And Then There Were Ten

Cut and Shoot, located in Montgomery County, can thank a 1912 dispute and a frightened little boy for its unusual name. Tempers flared over some sort of controversial issue evidently involving the local church. Things got so heated that a boy declared, “I’m going to cut around the corner and shoot through the bushes in a minute!” Just like that, a town’s name was born. Or so legend has it.

Speaking of legends, a number of them have been passed down suggesting how Dime Box in Lee County got its name. The one that the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) subscribes to is that settlers deposited outgoing mail and a dime in a small box inside the office of the local mill for a weekly delivery to nearby Giddings.

The unincorporated community of Ding Dong in—where else?—Bell County had a population of 22 in 2000. Wikipedia says the name comes from a sign painted for a store that was opened by two of the town’s settlers, Zulis Bell and Bert Bell. Two bells were painted on the sign along with the words “ding” and “dong.”

The origin of the name Granny’s Neck isn’t anatomical, says TSHA. Rather, this community that once existed in Delta County in far northeast Texas, was named after Mary “Granny” Sinclair, a settler who raised goats on a “neck” of land that jutted into the South Sulphur River.

Gun Barrel City may sound like a nod to Texas’ Wild West roots, but it’s not. In fact, the story behind this Henderson County town’s name is anything but threatening. TSHA says its motto is “We shoot straight with you.” Their symbol? A rifle.

If you’re Happy and you know it, you’re probably one of the more than 600 people who live in this Panhandle town in Swisher County. TSHA says “the town without a frown” got its name from the nearby Happy Draw stream, “so named because cowboys were elated to find water there.”

Hoop and Holler takes the prize for having the most raucous name, but anyone who’s ever Googled it probably found the internet quiet on the subject. Here’s what we know from Wikipedia: it’s an unincorporated community in Liberty County, about 20 miles southeast of Livingston. Oh, and it’s not to be confused with Hoot and Holler Crossing, another unincorporated community in faraway Wilbarger County.

Lick Skillet, which is now Crosby in Harris County, was originally an encampment frequented by oxen team drivers. In At Least 1836 Things You Ought to Know ​About Texas but Probably Don’t, author Doris L. Miller says folks would stop there to drink from the spring and fix dinner, licking their skillets clean, hence the nickname.

It makes perfect sense that a town called Muleshoe (Bailey County) would have a monument memorializing the mule’s contributions to World War I. But that’s not all the town is known for. It’s also the home of the oldest national wildlife refuge in the state. Now that’s something worth braying about.

Located in Lavaca County, the Czech community of Shiner has become famous for its Spoetzl Brewery, the oldest independent brewery in Texas. But its brew isn’t the only thing that has the state buzzing. According to Doris L. Miller, the city’s motto is “The Cleanest Little City in Texas.”