Small Towns With Unusual Names

Story by Emma Zawacki and Tara Clarkson

Every town has a story, and sometimes, the story is in its name.

Missouri may have more than its share of unusual place names. The names of these towns have puzzled travelers and delighted road trippers for generations. Others invite a second look—or a laugh. While their names grab attention, the stories behind them are often even more interesting. Here are 10 towns that prove a memorable name is only the beginning.

•••••••••# 1 Bland•••••••••

Thee town of Bland, located southeast of Jefferson City, was named after Congressman Richard P. Bland, better known as “Silver Dick.” He was a lawyer and served roughly 25 years as a congressman.

Bland is remembered for the Bland-Allison Act. He and Senator William B. Allison of Iowa proposed an act requiring the US Treasury to purchase between $2 and $4 million worth of silver to be minted into silver dollars and placed in circulation. The act passed, but the bill was vetoed by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Congress overrode the veto in 1878.

Bland, incorporated as a city in 1902, is now home to 506 residents. In town is the Killin’ Time bar and Granny’s Cafe. If you’d like to spend some time in nature, nearby are Canaan Conservation Area and Rock Island Trail State Park.

••••••••••••#2 Blue Eye•••••••••••

Nestled on the border of Missouri and Arkansas, Blue Eye is a town in two states. It also has multiple legends as to how it got its name.

One legend states that the town’s name was based on its first postmaster, Elbert Butler, who was blue-eyed. Others claim Butler had heterochromia—one brown and one blue eye—which contributed to the name. Another legend states it was one of Butler’s daughters who gave the town its name, since he had several brown-eyed daughters but only one blue-eyed daughter. When a settler was naming the town, he looked at the blue-eyed daughter and said they should call it Blue Eye. Yet another legend holds that the name was derived from blue-eyed grass, a spring flower native to Missouri.

Today, Blue Eye is one community split across state lines, with around 300 residents on the Missouri side and about 45 on the Arkansas side. Blue Eye is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Ozarks, such as at Pine Ridge Pass in Mark Twain National Forest.

••••• #3 Climax Springs•••••

Originally named Climax by its first post office, in 1886, the village later became known as Climax Springs. Legend has it that it was named so because a settler, upon discovering a local mineral spring, said, “That caps the climax!” The area drew tourists for its mineral- rich waters.

The now-unincorporated community of Climax Springs offers a peaceful location close enough to enjoy everything the Lake of the Ozarks has to offer while tucked away from lake traffic. It is home to almost 120 residents, and the spring it was named for is still actively flowing, located at Climax Springs Natural Spring Hill Park. Locals and visitors like to visit Feed Bucket Cafe for home-style meals and Oh Tommy’s Bar and Grill, eight miles west of Climax Springs, for pub fare.

•••••#4 Conception Junction•••••

Conception Junction is located in Nodaway County in the northwest part of the state. But before it was the town of Conception Junction, it was the settlement of Conception. The area had been settled by Irish and German Catholics, and in 1864, it was named after the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, a tenet of Catholicism and other Christian denominations.

In 1880, the Wabash Railroad was extended through the area, and the original settlement became Old Conception, while the newer part of the settlement on the other side of the tracks became New Conception. By 1895, the Chicago Great Western Railroad also crossed town, and New Conception became officially platted as Conception Junction. By the 1980s, both railroads were abandoned and removed.

Today, 177 people live in Conception Junction. To the west of the town, the Platte River flows. For the outdoorsy type, Mozingo Lake Recreation Park is 10 miles away. You can visit nearby Conception Abbey, formed in 1873 by Benedictine monks, known for its murals.

••••••••••••#5 Cooter••••••••••••

Like many small towns, the origin of Cooter’s name remains a mystery. Some attribute it to the local Coutre family. The “Encyclopedia of Missouri” of the Missouri Gazetteer says, “Cooter was named in 1865 for the Coutre family of New Madrid, one of whom was a merchant there in 1795.” This merchant was a Frenchman named Portell Coutre (pronounced “koo-tray”). The State Historical Society of Missouri says others attribute the town’s name to the coots, medium-sized water birds, which were once hunted in the area.

Cooter is notable for its nearby outdoor recreation spots: unique bottomland swamps, flooded forests, and the Mississippi Flyway, a major North American bird migration route that follows the Mississippi River. Visitors also enjoy the historical Cottonwood Point Ferry Landing at Cottonwood Point and the Century Casino & Hotel in Caruthersville.

••••••••• #6 Knob Noster•••••••••

Knob Noster was named for its surrounding landscape. To the southwest are sandstone ridges, to the east are rolling prairies and farms, and to the west are two prominent knolls, or “knobs,” that stand out among the surrounding scenery. J.M. Shepherd of Knob Noster is quoted in The Kansas City Star in 1910 describing a schoolteacher who lived in the area in the early 1850s. The teacher was “struck with the beauty of the knob and, being exceedingly proud of his knowledge of Latin, dubbed them ‘Knobs Noster,’ or ‘Our Knobs.’ ”

The knobs have also been thought to be Native American mounds, and in 1879, W. L. Shockley and R. H. Carr decided to dig into the mounds to find buried treasures. The Knob Noster Gem newspaper says they found “the skeletons of several human beings, together with other curiosities, which were buried with the Indians, Mound Builders or whoever they were.”

Knob Noster now has a population of close to 3,000. It is adjacent to Whiteman Air Force Base and close to Knob Noster State Park, a woodland area with Clearfork Creek cutting through it, great for fishermen, hikers, and horseback riders.

••••••••••••#7 Liberal••••••••••••

Liberal, founded in 1880, was given its name by George Walser, an anti-religionist who had bought 2,000 acres there, wanting to create an atheist freethinker utopia. Walser, a lawyer and politician, named the town after the Liberal League of Lamar. He claimed Liberal would “have neither God, hell, church, nor saloon.” In 1885, The Liberal newspaper, also established by Walser, called it, “the only Freethought town in the world.” In 1886, he founded the Freethought University; Walser says it was to be “untrammelled by bible, creed, or -ism.”

While Liberal’s streets still reference the men Walser admired, like Ingersoll, Darwin, and Paine, its population of 629 is now solidly conservative.

About four miles south in Mindenmines is the 4,000-acre Prairie State Park that preserves Missouri’s largest remaining tallgrass prairie; there you can hike 16 miles of trails and view the park’s reintroduced bison herd. Originally located six miles out of town is Shiloh School, the oldest one-room schoolhouse in Barton County, built in 1869; it has since been moved to the grounds of Liberal High School and is fully restored (tours need to be booked in advance; call the Liberal R-II School District Administration Office for assistance). Enjoy the charm of Liberal with a bite at Mary’s Flower Cart Cafe.

••••••••••••#8 Licking••••••••••••

Licking was named for a buffalo salt lick located a quarter mile east of the present-day town. The area had a wet-weather spring that would flood the surrounding area, and after it dried, salt was left behind, which was used by animals and Native Americans. In 1826, the settlement was originally called Lick, until it became incorporated as the town of Licking in 1878.

Licking now has a population around 3,000 people. It is the site of Deer Lick Park, Grady Rae’s Coffee Co., and Nelson Deer Processing. The area is known for its deer and turkey hunting.

•••••••••#9 Peculiar•••••••••

In the 1860s, Edgar Thomson, who was seeking to establish a post office and was later appointed postmaster, requested the name Excelsior for the new town. But post office officials rejected the name as it was already in use in the state. After trying to register under a few other names that were also rejected, Thomson told the officials that if the name he submitted would not do, “give us some ‘peculiar’ name.” In 1868, the city of Peculiar was sent to Thomson as certified.

Today, Peculiar is home to 5,621 residents. Visitors can enjoy the Peculiar Winery, Peculiar Golf with an indoor golf simulator, and Merle’s American Tavern.

••••••••••#10 Tightwad••••••••••

While legends of how the village of Tightwad got its name vary, one that is often repeated involves a postman and a watermelon. The story goes that a postman bought a watermelon from a store, intending to pick it up on his way back through town. When the postman returned, the shopkeeper had sold the watermelon to someone else for 50 cents more. The postman then called the farmer a “tightwad.” Some debate remains over whether the purchase was a watermelon or a chicken, but regardless, it seems the name stuck for the whole village, as it was originally called Edgewood for the surrounding woods, but was later changed to Tightwad in the early 1900s.

Tightwad is now home to 58 people and Tightwad Bank—a great place to save money before it closed in 2006.

It is near Truman Lake and Harry S. Truman State Park, perfect places for fishing and boating. It is a three-minute drive to the Truman Lake Opry between Clinton and Warsaw.

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This article was originally printed in the September 2026 issue of Missouri Life.