Five Funniest Town Names in South Dakota
Every state in the country has some funny-sounding town names. There is French Lick, Indiana; Intercourse, Pennsylvania; in Australia, there is even a town called F***ing. I knew we had to have a few and I found five the were unusual in some way.
- 5
Volin
This town name is interesting because it's misleading. It looks like "violin" but isn't. It is also one of the smallest towns that has an Interstate exit. It's 20 miles west of I-29, but it was the only town directly off the Interstate near Union Grove State Park, so it got an exit. I hope the 161 people there are known as "Volineers."
- 4
Pukwana
285 people inhabit this little town about halfway between Chamberlain and Kimball. I love the name because it sounds made up and has the sound of a swear word. In college I remember a girl who wore a sweatshirt that said "Pukwana University." I'm guessing they called it "Puk U."
- 3
Peever
Nestled just south of Sisseton in the north east corner of the state, Peever is a tiny town of 170 people. It sounds funny to me because it sounds like a cross between peeper and perv.
"That guy is a total peever."
- 2
Gayville
Gayville was the first town I thought of when I had the idea to do a list of the funniest sounding town names in South Dakota. It will always make out-of-staters chuckle. A news release 2009 about "Jackass 3" said that Gayville was going to be a shooting location, but I couldn't find any confirmation that it actually was.
So where did Gayville get it's name? It was a railroad town built in 1872 and was named for Elkanah Gay, the first depot agent with the railroad.
- 1
Athol
When I thought of doing this list I thought for sure that Gayville would have been number one. That was before I looked up the list of towns in South Dakota and found Athol.
The sound of calling someone an insulting name with a speech impediment is always good for a laugh. You can even buy t-shirts celebrating the tiny town about halfway between Aberdeen and Huron.