Nobody Knows Why This East Texas Ghost Town Had Such an Odd Name

I was born in Texas in 1964, and through the many decades that I have lived in the Lone Star State, I have come across some towns and cities that have some strange names.

There's Oatmeal, Texas which is located along the lakes chain to the northwest of Austin. How about Cut And Shoot, Texas along Highway 105 to the east of Conroe? And, let's not forget Dime Box, Uncertain, Ding Dong, and Gun Barrel City.

All those could make a case for the oddest named Texas town of all, but there's a 'ghost town' in eastern Texas that tops the list of the best of the bizarre names ever to be bestowed on a Texas town.

Welcome to Who'd Thought It, Texas

Yes, there was actually a town in Texas named Who'd Thought It.

According to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), it was supposedly established a little after 1900 in Northern Hopkins County in northeast Texas. It was located east of Tira, off Farm Road 1536.

The town was a farming community. Today, a drive down FM 1536 will take you through beautiful pastureland, so not much has changed over the past 125 years.

There are no records of Who'd Thought It being included on a map nor having a post office. I'm guessing that the location of the town would have been between Tira and Sulphur Bluff in this archived map from the Texas General Land Office.

Levi Kearny operated the first store there according to TSHA. By the 1930s, two stores and some scattered houses made up the town of Who'd Thought It. Local kids attended school at nearby Sand Hill (also a ghost town).

By the late 1980s, the community was considered a ghost town. It is not known how many people or families lived in Who'd Thought It during its 'heyday', and I couldn't find any conclusive reports on how the town acquired its name.

Was it a bet? Was it a joke? Was it the result of a few too many?