[Ads-l] Antedating of "Nowheresville"

[Steven Losie]

NOWHERESVILLE (OED3, 1917)

I am not sure if this first quote is general enough to equate its usage of
"Nowheresville" with the OED definition of a generecized "uninteresting
place". The second quote below seems more convincing, since it is
contrasting a generic "Nowheresville" with the well-known city of Atlanta,
Georgia:

[begin quote]
"Bobby," said this faculized girl, "there's an agricultural fair at
Nowheresville. They give a big prize for the finest chicken[...]"
[end quote]
Source: The Pascagoula (Mississippi) Star, 16 Oct 1875, p.3, col.2
(Chronicling America)
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85034469/1875-10-16/ed-1/seq-3/

[begin quote]
Atlanta is to the Seaboard what Nowheresville is to the Blue Ridge and
Atlantic.
[end quote]
Source: Portsmouth Star (Portsmouth, Virginia), 21 Apr 1896, p.4, col.3 (
newspapers.com)

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