The early residents of Rough and Ready, California, were prepared to get down and dirty for their independence. Isaac Crumm, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain Alternate theories trace the name back to the legend of oil streaming "smack over the derrick" or a settler jumping "smack over the creek," according to the state’s website. ![]() ![]() ![]() The name Smackover may have come from the French name for the local creek, Chemin Couvert, which means "covered way"-and "sumac couvert" means a covering of sumac trees, a local plant. This town of 1800 people in southern Arkansas, at one point one of the nation’s biggest oil producers, was settled by French trappers in the early 19th century. But because of an Arizona law requiring place names have at least three letters, "Y" became the much more existential "Why." 4. Why call a town "Why?" This teeny-tiny community near the U.S.-Mexico border is named after the Y-shaped intersection of two nearby highways. Originally, Unangan residents named it Agunalaksh, a word that means "near the peninsula." As Russian fur traders arrived, the spelling morphed into Ounalashka, which eventually became Unalaska. ![]() With a little more than 4500 residents, Unalaska is the largest city in the Aleutian Islands. Don’t let the name fool you Unalaska is as Alaskan as it comes.
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