Gnaw Bone, Indiana

Last updated

Gnaw Bone, Indiana
Gnaw Bone, Indiana.jpg
Map of Indiana highlighting Brown County.svg
Brown County's location in Indiana
Location map of Brown County, Indiana.svg
Red pog.svg
Gnaw Bone
Location in Brown County
Coordinates: 39°11′27″N86°09′20″W / 39.19083°N 86.15556°W / 39.19083; -86.15556
Country United States
State Indiana
County Brown
Township Washington
Elevation
[1]
643 ft (196 m)
Population
 (2000)
  Total
c. 200 [2]
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
47448
Area code(s) 812 & 930
GNIS feature ID452046 [1]

Gnaw Bone is an unincorporated community in Washington Township, Brown County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. [1] Gnaw Bone is situated on State Highway 46, between Nashville and Columbus. The small community contains three flea markets. [3]

Origin of name

The origin of the name Gnaw Bone is obscure. One theory is that the town's name derives from that of the original French settlement in the area, Narbonne, named in turn for the southern French city of that name. To the ears of English settlers at the time, "Narbonne" sounded like and came to be known as "Gnaw Bone." [4] [5] [6]

The name was in common use as early as 1879, as shown by newspaper articles in the Columbus (Indiana) Republic and the Cincinnati (Ohio) Enquirer, as well as numerous other newspapers articles up to the current year. [7]

Gnaw Bone has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Gnaw Bone, Indiana
  2. Huppke, Rex W. (February 13, 2000). "Chew on This There's a Town Called Gnaw Bone". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  3. "Brown County has Fleas". Our Brown County. August 2006. Archived from the original on August 16, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  4. Ashley, Leonard. 1995. "Folk Etymology in the Place Names of the United States." In Eichler, Ernst et al. (eds.) Namenforschung: ein internationales Handbuch zur Onomastik (pp. 471–475). Berlin: de Gruyter, p. 472.
  5. Rubino, Carl A. Rubino, & Cynthia W. Shelmerdine. 1983. Approaches to Homer. Austin: University of Texas Press, p. 76.
  6. Huppke, Rex W. (February 13, 2000). "Chew on This There's a Town Called Gnaw Bone". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  7. "Search".
  8. Parker, Quentin (2010). Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places. Adams Media. pp. x. ISBN   9781440507397.[ permanent dead link ]