The Eerie Legend Behind Tennessee's Abandoned Town With An Exit Sign That Leads To Nowhere

Tennessee is home to mountain towns with peaceful hiking trails and cities full of artsy vibes, cuisine, and culture. One spot, however, remains a strange and relatively unknown legend. Driving on I-40, among the monotony of trees blurring by and gas station exit signs, you may double-take, looking back to ensure you took the right exit ramp. An exit to, seemingly, nowhere in Hickman County intersects what used to be the town of Bucksnort. Now, exit 152 is a local myth and oddity: a town that no longer exists. Today, you'll find only a gas station and a hotel if you take it.

Located between Memphis and Nashville, the current-day town of Bucksnort is right off the highway. You won't find an airport or major tourist attraction here, but you can buy a novelty T-shirt at the gas station with the legend of the town's formation on it. The mysterious town has pulled in passersby and even tourists from as far as the Netherlands to explore its strange history, but you can at least go trout fishing or horseback riding nearby. It's a "real come for the mystery, stay for the afternoon" kind of spot. If you pass through the area, this may not be one of the most unique roadside stops across America, but it is one of the most baffling.

While the exit may take you to what feels like the middle of nowhere, the town of Bucksnort is not a legend so much as a case of mistaken identity. There are several stories about the mystery town that don't seem to add up. Some say the town got its name from a heavy whisky drinker, William "Buck" Pamplin. Or, according to others, there was no whisky — Buck Pamplin sold moonshine in the area. He is said to have had a snorting laugh, which is why the town was eventually named Bucksnort. 

Many stories, including landmarks in the town, can also be traced back to different towns in Tennessee, miles from where today's exit for Bucksnort sits. Past visitors discovered that, to make room for a highway, the town was moved a few miles down the road, leaving only a dirt road in its original spot. A hundred miles away, another town that was renamed to Mimosa, Tennessee in 1898, was also originally called Bucksnort, making the true town's origins murky, with those who write about Bucksnort often mixing up its founding and original buildings with those of other towns. To this day, there is no 100% certainty on how this small town came to be and what happened to it. No matter what the real story is, it's the mystery that continues to pull visitors in.