Steal Easy is the old timers’ name for the village of Crab Orchard. I name that goes back to the first mill at the place. That building had no doors, and it was easy enough for any one with the inclination to get his cornmeal or flour after the miller had gone home and to leave no pay for what he took. So the mill, and then the village that grew up around it got the name of Steal-easy.
Another version of this story turns the tables on the miller himself. Folks told that he wore huge cuffs, and that he poured a measure of grain or meal in such a way that his cuffs filled while he was supposed to be filling his customer’s sack. Steal-easy grew to be that miller’s nickname, and was applied in turn to his mill and to the village.
See also, Crab Orchard History
(Extracted from Pioneer Folks and Places, Barbara Barr Hubbs, 1939, on sale at the Williamson County Museum)