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11 Wisconsin town names that will make you blush

By Erin Yarnall

January 27, 2025

Have you ever driven past a Wisconsin town and chuckled at its risqué name? The state has several that are blush-worthy, with unique backstories behind them.

We’ve all been there—you see a town name on a sign or a map and think that it’s a little R-rated for a municipality. Wisconsin’s home to plenty of them: From town names that reference a sexual innuendo to a body part, there are plenty to blush about in the Badger State.

You don’t have to have a really dirty mind to find some town names worthy of a chuckle—some of them are blatant. But it’s unlikely that they were named with that intention. Many towns take their names from local landmarks, like rivers or creeks, while others are named after early settlers or important residents. Here are some of the town names in Wisconsin that might make you blush if you ever decide to visit.

1. Embarrass

Sure, Embarrass isn’t the most blush-inducing name on this list—but it sure encapsulates the feeling. Embarrass didn’t get its name from an embarrassing incident that happened in the small Waupaca County village, or anything embarrassing at all, really. Instead, the village is named for the Embarrass River, according to a book by the Chicago and North Western Railway Company about place names along its rail lines.

The Embarrass River spans 62 miles throughout Wisconsin and is a tributary of the Wolf River. The lengthy river has three branches, and Embarrass, the village that takes its name from the river, is located near its North Branch. The river wasn’t named for anything embarrassing either but instead takes its name from the French language. In its earlier history, Embarrass was heavily populated by French Canadian lumberjacks. The river was filled with debris, which made it difficult to send logs through. Because of this, the river was named after the French word embarrasse, which means to impede or obstruct.

2. Footville

With a population of 772, according to the 2020 US Census, and a total area of just over one square mile, Footville is a small village in Rock County—and while it may not be for everyone, it has a name that’s certain to bring a chuckle to some passersby. Rather than named for an appendage, according to the Chicago and North Western Railway Company book, Footville is actually named after one of its most noted residents: Ezra Foot.

A member of the Wisconsin Senate and the first mayor of La Cygne, Kansas, Foot was also the founder of Footville. The politician moved to the area that Footville now occupies in either 1843 or 1845. At the time, it was called Bachelor’s Grove, but Foot founded a community there, helped to have a railroad built in the village, and served as the village’s justice of the peace before he died in 1885.

3. Spread Eagle

Located near the border of Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Spread Eagle is named for the lake chain located near the unincorporated community. Spread Eagle sits near the south end of Railroad Lakes, one of the lakes that makes up the Spread Eagle Chain of Lakes.

The lake chain was named because when it’s seen from above, the chain slightly resembles an eagle with its wings spread, according to the Chicago and North Western Railway Company book. As a small, unincorporated community, Spread Eagle has no government of its own and is instead governed by nearby Florence, Wisc.

4. Dickeyville

Some towns and villages have unusual backstories for how they were named, but Dickeyville’s is pretty straightforward: it was named for Charles Dickey, a general store owner in the 19th century, according to the book “Place Names of Wisconsin,” by Edward Callary. Dickey also served as the village’s postmaster in 1849, when Dickeyville’s post office was established.

Dickeyville might be best known for the Dickeyville Grotto, which is inside the village. The grotto is actually a series of grottoes and shrines that were first built by Father Mathius Wernerus, the pastor at Dickeyville’s Holy Ghost Parish, who worked on the grotto from 1920 to 1930. Each year, the Dickeyville Grotto is visited by tens of thousands of visitors.

5. Clam Falls

Before the area was populated with settlers of European descent, the Native American tribes that lived near what is now Clam Falls called the area Cobbekonta, which means “little falls,” according to the town’s website. They named the nearby river Kenesca-Seba, or “clam shell river,” which is now known as Clam River.

Logging became a major industry in the area in the 19th century, and the first settlement in the Clam Falls township was in 1857. Clam Falls is known for its outdoor activities, and President Calvin Coolidge visited the area in 1928 to fish, according to Clam Falls’ website.

6. Tainter

Like many of the town names that will make you blush, the town of Tainter, Wisc., was named for someone: Andrew Tainter, a lumberman, businessman, and philanthropist who moved from New York and settled in Menomonie. Tainter became a partner at the lumber firm Knapp, Wilson and Co., according to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which became one of the largest lumber producers in the Mississippi Valley.

The town wasn’t the only thing named for Tainter. There’s Tainter Lake, a small reservoir in Dunn County, as well as a census-designated place also named Tainter Lake. The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts, a theater in Menomonie, was commissioned by Tainter in honor of his daughter, Mabel, who passed away at the age of 19.

7. Longwood

It’s not hard to understand how Longwood got its name, even though it has a more R-rated connotation today. The Wisconsin town of Longwood was named for a small hamlet now located within the town’s borders with the same name. According to a website about the history of Clark County, the hamlet was named for the long stretch of woods that surrounded it.

The central Wisconsin town had a population of 698, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Longwood was first surveyed in 1847.

8. Sextonville

In 1849, Ebenezer Sexton moved to Richland County, and the area where he settled eventually was named for him, according to “History of Crawford and Richland Counties, Wisconsin,” a book published by the Union Publishing Company in 1884. Sexton died in 1876 and is buried in the Sextonville Cemetery.

Sextonville is an unincorporated census-designated place in Richland County. According to Wisconsin Demographics, it’s estimated that Sextonville has a population of 422 in the year 2021.

9. Pipe

Located within the town of Calumet, Pipe is an unincorporated community near Lake Winnebago—the largest lake located entirely within Wisconsin. Both Calumet and Pipe have similar origins when it comes to how they were named. In the 17th century, French settlers began calling the pipes used by Native Americans near Lake Winnebago “calumets,” with Pipe being the English translation of the word.

Pipe is known for having several structures that are more than a century old, including a cream city brick house that was constructed in 1858.

10. Breed

In many cases, towns and villages are normally named after an early settler. That’s the case for Breed, Wisc., a town in northeastern Oconto County. Three brothers who had the last name Breed were some of the earliest homesteaders in the area, and one of the brothers, George Breed, went on to be the town’s postmaster, according to the town’s website.

The town was originally named Waupee when George Breed was elected to be its chairman, and was renamed in 1901. According to the 2000 census, Breed had a population of 657.

11. Beaver

Beaver wasn’t the original name of the unincorporated community in Marinette County. Originally, it was called Armstrong Dam in honor of Ferdinand Amesley “Pinochle” Armstrong, a sawmill owner who owned a large estate in the area. But, the town’s name was changed in the late 19th century, to reflect its proximity to Beaver Creek.

The northeastern Wisconsin community is nearly surrounded by Beaver Creek, with the north branch of the creek flowing north of Beaver and the south branch flowing south of the community.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.11 Wisconsin town names that will make you blush11 Wisconsin town names that will make you blush

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CATEGORIES: LOCAL HISTORY
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