A few weeks ago, I published a Stumper in the North Fork Journal about the origin of strange place names.
I asked about an area east of Timberville called “The Mash,” as well as two other places with strange names.
I didn’t print this Stumper in the Shenandoah Journal, not because I didn’t think you southern Rockingham County people wouldn’t know the answer, but because I didn’t want to be inundated with phone calls.
As it was, I was inundated anyway—most of all because I said The Mash was NORTH of Timberville.
Nothing like a bit of incorrect information to get readers up in arms.
“Miss Jefferson, you need to get yourself a compass,” said one man who made me feel as though I was about 5 years old and had just hit my doll.
In case you’re curious, long-time residents say The Mash is an area roughly circumscribed by Concord Church Road, Newdale School Road and Wampler Road (Hupp Road seems to be a part of it, too). There are two possibilities for the origin of the name. One is that the area is low-lying and often marshy; thus, on maps, it was named “The Marsh” and the R sound just disappeared (because you natives are either saving your breath or elocutionarily lazy). The other, more exciting story is that locals used to make moonshine and one day, the creeks were up and tipped over a nearby still, which spilled mash into the high waters.
If you’re interested in reading the whole Stumper answer, you can find it in the next article on our website.
SJ Stumper Two
Now for the Shenandoah Journal’s Stumper. To clarify, I’m not interested in names of old settlements (Rushville, Lilly, etc.) because you can dig up information about that in the wealth of local history books. I am talking about unique ways of describing areas of the county, for example, old swimming holes, hills, clumps of trees, twists in the road, etc.
I’ve come up with a couple that I’m curious about: Jordan’s Stretch on Spring Creek Road and The Slab.
There might not be much more to say about Jordan’s Stretch except that it’s a straight stretch of road named after people who live in the area, but I’ve heard The Slab was once a notorious hangout spot.
I’m also curious when the concrete appeared there.
And also, I have a friend in Dayton who insists on calling the bridge by Cooks Creek Park “The Slab,” which leads us to all kinds of confusion when he is giving me directions.
If you’ve got good stories about either of these places or a unique place name to share, give me a call.
