Imagine trying to remember your own address when the town keeps renaming itself. That’s what happened in Avon, Indiana, which started as Hampton in 1833, became White Lick in 1852, turned into Smootsdell in 1868, briefly went by New Philadelphia, and finally settled on Avon when the railroad showed up. At some point, you’d think the residents would just pick a name and stick with it. But Avon’s story isn’t unique. Dozens of American towns have gone through identity crisis after identity crisis, changing names like teenagers trying on different personalities at the mall.
- Avon, Indiana, bounced between five different names before 1870, mostly because postmasters and railroad workers kept changing it on a whim
- Hot Springs, New Mexico, became Truth or Consequences in 1950 after a radio game show host offered to broadcast from any town willing to rename itself after his program
- Halfway, Oregon, sold its naming rights to Half.com for $100,000 in 2000, becoming “America’s First Dot-com City” for exactly one year before switching back
When Every New Postmaster Renames Your Town
The whole situation in Avon, Indiana, started innocently enough. When the first post office opened in 1833, they called the place Hampton. Seemed fine. Then, postmaster O.J. Huron took over in 1852 and decided White Lick sounded better. He lasted three months before someone else took charge.
Enter John Smoot, a peddler who opened three stores in town during the 1860s. When he petitioned Washington, D.C., for a post office, he forgot to suggest a name. So federal officials just called it Smootsdell and moved on with their day. Then, railroad surveyors came through and tried to rebrand the place as New Philadelphia. But the depot sign already said “Avon,” and apparently that was the name that finally stuck.
Nobody bothered asking the actual residents what they wanted to call their town. Each new authority figure just slapped on whatever name felt right to them.
The Game Show Deal That Actually Worked
By 1950, Hot Springs, New Mexico, had a branding problem. There were about forty other towns called Hot Springs scattered across the country. Good luck getting tourists to remember which Hot Springs had the good mineral baths.
Then Ralph Edwards showed up with an offer. The radio producer hosted a game show called “Truth or Consequences,” and for the 10th anniversary, he wanted to broadcast from any town brave enough to rename itself after his show. Hot Springs held a vote. The name change won 1,294 to 295.
On April 1, 1950, Hot Springs officially became Truth or Consequences. Edwards kept returning every May for fifty years, bringing Hollywood celebrities along. The town got national attention, tourists started showing up, and somehow having a ridiculous name worked out better than anyone expected. People still argue about changing it back, but the name’s stayed put for 75 years now.
That Time the Internet Bought a Town
Halfway, Oregon, was dying in 1999. Population: 362. The logging industry had collapsed. Mining was gone. The town sat near the Idaho border with not much going for it except nice mountain views.
Half.com saw an opportunity. The internet startup offered Halfway $100,000 cash, twenty-two computers for the elementary school, and some other perks if they’d become Half.com, Oregon, for twelve months. The town council fought about it. Some people hated the idea. Others figured money’s money.
The name change passed. NBC’s Today show broadcast from there. Half.com got publicity worth way more than what they paid. Then eBay bought Half.com for $374 million six months later, and suddenly nobody cared about maintaining the partnership. Halfway went back to being Halfway. Those free computers? They got so outdated that the school sold them at a yard sale.
When Names Pile Up Faster Than Anyone Can Track
Phoenix cycled through five names: Swilling’s Mill, Helling Mill, Mill City, East Phoenix, and finally just Phoenix. St. Paul, Minnesota, used to be called Pig’s Eye. Eugene, Oregon, started as Skinner’s Mud Hole.
Some towns changed names to escape embarrassment. Others wanted to avoid confusion with similarly named places. A few grabbed whatever sounded good and ran with it.
Drive through these places today and you’ll spot the evidence everywhere. Old street signs with forgotten names. Historical markers that reference towns that don’t exist anymore. And if you talk to the longtime residents, they’ll tell you about when their hometown was called something completely different.
The funny part? We pretend each new name erases what came before. But walk through any of these towns and the old names are still there, hiding in plain sight on fading signs and dusty records. History doesn’t disappear just because someone changed the letterhead.
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