These 9 Places in Maine Called the Weirdest-Named Towns in the State
There's no doubt that Maine is unique in many ways. If you've ever taken a look at the names of our towns, some of them will leave you asking, "Who in the world came up with that name?"
In 2016, Estately came up with a list of the most oddly-named towns in every state. They had a number one, but also listed several towns for each state with names they also thought were odd. They're not all that wrong when you consider we have towns named after countries all over the world, because we just couldn't be original.
However, when you do try to be original, that's when you come up with odd names. I don't agree that all of these are odd, if you know the reasoning behind it.
Let's dive into nine towns in Maine that Estately says have the weirdest names.
Bald Head
Bald Head is a village in the town of York, and takes its name from a rock formation also named Bald Head. So I guess that kind of makes sense?
Bath
Bath was founded in 1781 and named after Bath in Somerset, England. So there's yet another unoriginal name, but when you know its origin, you know it's not named after a bathtub.
Friendship
Friendship was originally named Meduncook but in 1807, was renamed Friendship. Weird? I don't think so, unless now when in the town with a population of 1142 is friendly.
Griswold
We're all thinking it. Clark Griswold from the Vacation movies. Clearly not named after him, but you know there are jokes about it.
Industry
Industry was apparently named after the industrious habits of the people who lived there. That's good marketing, if you ask me.
Owls Head
Owls head was named after the shape of the promontory (land that is jutting out into the seas). People thought it looked like the head of an owl. I don't see it.
Shady Nook
Shady Nook is just a neighborhood in the town of West Newfield, so I think this should be disqualified since it is not a town.
Strong
If you name your town Strong, you win. You don't get much more bada** than that. I approve.
Topsham
If people from away wouldn't pronounce Topsham as TOP-sham, this probably would have made the list of the odd town names in Maine.
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Gallery Credit: Dom DiFurio & Jacob Osborn