What’s in a Name

How did Missouri towns get their unusual names?

There are hundreds of cities, towns, villages and municipalities in the state of Missouri. Some are major metro areas like St. Louis and Kansas City. Many are tiny with populations in the teens. But one thing is certainly true about Missouri towns; they sure have some strange names! When you scan the map you see bizarre names, towns spelled like cities from other countries (but pronounced differently), and some that make you scratch your head. Here are a few of the more unusual and the stories behind them.

Plato:
Plato is a town in Texas County with a population of 109 residents. It was named after the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and was designed as a city to be governed by “Thinking Men” like what was described in Plato’s Republic. It also has the unique distinction of being the Mean Center of Population Distribution for the United States, meaning it is perfectly centered with Americans all around!

Tightwad:
Tightwad is a small town in Henry County with a population of 69. The original name of the town was Edgewood, but according to official Missouri records, changed after an argument over money between a carpenter and the owner of a store. There are other theories as to what happened, but most amazingly is that the name stuck!

Olympian Village:
Olympian Village is a town in Jefferson County with a population was 761. Some think the name has a connection to the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, but that’s not true. The name comes from Greek culture. Many of the streets are named in honor of Greek legends and locations like Hercules Place, Kronos Drive, and Parthenon Drive.

Creve Coeur:
Creve Coeur is named after a broken heart. The suburb of St. Louis has a population of 17,833 and a rather large lake that is the reason for the legend and the name. Creve Coeur is French for heartbreak. Local legend has it that the lake “formed itself into a broken heart” when an Indian princess jumped from a cliff near the lake over the love of a French fur trapper.

Koshkonong:
Koshkonong has about as many letters as residents. The town in Oregon County has a population of 212. The unusual name comes from Lake Koshkonong in Wisconsin, which was a favorite spot of an early railroad superintendent.

Liberal:
Liberal is a town in Barton County, which is actually one of the most conservative areas of the country. The town of 759 residents has a unique story. It was given the name by George Walser. He foresaw the town as an atheist utopia that would have no churches or saloons, named after the Liberal League of Lamar, Missouri. Walser claimed that “no person could live in a Christian community and express an honest opinion regarding Christian religion adverse to the interest of priestcraft without hazarding his business and social standing.”

Licking:
Licking is one of those towns that gets a second glance every time you see the name. The city of 3,124 in Texas County was first named Buffalo Lick, or simply The Lick. The name comes from a nearby buffalo salt lick which gave the area a significant deer population in the 1800’s.

Novelty:
Novelty is a unique town in many ways. The long-time trading post town lies in Knox County and has a population of 139. Missouri archives show that the town was named by Dr. Pendry, who was known as a very eccentric man. The town name filing shows that on a whim, he named the town for the assortment of merchandise that was in his store.