So you’re driving down the highway. You glance at the upcoming exit sign and nearly swerve off the road: is that town name real? Welcome to Massachusetts. Here is collection of some of the zanier town names in this wonderful state.
- Sandwich
snyderssandwich.com Sandwich Police. Sandwich Pizza. Sandwich Morgue. Sandwich Laundromat. You get the idea. It’s pretty fertile joke territory.
- No Man’s Land
Wikimedia Commons/Zvesoulis It must be weird to be a real estate salesperson in No Man’s Land. Humor aside, No Man’s Land (also appearing as Nomans Land) is an uninhabited island and wildlife refuge off the coast of Cape Cod. So I guess the name makes sense.
- Bloody Brook
Wikimedia Commons/ Tom Walsh Bloody Brook gets its odd name from the 1675 Battle of Bloody Brook between Pocumtuck natives and settlers. The conflict occurred in South Deerfield and the memorial remains there to this day.
- Barnstable
Flickr/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Is it a stable or is it a barn? We may never know. Barnstable is pronounced like “constable” and like many Massachusetts towns, this one shares its name with a sister city in England.
- Braintree
Flickr/Michael Femia Definitely a town name that conjures up some amazing imagery.
- New Braintree
Wikimedia Commons/Richard B. Johnson Soon there will be a whole orchard.
- Florida
Flickr/Andrew Wertz It’s easier than ever to head to Florida for the winter.
- Peru
Wikimedia Commons/ToddC4176 Another town name that seems like the product of chilly Massachusetts wishful thinking.
- Seekonk
Flickr/Rick Payette This one is just fun to say out loud. Reminds me of a bird call.
- Race Point
Flickr/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism Race Point is a lovely beach area in Provincetown. Definitely a great place to spend a summer day. Racing not required.
- Pepperell
Wikimedia Commons/John Phelan Strange name, lovely town.
- Orange
Wikimedia Commons/Simtropolitan The founder’s favorite color?
- Marblehead
Wikimedia Commons/Tort100 This one sounds like an old-timey insult. You old marblehead, you.
- Cold Storage Beach
Flickr/Elmer Fishpaw This last one is cheating as it’s not actually a town name but a beach name. Still though. Cold Storage Beach? Really?
These beautiful towns all have names that really stick in your head. While the reality is that most of these names are borrowed from English villages and cities, its still fun to poke a bit of good-humored fun at some of the wackier ones. Any other Massachusetts town names that you think should be on this list?
snyderssandwich.com
Sandwich Police. Sandwich Pizza. Sandwich Morgue. Sandwich Laundromat. You get the idea. It’s pretty fertile joke territory.
Wikimedia Commons/Zvesoulis
It must be weird to be a real estate salesperson in No Man’s Land. Humor aside, No Man’s Land (also appearing as Nomans Land) is an uninhabited island and wildlife refuge off the coast of Cape Cod. So I guess the name makes sense.
Wikimedia Commons/ Tom Walsh
Bloody Brook gets its odd name from the 1675 Battle of Bloody Brook between Pocumtuck natives and settlers. The conflict occurred in South Deerfield and the memorial remains there to this day.
Flickr/Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism
Is it a stable or is it a barn? We may never know. Barnstable is pronounced like “constable” and like many Massachusetts towns, this one shares its name with a sister city in England.
Flickr/Michael Femia
Definitely a town name that conjures up some amazing imagery.
Wikimedia Commons/Richard B. Johnson
Soon there will be a whole orchard.
Flickr/Andrew Wertz
It’s easier than ever to head to Florida for the winter.
Wikimedia Commons/ToddC4176
Another town name that seems like the product of chilly Massachusetts wishful thinking.
Flickr/Rick Payette
This one is just fun to say out loud. Reminds me of a bird call.
Race Point is a lovely beach area in Provincetown. Definitely a great place to spend a summer day. Racing not required.
Wikimedia Commons/John Phelan
Strange name, lovely town.
Wikimedia Commons/Simtropolitan
The founder’s favorite color?
Wikimedia Commons/Tort100
This one sounds like an old-timey insult. You old marblehead, you.
Flickr/Elmer Fishpaw
This last one is cheating as it’s not actually a town name but a beach name. Still though. Cold Storage Beach? Really?
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