Facing the tracks
Dime Box, Texas, is not the funniest town name in America. Traditionally, that honor belongs to Intercourse, Pennsylvania. I prefer Scratch Ankle, Alabama, Gnowbone, Indiana, or even Humptulips, Washington. Nevertheless, Dime Box, as a name, caught my ear, so that’s where I headed the next morning out of College Station.
– William Least Heat-Moon, Blue Highways
Even though William Least Heat-Moon’s visit to Dime Box was written a while back (Blue Highways was published in 1982), much of his description of the town sounded as though he’d been there earlier the same day as my visit. For example, he describes this scene as “worn brick buildings facing the Southern Pacific tracks.” Maybe that bright aluminum door has been added since his visit, but my guess is that the rest of the block looks much the same as it did the day he drove over to Dime Box from College Station.
Dime Box, Texas
photographed 2.28.2014
Posted on March 9, 2014, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, abandoned buildings, architecture, black and white photography, blue highways, dime box, dime box texas, downtown, melinda green harvey, monochrome, one day one image, photo a day, photography, texas, william least heat-moon. Bookmark the permalink. 15 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
Don’t forget Cut and Shoot!!
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Really…Intercourse, Pennsylvania, Scratch Ankle, Alabama, Gnowbone, Indiana, and Humptulips, Washington… Dang I need to get out more! These sound like exciting places.
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I have an idea that none of them are as exciting as their names suggest!
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I loved that book! One of my favorite names is Uncertain, Texas. And don’t forget Gun Barrel City.
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I’ve read it more than once – and always with an atlas at hand so I can follow along.
You might be interested in this book – Writing Blue Highways: the Story of how a Book Happened (http://amzn.to/1fYU8LN) – which comes out later this month.
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Ooooohhh, thank you!
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I’ve read all of his books, so I am looking forward to this one, too.
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Over here we have Pratts Bottom. The door is far too smart for this facade but it makes a good addition to the image.
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There are amusing town names everywhere; I like to look at atlases to see what entertaining things I can find.
That door really doesn’t fit with everything else, but that’s part of what makes it interesting, right?
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One of the suburbs of Sydney is “Rooty Hill”. They have a relatively higher proportion of pregnancies out that way.
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Yes, of course they would!
I live in Lubbock, but work in a town called Levelland. It’s part of what I consider the “truth in advertising towns” – Shallowater, Brownfield, Littlefield, Plainview. The town-namers around here were pragmatic.
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One of my favourites is Dildo, Newfoundland. It’s not far from Come By Chance.
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Gracious. I don’t even know what to say to that!
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Well, they ARE real place names. Of the more awkward variety. I half expected you to delete my comment.
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I almost did – this IS a family blog after all* – but decided to leave it. For the educational value.
*It’s not, really.
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