We natives of Taylorsville (Smith County, Mississippi) have our pride about our town's name. Even though our town is small, we at least have a better name than some of the surrounding communities can claim.
To the east of the town of our origin is Soso. This name was given to that community 125 years ago by Jim Eaton, a Taylorsville post office worker, who thought the community was so so. Those dear people have kept the name and made the best of it. It has become distinctive. The Soso residents received a lemon of a name from a Taylorsvillian and made lemonade out of it.
To the southeast is Sullivan's Hollow, named after Wild Bill Sullivan. The legendary rowdy ways of that community have become internationally famous. We Taylorsvillians cannot help adding the sin of envy over their name to the pride we feel for our own name.
South of us is Hot Coffee, Mississippi. This community supposedly had an inn there that sold hot coffee. Most people have never heard of Taylorsville, but they know about Hot Coffee. Taylorsville is much more significant than Hot Coffee. It's too bad! We have such a respectable name but people don't know about us.
Part of the problem is that there's nothing very original or unique about the name of our town. We share the name with places in Utah, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, and Iowa. In fact, there are two towns named Taylorsville, Mississippi.
We pronounce the word by accenting the first syllable with no emphasis on the "ville." We are very boastful of the name.
Recently I read that it is believed that the original town of Taylorsville was called "Bullace" back in 1898 when a road from Jackson to Laurel was built. How humiliating to have had such an undignified beginning name!
Sources:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3291/i s_2_23/ai_n29132353/
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?loc Index=285673
http://www.mize.town.ms.gov/history.html
http://www.mapquest.com/directions
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