In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a small town in the Florida Panhandle earned a grim and unforgettable nickname: “Nub City.” This moniker did not come from a natural disaster or a wartime event but from a widespread and voluntary practice among its residents.
To escape crushing poverty, dozens of people in Vernon, Florida, intentionally mutilated themselves to collect insurance payouts. This tiny community, covering just 4.77 square miles (12.35 square kilometers), became the surprising capital of self-inflicted injuries in the United States.
A Desperate Economic Landscape
Vernon was once a bustling stop for steamboats and major railroads, but by the mid-20th century, the town had fallen into dire economic straits. The local sawmill, which had provided the majority of jobs, closed its doors and left the population with few options for income.
As industries bypassed the town, the residents found a dark but lucrative alternative. It is believed that the scheme began when one resident accidentally lost a limb and received a substantial life insurance payout. Word of this financial windfall spread rapidly through the community and sparked a disturbing trend.
The Rise of the “Nub Club”
Soon, an alarming number of residents began suffering from loss-of-limb accidents. By the mid-1960s, approximately 50 of the town’s 700 residents belonged to what became known as the “Nub Club.” The Florida Panhandle was responsible for two-thirds of all accidental loss-of-limb claims in the entire United States during this period.
Most of these incidents involved shotguns, while others involved axes and saws. Participants would take out exorbitant insurance policies shortly before their accidents occurred. They offered investigators outlandish explanations for their injuries, such as shooting a hand while aiming for a hawk or blowing off a foot after mistaking it for a squirrel.
Investigating the Unbelievable Claims
Insurance companies eventually noticed the statistical anomaly and sent investigators to Vernon. John Joseph Healy, an investigator for the Continental National American insurance group, noted the eerie atmosphere of the town. He described sitting in his car on a hot summer evening and watching a dozen injured people walking the streets.
Healy famously stated that the town’s second-largest occupation was watching hound dogs mate, while its largest was self-mutilation for monetary gain. Murray Armstrong, an official from Liberty National, reported that one man had taken out policies with nearly 30 different companies. Despite the overwhelming evidence, convictions were nearly impossible to secure because jurors simply could not believe anyone would voluntarily chop off their own limbs for cash.
The End of the Scheme
The era of Nub City eventually came to a close in the late 1960s. Insurance companies responded to the fraud by raising premium rates to unaffordable levels or refusing to do business in the Panhandle entirely. One farmer reportedly walked away with nearly one million dollars for a lost foot, but the flow of easy money stopped for the rest. In the 1980s, filmmaker Errol Morris attempted to document this story.
After receiving death threats and a beating from the son of a “Nub Club” member, he pivoted to creating a slice-of-life documentary titled Vernon, Florida. The film captures the eccentricities of the town without directly addressing the history of the severed limbs that made it famous.
In the 1950s, a tiny Florida town earned the grim nickname "Nub City" not by accident, but by choice.
To escape poverty, residents voluntarily hacked off their own limbs to collect insurance cash.
It quickly became the bizarre U.S. capital of self-mutilation…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/HzvJWfb3j7
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) December 17, 2025