Road Names

[sleigh]

Denise and I went to her cousin's house near Portsmouth the other day, and driving through rural Adams and Pike counties, there are some lovely street names that I fully intend to use sometime in stories. I've already used a few: "Burnt Cabin Road" appeared in DARK WATER'S EMBRACE, for instance.

Here are a couple I jotted down on our trip:
Hackleshin Road
Steam Furnace Road
Measley Ridge Road
Smokey Hollow Road

Names like that just seem to evoke an image in my head, and make me wonder at the story behind the names...

Comments

[maiac.livejournal.com]

My kneejerk guesses:

Hackleshin Road was named after someone who lived along the route. (Google tells me there's a Hackleshin Ridge and a Hackleshin Hollow in different counties adjacent to the county where Portsmouth is.)

Steam Furnace Road had a steam furnace nearby (or was the road leading to it).

Measley Ridge and Smokey Hollow roads led to or passed nearby places with those names.

Either Measley Ridge was owned by somebody named Measley, or it was just a measly ridge, and spelling back then wasn't consistent.

Smokey Hollow was often foggy, i.e. smoky.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Those are pretty much my suspicions as well. :-)

Mix and match!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"Burnt Smokey Road"; "Measley Furnace Road"; "Hackleshin Steam Hollow"; "Steam Cabin Road". Get your Appalachia on, right?

K.

Re: Mix and match!

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Decidedly Appalachian!