Sh[k]einah Post Office was closed in 1852
New York Times Archives
Skeenah or Skeinah is derived from the Cherokee:
Not far from where the Doublehead Gap Road crosses the Toccoa River in Fannin County, Skeenah Creek empties into the river. Nearby was the Cherokee settlement of Asginayi ["ghost place"], which appears in some old papers as Skeinah. The creek rises somewhere near Skeenah Gap on the Union County line. I have found the name Skeenah in South Carolina and North Carolina, too. Its pronunciation is very close to the old Cherokee word, missing only a light “ah” sound at the beginning of the word. Cherokee “a-sgi-na” meant roughly the same things as the English words “ghost,” “demon,” or “devil.” Skeenah Gap Road makes its way through some very pretty countryside, well worth the drive from Blue Ridge or Ellijay or Morganton. There is also Asgini Branch, a small stream in northern Swain County, North Carolina, whose name could be translated "Ghost Creek."
Additionally Skeenah has been translated as “Booger” hence Booger Hollow in Union County, Georgia. “Booger” in this sense means any ghost, hobgoblin, spectre, goblin, phantom or other frightening apparition. “Booger” is a southern American variant of the Scottish “boggard.” Various forms exist, including “boggard,” “boggart,” “boggle,” and “bogy.” It is known from Scottish literature from 1500, in England, a bit later. The ultimate origin of “booger” is unknown, but it may be from or related to the Welsh “bwg” or “bug” in English, also meaning a goblin or spectre. “Booger” has been confused [conflated] with “bugger,” a sodomite, “bugger” is from a different etymological origin.
“Booger” as used in Booger Hollow has nothing to do with congealed secretions from the nose. The connection of “booger” with nose secretions may derive from a connection with a devilish thing in and from the body i.e. a bad and vulgar object.
from local anecdotal sources
and various etymologically sources
edited by David Friedly