Where did the American barn dance term 'Hoedown' come from?

Many of you have asked Gogo, where did the American term 'Hoedown' come from?

That is actually a very interesting question! It seems, during the 1880s, there was a small town in what is now western Nevada that wanted to hold a barn dance. The American West was notorious for gunslingers, cattle rustlers, and bank robbers, and hence, the town wanted to convey safety in the naming of the dance.  One group argued for ‘Hoedown’, since a hoe turned down was safe, while another group argued for ‘Shovel-Down’. Well, that was stupid since a shovel is safe whether turned up or down. Sensing a loss of the debate the ‘Shovel-Down’ group decided to change their suggestion to ‘Shovel-Up’, which was beyond stupid, since ‘Shovel-Up’ offends all sensibilities no matter where a person my find themselves mentally. So it became settled and the term ‘Hoedown’ spread throughout the American West.

One small note. In New England they attempted to call such activities ‘Nail-Puller-Up’ which was a complete offense and failure. This is why you find no barn dances there.