eldorendo area are of the Christian faith and attend Eldorendo Baptist Church or nearby Bethel Baptist Church. Due to Eldorendo being unincorporated, it has no formally recognized government or city council or any public utilities system. Even though Eldorendo is a small community, it is covered by three zip codes: 39825, Brinson; 39817, Bainbridge; and 39837, Colquitt. A post office located in Eldorendo was closed in the late 1960s due to lack of use and improved road development allowing access to the larger towns in the surrounding area. Since its development Eldorendo has had a small economy, most recently consisting of: the Eldorendo Mall (aka Lee's Grocery), Grubb's General Store (both were in existence from about 1987-1992), Joe's Bait and Tackle, and the Decatur County Fence Company run by Archie Smith. Currently two businesses are located in Eldorendo: a used car lot named Eldorendo Auto Sales owned and operated by Jackie Grubbs, and a branch of Carolina Carports.

7. Thunderbolt * Probably my favorite James Bond movie.  It’s the one with Ursula Andrews in it, right?  

Man, you’d have to be a pretty serious fan to name a town after it though.  I’m not sure even I could do that.

The name actually comes from a “lightning strike that created a freshwater spring,” according to the town’s website.  It was previously named “Warsaw.”  Thuderbolt’s famous for seafood, and is also the home of Savannah State University.

Never been there, 

but with a name like that,

you know it’s gonna be good

6. 1) Grovania / 2) Flovilla / 3) Frolona Match the fictional country with the movie it appeared in: a) Duck Soup, b) The Great Dictator, 3) The Mouse That Roared.  Answers below.

All of these are teeny tiny places.  Two are in the center of the state and one (Frolona) is near the Alabama border, west of Atlanta.  Not much to say about any of them.  Flovilla is in Butts County, though.  [Snicker, snicker.]

Uh, I dunno … how about 1) b, 2) d, 3) 42, and 4) none of the above?

The old (and very photogenic)

Ellis Grocery, Grovania, GA

5. Attapulgus Now, there’s an attractive name.  You can take your Garden Groves and your Mount Pleasants.  Attapulgus – that’s where I want to live.

Please tell me this is an Indian name.  Maybe one that means “garden grove” or “pleasant mountain.”  And indeed it is!  An Indian name, that is.  It means “dogwood grove.”  

It’s also the source of the word “attapulgite,” a form of fuller’s earth.  The clay was named after the town, where it’s particularly abundant.  

Attapulgus is home to not quite 500 people.  It’s near Eldorendo, in the very southwest part of the state. 

Pleasant Grove?

They changed it from Pleasant Grove?

You have got to be kidding me.

4. Enigma I haven’t a clue where this one came from.  It’s a complete mystery.  A conundrum.  Totally baffling.  A stumper, a teaser, a tough nut to crack.  

Quite seriously, I couldn’t find anything on this one.  How totally fitting.  I do know it was originally called “Gunn and Weston,” and would have been called “Lax” except that that one was already taken (see “Honorable Mention,” below).  

Once again, the Wikipedia entry is such a gem, I just had to reprint it right here (this is just for Enigma’s “Economy,” BTW):

Most citizens of Enigma commute to neighboring towns to work and shop. The town's economy is based primarily on agriculture. The Tree Trunk Restaurant (owned by Bobby Rowan former senator of Georgia) is its only restaurant, and it has 3 gas stations - the Quick Stop #2 (#1 is in Brookfield) and the Enigma Market (which is also a mini grocery store) and the Express It, and all three are located on Highway 82. Also located on Highway 82 is B&G Heating and Cooling, a small business run by Bob Miley and other members of the Miley family, which specializes in repairing and installing air conditioning units, Also, REPASCO, a small business owned and operated by Linda Wiley specializing in restaurant equipment sales, parts, and repair service, The Post Office, Glass Unlimited, Volunteer Fire Department, City Hall, the salon (Freida's Beauty Barn), and the Bank of Alapaha are all located on Main Street. Just off of Main Street is the factory Geo Tex, LLC Plant #2 where screening is made. There is also Berrien Peanut Company two and a half miles outside of Enigma and there was once a skating rink about a mile from Berrien Peanut Company. There are other buildings on Main Street and Highway 82, but they are currently vacant.

Not totally sure this is stocked at any

 of Enigma’s many gas stations though

3. Between You’re not going to believe this, but Between is exactly right in the middle of two other cities (in particular, Atlanta and Athens).  Equidistant, I say.  Halfway.  Smack dab in the middle.  

Between has about 130 people.  It has its own website, which has a total of four pages and less than 100 words.  Other than that …

There is a novel out there of the same name, by Joshilyn Jackson.  Maybe her next work will be called Attapulgus.

Almost forgot …  There is also a Midway, GA.

See! You thought I 

made it up, didn’t you?

2. Nankipooh I don’t think it would be possible to think of a less likely Gilbert & Sullivan character to name a town after.  I guess it does beat Yum Yum though.

Nankipooh is basically a suburb of Columbus GA.  It’s home of the Nankipooh Bar B Que.  Couldn’t find any reviews of that place online, but with a name like that …

Not exactly sure why anyone would

 want to name a town after this 

guy (and, yes, Nankipooh was a guy)

1. Ty Ty Unfortunately, Cobb Cobb was already taken.  (And for those of you who aren’t as crazy about baseball as l am, well … I … just … never you mind.)

“Ty Ty” comes from an Indian name for the ironwood and buckwheat trees.  One was the black titi, and the other the white titi.  Please don’t ask which was which.

The town’s got about 700 people and is in the very southern part of the state.  “Famous natives” include Darby Cottle Veazey and Jim “Big Chief” Wetherington.  

So what is Darby Cottle Veazy,

chopped liver?

Honorable Mention:

• B-o-r-i-n-g – Centerville, Midway*, New Town, South Georgia Beach, New Georgia
• Short and Sweet – Wax, Hemp, Harp, Cork, Veal, Note, Horns, Swords, Sparks, Wrens, Moons, Care, Youth, Matt, Jake, Clem, Ila, Ola, Lulu, Arp
• Just a little off color – Climax, Cumming
• Just a little out of place – Kansas, Texas, Waco, Fargo, Decatur (Waffle House Museum), Duluth, Cleveland, Boston, Rome, Athens*, Egypt, Damascus, Arabi, Pretoria
• How did all those Yankees get down here? –  Jersey, Harlem, Brooklyn, Yonkers, Hoboken
• Numerically oriented – Double Branches, Double Run, Twin City, Five Forks
• Atypical adjectives – Hopeful, Jolly, Ideal, Mystic, Gratis, Gay, Lax, Stark, Newborn
• Unconventional verbs – Panhandle, Register, Fry, Sautee (Gourd Museum)
• Abnormal nouns – Relay, Flintstone, Crabapple, Coffee, Tiger, Haddock, Sandfly, Air Line, Fender, Magnet, The Rock, Recovery, Temperance, Benevolence, Experiment, Archery
• Native American mouthfuls – Tallapoosa, Centralhatchee, Chatoogaville, Eastanolee, Ohoopee, Pocataligo, Chickamauga*, Chatahoochee, Okefenokee
• Fun to say – Lumpkin, Ft. Oglethorpe
• Just plain weird – Needmore, Fairplay, Mayday, Ballground, Burning Bush, Dewy Rose, Sugar Hill, Cloudland, Social Circle, Lovejoy, Subligna, Burnt Fort, Deepstep, Rocky Face, Talking Rock, Rising Fawn, Hentown, Ducktown, Doctortown, Blichton, Pidcock, Philomath, Phinizy, Flippen, Ficklin, Billarp, Lumpkin, Sale City, North West Point, Stevens Pottery, Box Springs (if only it were near Mattress), Split Silk, Snapfinger, Shake Rag, Jot Em Down Store, Hopeulikit (after a dance hall), Po Biddy Crossroads
• Just plain weird, -ville division – Roosterville, Roopville, Riddleville, Boneville, Faceville
• I’d like you to meet – Lee Pope, Warner Robbins, Young Harris, Harriet Bluff, Ben Hill, Ray City, Sandy Cross, Santa Claus, Dasher, Barney
• What’s with all the logs? – Pine Log, Ivy Log, Cherrylog

* - author has visited