Ivanhoe's difficult name for boy, former name of town on the move
When Sir Walter Scott's historical novel “Ivanhoe” was published in 1819, who knew a Beaver County town would take its name?
One hundred and one years later, on Feb. 29,1920, The Daily Oklahoman published a small article suggesting t hat parents who were having trouble naming their newborns could resort to the state map for help, and it listed 83 town names suitable for babies.
Ivanhoe was on that list and was remembered in The Daily Oklahoman's Sept .29,1967, article about the 50th anniversary of Follett, Texas. A bust ling little Oklahoma town that was carted off to Texas when t he railroad came will display a distinct Soonerland flavor when it celebrates its 50th birthday Saturday... Originally, the town was known as Ivanhoe when it was founded in the 1890' sin the Oklahoma Panhandle. Then in 1910 as word circulated that a railroad was to be built nearby, Ivanhoe packed up lock, stock and barrel and moved three miles southwest toge ton the rail line. Unfortunately, the railroad was never built. In 1917, however, the Santa Fe Railroad Co. constructed a spur line about 12 miles away, but across the line in Texas. Ivanhoe moved again, using sleds equipped with wheels to move eight or 10 buildings. The first train did not come until 1918, but by this time Ivanhoe was boom in gin Texas—but it wasn' t Ivanhoe any longer. The name was changed to Follett in honor of Horace Follett a Santa Fe railroad official...
And, as a boy's name, the website Nameberry at http :// name berry. com states :“So identified with the he roof the Sir Walter Scott novel, it would be almost impossible for any boy to carry.”