Mellie's Apron

For Little Rock Public Radio, this is Dan Boice, with Naming Arkansas.
The Baxter County town of Nellie’s Apron by its very nature invites speculation about the origin of its unique name. Naturally, there are at least three stories, all of which involve a hired girl working at a boarding house. In one story, Nellie observes a break in the railroad track and, using her apron, she flags down and stops the oncoming train from derailment. In the other story, Nellie finds a cow with a hoof stuck in the crossties, and signals the engineer in time to save both the train and the cow. A less happy tale recounts how Nellie had been wooed by a travelling salesman who, as he is leaving, promises to come back for her, and who – unsurprisingly – never does. Despondent, Nellie wanders away from the boarding house and is never seen again. Later, depending on the story, her apron is discovered hanging from a tree or floating in the river. Whether happily or not, Nellie provided Arkansans with one of our most interesting town names.
For the University of Arkansas at Monticello this is Dan Boice.