Ding Dong, Texas

Ding Dong, Texas
Unincorporated community
Entrance to Ding Dong Dell in the community of Ding Dong
Coordinates: 30°58′48″N 97°46′16″W / 30.980072°N 97.771094°WCoordinates: 30°58′48″N 97°46′16″W / 30.980072°N 97.771094°W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bell County, Texas
Founded	1930s
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
GNIS feature ID	1356032[1]

Ding Dong is an unincorporated community in Central Texas. It is situated on the Lampasas River, eight miles south of Killeen in southwestern Bell County.^[2]

Ding Dong was named when two early settlers in the town, Zulis Bell and Bert Bell, opened a store and hired the artist Cohn Cohen Hoover to make a sign for it. Hoover painted a sign with two bells on it. Inside the bells, Hoover painted the initials of the Bell brothers. Underneath one bell he painted the word "Ding" and the word "Dong" under the other bell. Over the years, because of this sign, this community became known as Ding Dong.^[3][4] It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.^[5][6]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ding Dong, Texas
2. "Ding Dong, TX". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
3. Smith, Allen (2011). Watching Grandma Circle the Drain. AuthorHouse. p. 96.
4. Coppedge, Clay. "Name of This Town Rings A Bell: Ding Dong, Texas". Texas Escapes. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
5. Parker, Quentin (2010). Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places. Adams Media. pp. ix.
6. Smith, Janet Aaker (2011). The Happy Classroom: From Ha-Ha to A-Ha. Pieces of Learning. p. 60. ISBN 978-1-937113-13-1.