 The town gained infamy in the late 1950s and early 1960s due to the improbably high percentage of residents who put out insurance claims on lost limbs, to the point that many speculated that residents of the town were intentionally dismembering themselves for the insurance money.Although there is no real evidence to support these speculations, these insurance claims from Vernon, with a population of 500–800, accounted for as many as 2/3 of claims nationally.The town was referred to as "Nub City".