Place Names

“Ahhhh… the French,” quoth Orson Welles. They left their mark on Arkansas, certainement. Many of the names they left behind come from the days when the French had a claim upon the land covered by the Louisiana Purchase, which included the present-day state of Arkansas. Sometimes, the origin of the name is obvious, as with the community of Des Arc, a town founded at the bend (des arc) of the White River. Sometimes, the name’s history is clouded in obscurity, as with the Union County community of Champagnolle. And although the local name of Petit Jean is said to have its origin in the story of a French woman who followed her lover to the New World disguised as a man and then died tragically, the truth might tragically be more pedestrian.

Many communities sprang up to take advantage of some local resource in addition to the soil and water and trees. For example, Arkansas has had two communities named after bauxite, two named after coal, and two named after lead. Oil Trough was reportedly named after a literal trough of oil, although it wasn’t petroleum being extracted from that locality.

Arkansas towns have sometimes been named after people. These might include the founder, the local postmaster, somebody’s child, or even a random official affiliated with the railroad that was being built through the area. Or the source of a town’s name could be an early European explorer of the continent, someone affiliated with the Revolutionary War, an American president, a distant monarch or emperor, an Arkansas governor, a figure from the Bible, or a Christian saint.

Sometimes, the origins of a place’s name have been lost or were never recorded in the first place. And so people make up stories after the fact, and then maybe there will be multiple stories about the origins circulating locally. Sure, it’s possible that the community of Blue Ball took its name from one resident’s interpretation of how the local mountain looked, but color us skeptical. When it comes to the likes of Olio and Tomato, no one even really pretends to know.

Who can afford to travel these days? Not us! We may not be able to take our loved one on a romantic trip to Paris at the moment or explore the glacial landscape of Greenland. But we can promise them an anniversary trip to Paris and not technically be lying when we roll up to a Logan County community of the same name. Do you need a foreign vacation but can’t even afford to cross state lines? No worries–we have you covered.