Mount Desert Mountains Controversy: Secondary Sources Better WOODLAWN M u S E u M The Black House MAINE'S PREMIER HISTORIC ESTATE Summer 2005 A Property of the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations vol. 2 no. 3 The Mountain Naming Controversy and the Mission of the Trustees Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. George Nixon Black, Jr., Col. John Black's grandson, the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, Mr. bequeathed Woodlawn to the Hancock County Trustees George B. Dorr, and other notable men and women who of Public Reservations in 1928. One of Maine's first were vital to the establishment of Acadia National Park. preservation and land conservation organizations, this Representatives from Hancock County libraries, museums, group was founded in 1901 by Charles W. Eliot, the and historical societies collaborated to plan a diverse president emeritus of Harvard University and a summer schedule of public events during 2005 that would focus resident of Northeast Harbor. In 1916, this group donated on the park Founders. This essay on the Trustees is one the majority of the land that created Acadia National Park. contribution to preservation of that legacy. Today, Woodlawn Museum is the largest and most important unit under the care of the Trustees. Public access to this It is impossible to imagine a world without names. In important historic estate has been maintained by the Trustees an ideal world confusion would be avoided if everyone used since its opening on August 20, 1929 under the leadership one name to represent a person, place, or thing. Names of Mr. Richard W. Hale, founder of the prestigious Boston often have synonyms and spelling variations that contribute law firm of Hale and Dorr, and Chairman of the Trustees' to misunderstandings. Moreover, historic names give way newly formed Black House Committee. to current local usage and place names change with little In 2004, a volunteer organization named "The Spirit regard to their origin. of Acadia" was formed to focus attention on the legacies of continued on page 3.. 2. Mountain Naming (continued from page 1) There is a long-standing 'democratic' conviction in America that everyone has an equal right to bestow-and defend-a geographic name. To counter nomenclature anarchy and confusion relating to geographic names, in the late 19th century the United States Board on Geographic Names (Board) established nomenclature criteria and rendered decisions that were binding for Federal agencies. The Woodlawn Archives provide rich insights into a naming controversy that surfaced on the heels of the 1928 donation of the Woodlawn estate to the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations (Trustees). The central figure in this controversy was George Bucknam Dorr (1853-1944), one of the eight Trustee Incorporators and its First Vice President for more than four decades. Mr. Dorr's energetic stewardship over three decades was responsible for most Trustee donations and the eventual gifting of these properties to the federal government, establishing the Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916. In 1917, as Monument Custodian, Mr. Dorr proposed well-developed arguments for changing the names of nearly a dozen natural objects within Monument boundaries to the National Park Service (NPS). Receiving the necessary NPS endorsements, he made formal application to the Board on September 15, 1918 and within two weeks new nomenclature was authorized. While the motives for reference." As a new federal administrator, Dorr was also mountain renamings were complex, Dorr argued in part that trying to conform to the Board principle of long standing the conventional names (e.g., Brown, Dog, Dry, Green etc.) usage, yet as a scholar Dorr was compelled to locate historic were undistinguished. As a result, nearly half the mountains precedent for the conventional names. Where the historical that form the Mount Desert Range were renamed Acadia, roots were shallow, Dorr saw an opportunity to develop Bernard, Cadillac, Champlain, Huguenot Head, Mansell, alternative historical arguments that emphasized the role of and Norumbega. Native American and French historical associations. In this Following the 1919 elevation of the Monument to process he pressed for a more ancient lineage than what was national park status (Lafayette National Park), other customary on Mount Desert Island. geographic name changes were proposed and by 1929 Boston attorney and Trustee Richard W. Hale initiated approvals were secured to rename ten of fourteen a defense of the traditional mountain names more than a mountains-and island maps reflected these changes. decade after the 1918 approvals. His January 2, 1931 letter For Mr. Dorr, name selection resulted from extensive to the editor of the Bar Harbor Times stated that at the August study. The National Archives, Rockefeller Archive Center, 28, 1930 annual meeting of the HCTPR he entered a motion the Board Archives, and the Sawtelle Research Center to fellow Trustees that at the next annual meeting they contain Dorr's arguments. He recognized that early declare themselves in favor of the "well known names." An settlers gave "excellent descriptive names" to the seacoast informal Trustees poll, via postcard, revealed that 28 of 36 and harbored waters where names like Egg Rock and favored the names in use before the Board approvals. Hale Otter Creek suggest their own interesting ancestry. But asked the Times to poll its readers. Over the next several "mountains and paths, woods and lakes, must all have weeks ballots were cast and the tally was overwhelming: names for the sake of distinction and as points of visitor 150 for the old names, three for the new. Letters to the Times 3 3, I am strongly in favor of no documentation that the new name opponents collaborated or that Superintendent Dorr responded in any way to holding to the new names public questioning of his administrative recommendations. Privately, Ellsworth District Court Judge John A. Peters with there historical sign Secause advanced the popular misconception that if Green for the maintains- Mountain could be renamed Cadillac then logically Dorr "ought to call another one 'Buick' and certainly a peak near Champlain, Cadellae, Seal Harbor ought to be called 'Ford''' (after its celebrated resident, Edsel Ford). The Woodlawn Archives offer little Noumhega, St. Sawew to clarify this matter other than the draft of a proposed 1934 Bernard area thousand speech by R.W. Hale Jr. with a handwritten notation that the motion that all Trustee officers use traditional mountain Times better than names in "all documents and correspondence" was defeated Green Bram, Bosete. by a voice vote. The naming controversy appears to be a manifestation One change is enough heto of the Trustees attempt to cope with a fundamental change in their organizational mission, shifting from land leave well enough alone conservation for the public good to property preservation and stewardship. Hale became the champion of a cohort Charleen dissatisfied with what had transpired with former Trustee properties that were now under federal administration. Perhaps some felt that Mr. Dorr had violated some unstated 2 Ballot cast by Charles W. Eliot, September, 1930. Trustee approval process. The years between 1928 and 1930 were a turning editor emphasized that place names are significant because point for the Trustees. After the death of Mr. George Nixon of their ancestry and emotional power. Black, Jr., his Ellsworth estate, Woodlawn, was donated There is no evidence that Hale re-entered his motion to the Trustees. Lafayette National Park was renamed at the 1931 Trustee meeting; in fact, no minutes document Acadia National Park, enlarging the property beyond MDI the 1930 meeting that precipitated this issue. Nonetheless, to include the Schoodic Peninsula. Finally, on August 29, Hale wrote to the Board in September 1932 requesting 1929, the Trustees conveyed "to the United States all lands relevant documentation. Subsequently, in 1934 Richard owned by the Corporation [the Trustees] on Mount Desert Hale Jr. takes up his father's cause and tries to identify and Island." informally poll the "younger generation of visitors to the Additional parcels continued to be accepted by the Island [who] used new names for the mountains." Trustees and then conveyed to the federal government over Trustee Samuel Eliot Morison wrote to the Board on the next few years. Some Trustees, however, must have May 27, 1933 requesting that the names used prior to 1917 asked whether the organization had a future. Many founding be restored. He argued that signage still reflected old usage, members were either deceased or no longer involved, and that the old names were reflected in American literature, new members-like Hale and Morison-were questioning and that the new names had not been popularly accepted. the mission of the Trustees. Moreover, the Trustee who had Morison concluded that if we can change the name of the been central to land acquisition (i.e., Mr. Dorr ) was now park to "the old French name of the region," (L'Acadie) we also a park service administrator with considerable influence can revert back to the old mountain names as well. Lacking in the nation's Capitol. support from the National Park Service, no action was taken After three decades of active pursuit of property and by the Board. the administration of lands available to the public, some Both Hale and Morison avoided making any reference to fellow Trustee Dorr-as did the letters to the Times. There is continued on page 11 4 4, Mountain Naming (continued from page 4) members must have wondered-as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. by ownership by cooperation, and in part by helping to proposed-whether the Trustees should disband now that form public opinion." their mission had been realized. Instead, throughout the There is no indication of any residual interest in Depression Era, without any formal declaration, the Trustees mountain naming but there is recognition that future gifts shifted from land acquisition for public recreation to the "might favor national and remote control" [i.e., federal and single-minded management of the Woodlawn estate. Few state management]. President Morris rather nicely set the records of Trustee meetings during the period 1931-1939 stage for the challenge that some see the Trustees facing survive, and it is plausible that they entered a period of near today. Morris thought strategically, focusing attention on the dormancy while the Black House (Woodlawn) Committee need for a new vision, a new organizational structure, and took center stage. the necessity of Trustees' commitments more far-reaching In a Trustee circular letter dated September 21, than routine financial support. 1940, the issue of the future of the Trustees was raised by President Dave Hennen Morris. He proposed that Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. is writing a biography of "we keep the corporation not only technically, but also George Bucknam Dorr, the first such effort to document substantially, alive and vigorous and endeavor to serve the his historical significance as a conservationist. Dr. Epp is community in the field of owning property for public access currently Director of the University Library, Southern New and enjoyment." Not only does he advocate "luxurious" Hampshire University. rather than "grudging support" for Woodlawn, but he broadens the traditional Trustee goal to emphasize "public enjoyment of [Hancock County] natural resources in part challenged in the public domain. The outcome would determine whether the ballot box or federal authority reigned supreme on public lands. Regional historians agree that the Wabanaki who visited Mount Desert Island to feast on the bounty of the seas called its range of mountains Pemetic. They also concur that when Samuel de Champlain explored the waters of this Isle des Monts Deserts in 1604, the names he assigned certain features came to dominate culturally to this day. Certainly Champlain was iware of the presence of native seasonal inhabitants. More to the point, 11 is likely that members of this northeastern Algonquin-speaking tribal nation guided Champlain to Pemetic.2 Cartographers, anthropologists, and historians might ask whether Champlain's island naming constituted a renaming. Few would argue that demonstrating the origin of geographic names has little value. Yet what constitutes a sufficient, or even necessary, reason for a historically accepted geographic name to be altered? In the absence of written documentation- 114 was the case with the Wabanaki prior to the mid-nineteenth century- does an oral tradition carry sufficient authority? Prescriptively, whose authority should dominate: the accepted originator, local custom, a renaming advocate, or a legally-recognized authority? George B. Dorr, ca. 1940. It is well known that Mr. Dorr's energetic stewardship was responsible for Courtesy of Acadia National Park and the National Park Service most of the donations to the Trustees of Public Reservations and the first gift of more than five thousand acres to the federal government, establishing in 1916 the Sieur de Monts National Monument. For the next twenty-eight years, Superintendent Dorr and the Dorr had federal authority in the conservation of an expanding national asset Mountain Naming Controversy IIII Mount Desert Island. Yet as "custodian" of this new national monument, Dor's authority was severely limited and federal policy required all proposed Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. topographical name changes to be routed through an authoritative agency. To counter nomenclature anarchy and confusion relating to geographic ontroversy arose on Mount Desert Island early in the Great names, an agency of the Department of Interior, the United States Board t had its roots in the closing years of World War I. Workla (III Geographic Names ("USBGN"), was established in 1890 to apply m" residence in Bar Harbor in 1918, a gentleman "from Ellieria and render decisions binding on federal agencies. ³ From 1918 I requests for federal approval to rename prominent natural through 1934 Dorr submitted name change proposals, awaiting decisions adopted island home. This gentleman was George Buckna that customarily took a few weeks. Much later, after the mountain naming 44), the central figure in this controversy, one of the eight Controversy subsided, Dorr wrote in his Memoirs that "none of the mountain of The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, and names on the Island were old when we came down in 1868. There was no tive officer. Dorr was the first administrator of federal land need for them till summer folks came down and began to climb. For the sert Island, and his renaming of the mountains would he Indians and the early settlers alike they were simply a hunting grouni roamed over by deer and bear." And their names? "The names given them 641.5 UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD See work card had no background in local usage or tradition or interest in themselves, Cadillac Hincolle Co.,M Following federal acquisition of the Sieur de Monts National Monume! in 1916, the new park custodian stated that it was suggested to him by an Mountain - highest point in Sieur de Monts OCT 2 19 18 National Monument, Mount Desert Id. Maine, "unnamed" party that it would be "better" if these new federal lands WE Names Authorities related to "the old French occupation of the coast and its early history." MI Green Min Designation since 1355 Dorr collected, organized, and carefully studied the historical, lingulati Mt. Newport prior to 1855 and geological evidence before initially developing arguments for changir Cadillac Custodian, Name proposed by Geo. B. Dorr representing the, "Wild. the names of nearly a dozen natural objects within Monument boundarit Gardens of Acadia, supported by the Sec: of the latr., Bureau of Nat'l Parks, many Associations,and distinguished men, to He concluded that "the mountains acquired names only from the summi Local mange commemorate early history and to Honor France for her Green Mtn part IM present War. Mount Desert Island deeded to Cadillac visitors none going beyond living memory." Armed with National by Louis XIV, Park Service endorsements, he made formal application to the USBC Recommendation of Executive Committee on September 15, 1918 and within two weeks the first nomencias Submitted by Gen B Darr Ind Dept Cadillac application was authorized. While his motives for mountain renami Date Sept 15, 1918 This card prepared by & were complex, Dorr argued in part that the conventional names- Brown, Dog, Dry, Green, etc.-were undistinguished. That is, they W 11/11 request form completed by U.S. Board on Geographic Names chairman Frank Bond, improuding to a request from Interior Department custodian George B. Dorr to standardize the not imbued with connotations that resonated with worthy "histori name of Cadillac Mountain, October 2, 1918. In Dorr's view, some of the conventional names were associations," a criterion that Dorr employed with fierce allegiance. "undistinguished." Courtesy of Executive Secretary, U.S. Board on Geographic Names It is noteworthy that just prior to the 1916 federalization of donal lands, Dorr was elected Selectman of the Town of Eden (now Bar Harb Nillional Archives, the Rockefeller Archive Center, the USBGN Archives, and subsequently re-elected for two terms through 1917. This civia and and the Sawtelle Research Center at Acadia National Park contain Dorr's political commitment surprised some of his contemporaries, for th digaments. He recognized that early settlers gave "excellent descriptive demands Dorr's horticultural and quarrying businesses-when combi billites" to the seacoast and harbored waters where names like Egg Rock and with the exhausting Monument initiative-appeared to leave little One Creek suggest visual associations given by settlers. But "mountains and for a new civic endeavor. Yet Dorr knew that he could use his lenderhip paths, woods and lakes, must all have names for the sake of distinction and position to influence cultural development beyond the confines of #4 points of visitor reference." As a new federal administrator, Dorr was also summer residents. Dorr was prescient enough to anticipate the drama trying to conform to the USBGN principle of longstanding usage, yet as a social changes that would occur once Island acreage was federalized, It holar Dorr was compelled to seek historic precedent for the conventional This larger cultural shift was identified by historian Judith S. Golden Ballies, Where the historical roots were shallow, Dorr saw an opportunity As Dorr, Eliot, and Rockefeller "moved through intricate negotiation 111 develop alternative historical arguments that emphasized the role of the the larger public domain of the federal government," she writes, they Pren II emigrants as well as the indigenous populations. In this process he over the leadership of the island. Slowly they stretched their conce pleased for a more ancient lineage than what was customary among the public access beyond the privileged boundaries of the small Prote glinticators and the Island's English and French descendants. Dorr realized summer colony." This enlarged concept of public access implied uncovering that "the linguistic contour" of local usage for geographic features no longer the historical roots of prominent natural features within the park. To Birthed the deepened historical standards of the new park service.7 end? In order that new visitors drawn to the federal property would 'Ii) understand Dorr's arguments, it is helpful to appreciate the education their appreciation of the natural splendor of the Island increased. received by this young man during the height of the Civil War. Following six For Mr. Dorr, name selection resulted from extensive study VODIA under the tutelage of Boston classicist Epes S. Dixwell, Dorr entered USBGN, Dorr explained at great length his methodology for proposing UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD 641, the name changes of "the dominant landscape features of the Monument," See work card Champlain Including the importance of recognizing the indigenous peoples that used Thing Mauntain Located of the Penobscot River for seasonal canoe passage to Mount Desert Island. 10 East Sieur Monts Natl Monument, Mount Desert Maine The mosteastern Mtn. of the Island: The fundamental rationale that runs through scores of documents spanning Names Authorities more than a decade is stated in a memorandum the USBGN received from Newport Mtn Designation since 1855-date unknown the Superintendent: the renaming of "its noble granite masses have Champlain Discoverer of Mount Desert Island and who named the let become true historic documents that will record forever to succeeding Name proposed by Geo, B. Dorr, Custodian of the Net'l Monument representing the "Wild Gardens of Acadia supported by the generations the human background [of] the Park." Secy of the Interior, Bureau of Nat'l Parks many Assoeil Local usage ations, and distinguished men, to commemorate early history Following the 1919 elevation of the Monument to its new status Newport Mtn and to honor France for her part in the present war. as Lafayette National Park, additional geographic name changes were proposed to the USBGN. By 1929 approvals had been secured to rename Recommendation of Executive Committee Submitted by Geo. B. Dorr Int Dept Champlain I'm of fourteen mountains-and Island maps reflected these changes. To Date Sept 15th 1918 this day, critics claim that Dorr's decisions were arbitrary. 12 As new maps This card prepared by were drawn and distributed, it is likely that there was private grumbling, but there is no evidence that such grumblings were aired publicly. Official request form to standardize the name of Champlain Mountain, October 2, 1918, the In 1920, a supportive position was expressed for the decision-making mountain was originally named for an English mariner, Christopher Newport. Courtesy of Secretary, U.S. Board on Geographic Names process in the naming of trails. In the leading publication of mountaineering In the eastern United States, Appalachia Mountain Club trail maker and Harvard College at sixteen-in the class of 1874, the year after fellow Trust classicist Paul R. Jenks published remarks on "The Naming of Trails" that Charles W. Eliot assumed the presidency. Dorr concentrated his studies in overlap and extend Dorr's line of thinking. "Names should be given to trails classical and modern languages, history and, despite a stammer, he showlil for a single, definite, necessary reason, to-wit, for identification. This is the equal ardor for elocution, oratory, and rhetoric. Before he was thirty, he live historical reason for all names, as properly applied." Furthermore, Jenks in Europe for six years where his linguistic skills were well honed by current argued that in the interests of proper nomenclature and "for the edification usage. One product of this worldly education was Dorr's development of III of future generations," names should be adopted "only after consideration exceptional sensitivity to both "dead tongues" and the French language. HI and action by a responsible committee."13 understanding of French pioneers in the New World was in part based on the Dorr's superiors were consulted before action was taken and the "romantic" historical writings of his childhood neighbor on Jamaica Pond Superintendent himself solicited endorsements from educational, the nineteenth-century historian Francis Parkman. Both men were awain historical, and conservation colleagues, including the weighty national that language is a medium that divides as easily as it unites but in the end support of the Trustees of Public Reservations President Charles W. Eliot. the historian sits in judgment of the performance of men and their culture Town records, village improvement society minutes, the Bar Harbor Times, In some instances when a mountain carried a name with historia and the USBGN documents provide no evidence of local protests. Until associations, Dorr succeeded in convincing the USBGN that another name the onset of the Great Depression, the renaming of mountains was not should be substituted. Originally named for an honored English marinti Interpreted publicly as a conflict between federal and local power. Christopher Newport, this mountain on the eastern side of the Island To the contrary, at the annual Bar Harbor town meeting in March 1919, thus became Champlain. Green Mountain was referred anew as Cadilla il unanimous motion was passed: "That [the] inhabitants of Bar Harbor "Picket as Huguenot Head, Dry as Flying Squadron, Jordan as Penobace extend [their] most appreciative thanks to George Bucknam Dorr for his Brown as Norumbega, Little Brown as Parkman, Robinson as Acadh theless, persistent, intelligent work, carried on under the most adverse and Dog as St. Sauveur. In il six-page September 15, 1918 letter to the dicumstances. He has overcome obstucles that no other friend of the in promoting the Black House (known today as Woodlawn Museum) as a premiere Maine tourist attraction. But departing from this goal, he submitted a letter to the editor of the Bar Harbor Times. on January 2, 1931-without sanction from the officers of the Trustees of Public Reservations-reporting that at the Trustees' August 28, 1930 annual meeting he had entered a motion that at the next annual meeting the Trustees declare themselves in favor of the "well known [mountain] "names." Hale confidently announced in the paper that an informal Trustees poll showed that twenty-eight of thirty-six favored the names in use before the USBGN name-change approvals. Yet fellow Trustee Lincoln Cromwell had written to Dorr's attorney Serenus B. Rodick several months earlier that he had "heard very little objection to the names except from a small group which has opposed consistently all of the Rockefeller developments."^s This implied that the land acquisition and carriage road construction program of John D. Rockefeller Jr., an ally of Mr. Dorr, could be at the heart of the matter. Attorney Hale asked the Times to poll its readers. Over the next several George B. Dorr and his mountain re-naming ally Charles W. Eliot at Jordan Pond, 1922. Courtesy of Acadia National Park and the National Park Service weeks ballots were cast and the tally was overwhelming: 150 votes for the old names, three for the new. Lest Mr. Dorr have any doubt about the [Island] would have commanded the courage to overcome, and has finally position of those nearest and dearest to him, each voter name and preference secured for us and for our posterity the Lafayette National park on Mount was published. Letters to the Times editor emphasized the significance of Desert Island. We regard the achievement as a crowning event in a life, NO place names due to their ancestry and emotional power. much of which has been devoted to the interest of Bar Harbor." This There is no evidence that Hale re-entered his motion at the 1931 public tribute resonates with the basic concept key to Dorr's conservation CTPR meeting; moreover, the controversy was apparently not considered ethos and mountain naming practice: "for us and our posterity." sufficiently newsworthy to receive additional press coverage. Nonetheless, On August 29, 1929 the Trustees of Public Reservations conveyed "to I lale wrote to the USBGN on September 30, 1932 requesting relevant the United States all lands owned by the Corporation on Mount Dexor) documentation of Dorr's requests for these "darn-fool names." Hale claims Island." Over the next few years additional parcels were accepted and then 10 "love [Dorr] for the great services which he has done but in this matter conveyed to the federal government. Some Trustees wondered whether the of names, I am his energetic enemy." organization had a future. Many founding members were either deceased or So too, renowned naval historian and Trustee Samuel Eliot Morison no longer involved, and new members-like Richard W. Hale and Samul Whole to the USBGN on May 27, 1933 requesting that the names used prior Eliot Morison-were emphasizing the museum potential of the Black How to 1917 be restored. He argued that signage still reflected old usage, that the Moreover, the Trustee who had been the key figure in land acquisition WIII old names were reflected in American literature, and that the new names had now a federal administrator with considerable influence in the nation's capto not been popularly accepted. Morison concluded that if we can change the The trigger for the ensuing controversy did not lie with local residen name of the park to "the old French name of the region," ("l'Acadie") we can It was someone "from away," a partner in the Boston law firm of Hall Irvert back to the old mountain names as well. Lacking support from the and Dorr (no relation to the park superintendent), one of the largest National Park Service, no action was taken by the USBGN in response to law firms in New England. That attorney, Richard W, Hale, was the first these requests. chairman of the Black House Committee and IN il Trustee, his priority Will Both Hale and Morison involded making any reference 10 fellow Trustee Dorr-as did the letters to evolution of names and risked disaffection from his contemporaries. It the Bar Harbor Times. Nor is there was his judgment that over successive generations the new names would any evidence indicating that the provide lasting significance to the international body of visitors that would new name opponents collaborated. travel the roadways around-or traverse the trails of-the mountains of Superintendent Dorr did not respond Acadia National Park. More so than any national park superintendent of publicly and his personal reaction to his day, Dorr brought to his position in the new National Park Service a the Trustees and public disapproval is set of scholarly-imbued leadership skills remarkable by any standard. The not known. Moreover, the controversy National Park Service supported his efforts to locate historical precedent for was confined to Mount Desert Island; natural features and to abide by the decisions of the USBGN. Cartographers comments on the matter do not placed new names on maps, though the old names still remained on earlier appear to have reached the county, maps and in the minds of their loyalists. state, or national levels and the Dorr's effort was motivated by his love of place, his passionate desire controversy does not compare with to substitute selected points of conventional reference with those having the magnitude of the automobile ban worthy historical associations. While more often successful than not, Dorr il decade earlier. 17 was "a party of one" petitioning for these changes. He took this risk not Mr. Dorr applied his scholarly for visitor amusement or to provoke local dismay when a place name expertise in referencing a more Richard W. Hale, Dorr's "energetic enemy" in ancient European lineage than what the mountain naming controversy. Courtesy of disappeared from the most recent map. Instead, through the administrative WilmerHale, Boston, Massachusetts processes available to him, Dorr provided the intellectual underpinnings WITH customary for the inhabitants of 10 ensure that the seascapes, landscapes, and "noble granite masses" of the Mount Descri Island. Applying his well traveled historical and linguistic park would be perpetuated. standards, Dorr found the indigenous and rusticator culture inadequate (1) the task ill hand, He proceeded in this nomenclature revision without Notes public discussion and without formal input from the Trustees of Public I Renervations. I disstanding as a federal officer lent weight to his justifications, In an email of January 7, 2014, Island historian Jack Russell drew my attention to the varied activities of the explorer during the several days that Champlain spent in Pemetic waters. See David but nome may fault Mr. Dorr for not seeking public input, for not bowing I lackett Fischer, Champlain's Dream (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008), 174-77. before the collective weight of his fellow Trustees. I larold E. L. Prins & Bunny McBride, Asticou's Island Domain: Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert I Hstorians and anthropologists could interpret Dorr's renaming Wand 1500-2000 (Boston: Northeast Region Ethnography Program, National Park Service, 2007), vol. 1. of landscape features as an act of dispossession or a form of cultural In 2003, Roger Payne, USBGN Executive Secretary, provided me with more than a hundred pages Imperialism." My goal here is not to challenge such an interpretation but to of copies of official documents regarding MDI place name changes initiated by Mr. Dorr. I provide the background of an Island controversy that took place when the Dorr, Memoirs, March 29, 1933. Dorr Papers, Bar Harbor Historical Society; G.B. Dorr to cultural implications of a strengthening federal presence on Mount Desert USBGN, September 15, 1918. USBGN Archives. Reston, Virginia. See also Henry A. Raup, "liy, Corkscrew and Whaleback: Descriptive Terms in the Placenames of Mount Desert Island," presented unique challenges and opportunities for all who resided here, I Thobacco 6 (2004): 41-53. Noteworthy is the fact that eight days after Mr. Dorr's death on August G, Sources for the quotations in this paragraph are as follows: Dorr to Lincoln Cromwell, February 1944, fellow Trustee Judge John A. Peters offered a motion at the Trusteer 11, 1917; Dorr to C.W. Eliot, May 7, 1919; C.W. Eliot to Dorr, May 9, 1919. Charles W. Eliot Papers, box 95, Harvard University Archives. Also, G.B. Dorr to Stephen T. Mather, December annual meeting that was greeted with "enthusiasm and unanimously 10, 1917. National Archives and Records Administration. CP. RG79. CCF. Acadia. Misc. Reports. approved Namely, that the mountain situated between Champlain and 14 Judith S. Goldstein, Crossing Lines: Histories of. Jews and Gentiles in Three Communities (New York: Cadillac mountains formerly known IIN Dry Mountain be renamed Dorn William Morrow, 1992), 185, An earlier and more limited version of this article appeared in "The Mountain Naming Controversy and the Mission of the "Trustees," Woodlawn Museum Newsletter 2 Mountain. Within ten months, the change Will approved by the USBGN,1 (2005): 3. My forthcoming mindy entitled the Making of Acadia National Park provides the larger Dorr was il conservation pioneer who took il philosophic view on the context for the claims herein. 7 (Paraphrasing the January 26, 2007 New York Times review by Charles Isherwood of Brian Friel's 1981 play, Translations.) 8 See "Francis Parkman on Acadia." Accessed January 2, 2012.www.wquercus.com/acadie/parkmantg htm. I am also indebted to Mount Desert Island Historical Society Executive Director Tim Garrity for suggesting that this theme is theatrically developed in the aforementioned play, Translations. 9 Margie Coffin Brown, Jim Vekasi, and Olmstead Center for Landscape Preservation, et also Pathmakers: Cultural Landscape Report for the Historic Hiking Trail System of Mount Desert Island (Boston: National Park Service & Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, 2006), vol. 1, 98, 10 The USBGN Archives also contain a nine-page April 9, 1919 letter explaining the cultural importance of recognizing the name "Penobscot" for the northern and southern portions than known as Sargent and Jordan mountains. 11 "Memorandum," March 6, 1931, Mount Desert Island files, UBBGN Archives. 12 In response to my editorial in The Mount Desert Islander of June 23, 2005, see Mark A. Preston's July 21, 2005 letter to the paper's editor claiming that Dorr "didn't understand or seem to care that the original names reflect [the] character of the early days of Mount Desert." 13 Paul R. Jenks, "The Naming of Trails," Appalachia 15 (1920),182-85. 14 Bar Harbor Times, March 8, 1919. 15 Trustees Lincoln Cromwell, L. B. Deasy, Charles W. Eliot, Samuel A. Eliot, William Drapa Lewis, William O. Sawtelle, and F. J. Stimson were opposed to Hale's resolution, according to the front-page article in the Bar Harbor Times of January 9, 1931. 16 September 11, 1930, Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations Archives, I.2.c.1/2.1.A.S, See also Bar Harbor Times, January 28, 1931. 17 See Bill Horner, M.D., "From Horses to Horsepower: Mount Desert Island's Ten-Year War for the Automobile," Chebacco 14 (2013): 86-106. 18 I am indebted to Harold E. L. Prins for referencing this contention. See J.B. Harley, "New England Cartography and the Native Americans," in American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture and Cartography in the Land of Norumbega, eds. Emerson W. Baker, Edwin A. Churchill, Richard D'Abate, Kristine Jones, Victor A. Konrad, Harald E. L. Prins (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994), 287-31 S email from Harald Prins, December 15, 2013; Harald E. L. Prins & Bunny McBride, "Asticou's Flord or Somes Sound? Mythistory of Wabanaki Dispossession," Chebacco 12 (2011): 41-61. 19 Approved June 15, 1945. "Dorr Mountain. Case Study # 641.5," Mount Desert Island film USBGN Archives. 20 I am indebted to Acadia National Park Ranger Maureen Fournier for this phraseology and harp critical comments on a draft of this article. MOUNT DESERT ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY Executive Director Timothy F. Garrity Board of Directors William Horner, M.D. Dru Colbert President hebac Nathaniel R. Fenton Daniel Poteet The Magazine of Vice President Carroll Fernald the Mount Desert Island Gerard Vasisko Susan Lerner Historical Society Secretary Sandy McFarland Andrew Griffiths Treasurer Samuel McGee Ralph Stanley Howard D. Monroe Volume XV President Emeritus Robert R. Pyle 2014 Marion Stanley Honorary Member Rosamond Rea Raney Bench Raymond Strout Mount Desert, Maine Ann G. Benson Genie Thorndike P. Hamilton Clark Cornelia Perkins Zinsser This publication is made possible by the genero Administrative/Creative Assistant Virginia Mellen Peter and Sofia Blanchard and Chebacco Editor: Emily M. Beck George and Nancy Putnam Images design: Genie Thorndike The Naming of Trails By PAUL R. JENKS NAMES should be given to trails for a single, definite, neces, sary reason, to-wit, for identification. This is the universal historical reason for all names, as properly applied. It is scarcely necessary to state the justifications for identify ing trails. It is desirable in conversation, in map-making, etc. but much more so in actual tramping. The tramper naturally needs to know beyond peradventure upon what trail he is starting and upon what trail he may find himself in the forest Objectives alone do not make him thus certain. 1 A paper presented at the annual meeting of the New England Trail Conference January 22, 1921. APPALACHIA 15 (1920) [ING OF TRAILS THE NAMING OF TRAILS 183 at the whole field of biology, imilarly Were our trails in a vast stretch of unmapped, unguided covered. The in which opportuni e the National country the difference would not be SO great. But for the New Park ;egland Trail Conference the majority of trails are described bad-visioned policy of its director maps or guides; such as are not indicated thus will reach the tramper through verbal descriptions. In these few cases ational Park forms an exceeding less than in the others, it is desirable to identify the actual in's term "déserts" in description with the description. And this can be done practically accordance with the original signifi bited" wild and solitary;" niy through a name Now, a name may be a very casual or a very obvious one; Vegetation, on the contrary, gro NO it be a name, it will serve the purpose, though there tional vigor and in wide ranged certain definite desiderata, to be mentioned later, in regard bundant in their season, amon '1) their selection. But if a trail has no designation that can lous beauty. such as the Fringer called a name, the tramper cannot always feel a sufficient the Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium) onse of security in regard to it. ng Arbutus or May-flower (Epigea Thus if, in tramping to the supposed starting-point of a trail, illium (Trillium pictum)-all, for I come upon a sign reading "Mt. X,' I have no certainty that f extermination till the park was this is the trail for which I am looking. There may be other ) a sanctuary. rails to Mt. X. I may have been told that there is only one, ant to the visitor, the park po or only one in this vicinity; but I cannot be certain that there ly of pure, delicious water, issuin is not another of which my informant was ignorant. More- st wild gardens in the vicinity over, if certain over-enthusiasts on trail construction have honor to the Sieur de Monts and been in the vicinity, and if the weather has been good, six new ones may have been cut during the preceding week! In many cases there actually are two or more trails leaving for the same objective from points not very far apart: and the ing of Trails knowledge that this is SO in some cases suggests the possibility of the same condition in others. But if the name of a trail UL R. JENKS and the name on a sign are identical, the tramper can feel sure that he is where he thinks he is. trails for a single, definite, neces- Consequently, assuming as we may do in our territory, that tification. This is the universal the tramper has had access to a map or a guide, the name of S, as properly applied. a trail on a sign becomes actually more important than its tate the justifications for identify objectives. For if a tramper is assured of the identity of a conversation, in map-making, etc. trail, presumably he knows or can know its objectives and ramping. The tramper naturally indefinitely more about the trail than can possibly be put upon dventure upon what trail he is a sign. he may find himself in the forest Objectives therefore are of secondary importance upon a him thus certain. sign, but should of course be added for the purposes (1) of re- assuring the tramper; (2) of indicating the barest information ecting of the New England Trail Conference to the tramper who goes without advance knowledge; and (3) of affording data at crossings as to the direction of the objectives. 184 THE NAMING OF TRAILS Turning now to the choice of names for trails, there are tain considerations that have thrust themselves upon melim my experience in wording signs, which have emphasized congruities in the names that have become established for certain trails. 1. A name should ordinarily if feasible, be such as to sug gest the locality and the character of the trail. Examples eminently fitting names are Franconia Ridge Trail, Ammonbo be suc Ravine Trail, Webster Cliff Trail, Castle Path, Mahoosue by Range Trail. an 2. A trail may be named from some conspicuous feature bu connected with it, e. g., Glen Boulder Trail, Blueberry Ledge to Trail, Blue Brook Trail. pc 3. The route or a portion thereof may supply a satisfactory th name, e.g., Great Gulf Trail, Adams Slide Trail, Swift River Trail, Alpine Garden Trail. 4. The use of a trail may sometimes serve for part of a satis factory name.-Waterville Cut-Off, Baldface Link, Tuckerman Crossover. 5. Great caution should be exercised in naming a trail simply from its objective, as "Mt. X" Trail. In the first place, the assumption is (practically) that this will remain the only trail to that objective; for as soon as a second trail to the same ob jective is established the name becomes useless for positive identification because the second trail would presumably have the same right to the designation as the other and the same name might well be applied to the second trail by those ignorant or regardless of the first-especially in cases where the two trails approach from different communities and directions. The Appalachian Mountain Club Pond-of-Safety Trail is a concrete example of this sort; for except with the "A. M. or it is not an identification, and even then a poor one. More- over it produces an anomaly in wording signs; for we certainly do not want to paint: "A. M. C. POND-OF-SAFETY TRAIL Pond of Safety." Again "Carter Notch Trail" quite arbitarily designates the approach from the south, while that from the north, equally entitled to the same name, is called "Nineteen-Mile Brook Trail." 6. A new trail should not be named for a living person; rarely for any other, and then only for obvious or cogent reasons. AMING OF TRAILS THE NAMING OF TRAILS 185 oice of names for trails, there are As trails multiply, the use of arbitrary and extraneous have thrust themselves upon me from T. becomes increasingly undesirable. A few names like ng signs, which have emphasized is that have become established for names American Institute Path, Air Line, Algonquin Trail, etc., are not serious, but their number should be kept at a minimum. Finally, a name should be adopted only after consideration narily if feasible, be such as to sug. and S. formal action by a responsible committee. Freak and character of the trail. Examples of .'°C Franconia Ridge Trail, Ammonoo- facetious names should be avoided, and probably would not sanctioned by a committee. It cannot be conceded that er C'liff Trail, Castle Path, Mahoosu by be supervising or even by doing the work of opening a trail, an individual gains the right to name it; he may be a fine axeman umed from some conspicuous featur an execrable nomenclator! One head is unlikely either Glen Boulder Trail, Blueberry Ledge but foresee all objections to a proposed name, or to sense all the 10 possibilities for a good name-which is rather to be chosen on thereof may supply a satisfactory rail, Adams Slide Trail, Swift River than great riches. It is therefore suggested that organizations or individuals il. constructing trails submit the naming to a committee, either I sometimes serve for part of a satis general or special, in the interests of proper nomenclature and Cut-Off, Baldface Link, Tuckerman for the edification of future generations. be exercised in naming a trail simply t. X" Trail. In the first place, the that this will remain the only trail V. 15(1920) on as a second trail to the same ob- name becomes useless for positive second trail would presumably have gnation as the other and the same to the second trail by those ignorant -especially in cases where the two rent communities and directions. tain Club Pond-of-Safety Trail is sort; for except with the "A. M. C.I and even then a poor one. More- I in wording signs; for we certainly I. C. POND-OF-SAFETY TRAIL ail" quite arbitarily designates the while that from the north, equally 3, is called "Nineteen-Mile Brook be named for a living person; rarely for obvious or cogent reasons. Fourteen Thousand Feet A History of the Naming and Early Ascents of the High Colorado Peaks SECOND EDITION By JOHN L.JEROME HART Member of THE ALPINE CLUB THE AMERICAN ALPINE CLUB THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB 1972 Reprint of the 1931 Second Edition Published by The Colorado Mountain Club Denver, Colorado PREFACE The first edition of the portion of this work dealing with the naming and early ascents of the high Colorado peaks was pub- lished in April, 1925, by The Colorado Mountain Club. For their assistance in the preparation of that edition I am very grateful to Messrs. Ellsworth Bethel, Carl Blaurock, Albert R. Elling- wood, Richard H. Hart, Edmund B. Rogers, James Grafton Rogers, Dudley T. Smith, and Roger W. Toll, and Miss Blanche Curry. Of particular use were the list of 14,000 foot peaks made in 1914 by Mr. Ellsworth Bethel and Mr. James Grafton Rogers, and "Mountain Peaks of Colorado" published by Mr. Roger W. Toll in 1923, being a list of all the named summits of Colorado. The index to the first edition was prepared by Miss Lucretia Vaile, and this index has been revised for the second edition by Mrs. Lewis E. Perkins. The map was prepared by Mr. Frank Yale and revised for this edition by Mr. Alan B. Fisher. I am indebted to Messrs. William R. Driver, Alan B. Fisher, George H. Harvey, Jr., Merritt H. Perkins, and Tom Thiedemann, Miss Blanche Curry, Miss Grace Harvey, and Mrs. Hugh Kingery for their assistance with the present edition. Because of the large amount of new material available, the section on the names of the Mt. Evans group and Crestone group and the section on the early ascents of Longs Peak, Grays Peak, and Blanca Peak have been rewritten. The following accounts have been considerably enlarged,-the names for the main range of the Rockies, Grays and Torreys, the Mosquito Range and its peaks, the names of the Sawatch Range, the Indian as an Alpinist, and the early ascents of Pikes Peak. New material has been added throughout, as can be seen from the fact that two hundred authorities are referred to by footnotes in the second edition instead of one hundred twenty-two in the first. I am indebted to the persons who have communicated new facts to me since the publication of the first edition and hope that other persons will volunteer further information. New mountains added to the list of 14,000 foot peaks since the first edition are Little Bear Mt., El Diente, Mount Oxford, and Tabeguache Peak. An account of the name and early ascents of the Mount of the Holy Cross has been included. The United States Geological Survey has just issued part of the Snowmass quadrangle, showing Snowmass Mountain as 14,077 feet, or 107 feet higher than the figure given on the Hayden Atlas. This corroborates the statement in the text that Hayden's heights in this region are all over a hundred feet too low, and makes it probable that Capitol Peak is about 14,100 feet in height. Hiding in the Archives By Peter G. Lewis & James W. Thomas A letter arrived at the American Geographical Society last year. "I must have access to your secret files. It is imperative that I know what transpired between Richard Byrd and Isaiah Bowman on December 11, 1930. The confession must be made public." According to Peter G. Lewis, the Archivist at the AGS, there was, alas, no secret file in the archives holding the truth behind Byrd's Polar flight. Nor does it hold the secret to the location of Atlantis or the meaning of Stonehenge. The archives simply hold a fascinating, if less explosive, gathering of material from the Society's past. There was no letter of admission from Byrd confessing to flying his plane home for Christmas instead of heading for the North Pole. There are, however, folders full of letters between Byrd and Bowman. They were friends as well as professional colleagues and Bowman long championed Byrd's explorations. If you don't mind tight quarters and a bit of dust in the Archive Room, you can go through cabinets of correspondence from Bowman, who was Director of the American Geographical Society from 1915 to 1935. Reading a letter signed by such a figure as Bowman or Byrd or many more does feel like eavesdropping on history. Started with the Society's founding in 1851, the archives are first and foremost a comprehensive institutional record of the AGS. The administrative and editorial correspondence and the Society's financial records go back 150 years. (AGS will be 150 on 9 October - John Lennon's birthday.) Now some of this material is scant and some if it is voluminous but chances are good that if it happened within the orbit of the American Geographical Society, there is at least note of it in the archives. We even have a flag carried by Richard Byrd on his November 1929 flight to the South Pole. No secrets there. There are a lot of personal items, including a stunning array of diaries and notebooks from explorers. For example, there is Hudson Stuck's diary of his ascent of Mount Denali. The University of Alaska just ordered a copy of it for their files. The archives also have Gerald McKiernan's diary of five year's travel through southern Africa in the 1870's; the Fanning Collection comprising notebooks and correspondence from Edmund Fanning's exploration of the South Seas from 1799 to 1840; John F. Steward's diary of the Second Powell Colorado River Expedition; and correspondence regarding the scientific results of the Challenger Expedition of 1872-76. As the Society started partly in response to the searches for the lost Franklin Expedition, and further polar exploration, not surprisingly the AGS archives contain a wealth of polar materials. A sampling includes notebooks, diaries and original manuscripts of Sir George Hubert Wilkins; the log of Lincoln Ellsworth's Graf Zeppelin flight to the Arctic in 1931; memorabilia from Robert E. Peary, who was AGS President on his North Pole trek just before his successful one that got to (or really near) the Pole; diaries of Vilhajalmar Stefanson; and - photographically - original materials from Louise Arner Boyd and her expeditions to Greenland. There is also correspondence from the likes of David Livingston, John Wesley Powell, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Frederick Jackson Turner, Alfred Wallace, Charles Francis Adams, and Robert Falcon Scott. And a propeller from Charles Lindbergh. He was a Fellow of AGS and, after he had made several flights in 1931 in his Lockheed Orion to prove the Great Circle route to Japan was viable, as the story goes, he drove up to the AGS building, then at 156th Street and Broadway, with a propeller sticking out of the back seat of his convertible, walked in and asked, "Hey, do you want a souvenir?" We still have it. There are, as well, records relating to government contracts carried out by the Society, ranging from the Map of the Arctic Region, done for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, to country handbooks written during World War II, to the materials relating to the Inquiry of World War I. Colonel Edward House, President Woodrow Wilson's chief adviser, established the Inquiry to amass information needed for Wilson's approach to the post-war world. The information gathered was ultimately shipped to France for the Versailles Peace Conference. The Inquiry was based at the AGS because of the superior library , map collection and cartographic facilities. This geographical connection led Secretary of State Robert Lansing in 1919 to ask for Bowman and the Society's help with a border dispute between Guatemala and Honduras. Bowman recommended an "Economic Survey" of the disputed territory. The dispute was finally settled in 1933, but, in the meanwhile, AGS took this impetus to start the Millionth Map Series - one inch to one million inches - from Mexico and the Caribbean down to Tierra del Fuego. The 104 sheets were produced between 1922 and 1945 and they still have an impact on border disputes. They were used as authoritative sources to settle disputes with visits to the AGS archives in 1925, 1929, 1932, 1933 In the early 90's, the office would get calls from the Chilean and Argentinian consulates in New York asking for copies of the Isla Wellington-Santa Cruz materials. There was no official word on whether or not they ever settled this. And in October 1998 Peru and Ecuador singed a peace accord on a border dispute after Peruvian diplomats consulted the Archives of the AGS over a three-year period. The Archives are not irrelevant to today's world. Just last December, we brought out the Fliers' and Explorers' Globe from the Archives. This Globe was given to the Society in 1929 by John H. Finley, President of the AGS from 1925 through 1934, and later Editor-in-Chief of The New York Times. Finley had a habit of inviting outstanding fliers and explorers to draw their routes on the Globe and then sign their names. After Finley presented the Globe to the Society, AGS continued the tradition. With over sixty names, the Globe is a unique collection of priceless graffiti. Some of the names on the Globe might be recognizable: Roald Amundsen, William Beebe, Louise Boyd, Richard Byrd, Amelia Earhart, Lincoln Ellsworth, John Glenn, Mathhew Hensen, Edmund Hillary, Charles Lindbergh, Fridtjof Nansen, Robert Peary, Wiley Post, and, the last to sign before the year 2000, Anders, Borman and Lovell from the first Apollo flight around the Moon. The American Geographical Society updated the archival Globe on 11 December 2000 with six new signers: Bertrand Piccard, Brian Jones, Walter Pittman, William Ryan, Neil Armstrong, and Don Walsh. Brian Jones and Bertrand Piccard were the first fliers ever to circumnavigate the earth by balloon in 1999. Walter Pittman and William Ryan explored the Black Sea floor and discovered a massive flood that occurred there about 7,500 years ago, possibly explaining the source of the story of Noah's Flood. William Ryan and colleagues explored the Mediterranean Sea floor and discovered a massive desiccation and then inundation that occurred there about five million years ago. Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the Moon in 1969. Don Walsh, along with Jacques Piccard, Bertrand Piccard's father, descended to the deepest part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench in 1960 in the bathyscaphe Trieste. Besides the famous names from the Archives, a wide variety of people, from scholars to the simply curious have made good use of the Archives. Just call us and ask for Peter Lewis, our Archivist, if you need to poke around. There is more. Oh, did I mention the Inuit stone axe head and, as the label says, "the matchbox with its contents left intact in a cabin built by Roald Amundsen on Mt. Betty, Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica, on his way home from the Discovery of the South Pole in December 1991"? But then they're no secret, merely further examples of the scope of the Archives befitting a scholarly society that first saw the light of day when Millard Fillmore was president, who himself, indeed, is a well-kept secret. "Hiding in the Archives" was presented at the: Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers - 3/2/01 Rendezvous Room, New York Hilton New York, New York AGS - Continuity and Change (Sponsored by AAG and Association History Committee) Organizer: Christopher Baruth, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panelists: Mary Lynne Bird, American Geographical Society Miklos Pinther, United Nations Geoffrey Martin, Southern Connecticut State University James W. Thomas, American Geographical Society Christopher Baruth, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee The Arthur Holzheimer Lecture Series: Maps and America - 5/18/01 American Geographical Society Collection, Golda Meier Library University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin PROGRAM Welcome John Wanat, Provost & Vice Chancellor, UWM Peter Watson-Boone, Director, Golda Meier Library Christopher Baruth, Curator, AGS Collection AGS Exploration: A Century on the Frontiers Jerome E. Dobson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Director of Exploration, AGS The AGS Cartographic Collections Dr. Christopher Baruth, Curator, AGS Collection The History of Cartography at the American Geographical Society Miklos Pinther, United Nations (Retired) The Archives of the American Geographical Society James Thomas, Programs Coordinator, American Geographical Society The Inquiry, the Paris Peace Conference and the AGS Geoffrey Martin, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Southern Connecticut State University AGS: Continuity and Change Mary Lynne Bird, Executive Director American Geographical Society Maps and Their Makers: A Sense of Where We Are John Noble Wilford, Senior Science Correspondent, New York Times and AGS Councilor Transparencies used in 18 May 2001 presentation follow: Letters: 1859 - Dr. David Livingstone, River Zambezi, Eastern Africa, postmarked Providence RI report on conditions in Africa 1862 - William H. Seward, Secretary of State Society resolution submitted for the consideration of the President 1873 - Dr. Henry [sic] Schliemann, archaeologist, Athens excavations of Troy, with photograph 1874 - General William T. Sherman, Headquarters Army of the United States visit to New York 1876 - John Wesley Powell, Department of the Interior visit to New York 1903 - Frederick A. Cook, Brooklyn proposal to President R.A. Peary and Society for expedition to Mount McKinley 1903 - Robert E. Peary, President, AGS in favor of lending a helping hand when its reasonable 1906 - Robert Falcon Scott, polar explorer thank you for the AGS Cullum Geographical Medal 1909 - Secretary Bridgman, Peary Arctic Club telegram North Pole discovered April sixth 1909 by Peary Arctic Club Expedition 1918 - Theodore Roosevelt, New York regrets for missing presentation of Cullum Medal to Professor Newell 1927 - T.E. Shaw (T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia) regrets for refusal to review books by Alois Musil on Arabia 1928 - George Hubert Wilkins, Detroit News-Wilkins Expedition to the Arctic to Isaiah Bowman listing code words for radio broadcast 1930 - Richard Byrd, Little America, Antarctica, radiogram thanks to John Finley and AGS for receiving the Livingstone Medal 1931 - Charles Lindbergh list of English and corresponding Russian words for emergencies 1931 - Rudyard Kipling, Burwash, Sussex, England to Isaiah Bowman thanking him for The Pioneer Fringe 1932 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Mansion, Albany, New York resignation from AGS Council because of new job offer unused letters 1864 - Charles Francis Adams, U.S. Ambassador to Britain, to Charles Waddell 1881 - Frederick Schwatka, to Robert Curren 1886 - Alfred Wallace, Quincy Hotel, to Albert Browne 1897 - Franz Boas, American Museum of Natural History, to Charles Daly 1916 - Roald Amundsen, Consulate of Norway, Chicago, to Isaiah Bowman 1919 - Hudson Stuck, Grace Church, Providence, Rhode Island, to John Greenough 1923 - William Beebe, Williams Galapagos Expedition, to Isaiah Bowman 1930 - Charles Lindbergh, Guggenheim Fund for Aeronautics, to Gladys Wrigley 1931 - Vilhjalmur Stefansson, New York, to Isaiah Bowman 1939 - Louise A. Boyd, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, to John K. Wright 1948 - Finn Ronne, Department of Commerce, to John K. Wright Illustrations: undated Nathaniel Palmer painting in AGS library 1971 - first day cover 10th anniversary of Antarctic Treaty The First Sighting of the Antarctic Mainland November 16, 1820 Portrait Courtesy of American Geographical Society 1855 - Memorial to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States supporting relief for Kane's 1853 expedition in search Sir John Franklin 1862 - Elisha Kent Kane engraving 1869 - engraving of Charles P. Daly, Chief Judge of the Common Pleas, AGS President 1870s John Wesley Powell photograph with Paiute Indian 1892 - Albert Operti painting, Last Franklin Search 1879 Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka and W.H. Gilder 1904 - Eighth International Congress photograph of R.A. Peary, President IGC & AGS 1916 - The Three Polar Stars, Bellevue Stratford Hotel, (Chicago ?) Captain Roald Amundsen, Sir Ernest Shackelton, Rear Admiral Robert Peary 1920 - New York Times, 23 Educators Taking Vast Data, Go With Wilson American Geographical Society Announces Personnel "Inquiry" Collated Facts Compiled by Staff of 150 Persons in U.S. and Abroad 1926 - Chart of Route Flown by Richard E. Byrd to the North Pole autographed For Dr. Bowman 1931 - American flag carried over South Pole by Richard E. Byrd to Dr. Bowman 1947 - Commander Finn Ronne, Leader of AGS 1947-48 Antarctic expedition last privately financed Antarctic expedition undated Lowell Thomas drawing 1955 - Louise Boyd's North Pole Expedition 1955 photograph 1969 - New York Daily News photograph, Apollo XI crew, July 1969 Edwin Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins 2000 - AGS Globe Signers Neil Armstrong, Don Walsh, Bertrand Piccard, Brian Jones, William Ryan, Walter Pittman Unused illustrations: 1872 - Henry M. Stanley's First Lecture in New York, "The Discovery of Livingstone" 1874 - Memorial Meeting to Commemorate the Life of the Late Dr. David Livingstone 1907 - New York Times, January 24, 1907, Peary Quits Office In Geographical Society Explorer Anticipates Election of a New President; A.M. Huntington Is Named The Commander's Successor Would Have Been Chosen Last Year but for His Absence in the Arctic 1927 - Charles Lindbergh, notes on lat. and long., San Diego, St. Louis, New York, Paris 1928 - New York Times, April 23, 1928, Two Cents Wilkins Sends The Times His Own Story of Polar Flight; Found No Land Where Peary And Others Thought It Lay: Changed Course 22 Times Before Blizzard Trapped Them James W. Thomas has been with the American Geographical Society since 1988. Starting as an administrative assistant, he moved up to Programs Coordinator, which covers a multitude of opportunities from teacher liaison to author. It's a day job that turned into a career. Immediately preceding AGS, he was Associate Director of the American Directors Institute, a theatre directors' service organization, and New York Showroom Manager for Kartell USA, an Italian-designed, high-tech plastic furniture and accessories company. The theatre was the chosen field and the showroom was the day job. Before this, temporary and short-term jobs stretch from his early days in Manhattan back to selling aluminum siding during the summer just after college. Death of a Salesman made a lot more sense that July. During 'free time' now, he is the President of the St. David's Society of the State of New York, a Welsh heritage association, and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Welsh-American Foundation. He is also an actor and playwright with the Institute Theatre Lab at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York. Keeping up with the American Geographical Society is a long distance run. And Mr. Thomas is looking forward this November to his seventeenth finish in the New York City Marathon. Jue Guiue to Mudula Natural ralk reaks OI Accura JOE'S GUIDE TO ACADIA NATIONAL PARK CITRUSMILD.COM THE PEAKS OF ACADIA Below is a list of Acadia National Park's named peaks with notes and links to the trails that lead to the summit. Most visitors to Acadia National Park are Esty familiar with Cadillac Mountain, the tallest and most famous peak on Mt. 34 om Desert Island, but Acadia is sprinkled with dozens more beautiful peaks, each with multiple compelling trails that lead to the summits. While the elevations of Acadia's peaks may seem incredibly low compared to the mountains out west, these hikes can still be strenuous and exposed, and the views from the summits are still breathtaking, especially with the Atlantic Ocean or various lakes in the background far below. The next time you are back on Mt. Desert Island, try to tag as many summit markers as you can! HALL Serta Perfect Sleeper Hotel Regal $999.00 Save 50% + Free Shipping! Serta Peak: Height: Notes: us Cadillac Mountain The highest peak in Acadia is a very popular spot for sunrise and sunset and is the Breen only summit in Acadia that you can drive to the top of. A nice and easy hike at top is 1529 the Cadillac Mountain Summit Loop. Several longer hikes up from the bottom to the feet summit include the Gorge Path, the Cadillac South Ridge Trail, Cadillac North Ridge Trail, and the Cadillac West Face Trail. Sargent Mountain Acadia's second highest peak is located due west of Cadillac Mountain across Eagle Lake and Bubble Pond, with 1373 feet numerous hiking routes leading to the top, including the Sargent South Ridge Trail, the Sargent East Cliffs Trail, the Grandgent Trail, the Hadlock Brook Trail, and the Maple Spring Trail. 945 Dorr Mountain Located just east of its larger companion Cadillac Mountain, Dorr Mountain also has trails to the summit from all 1270 418 Flying Squadron feet directions of the compass, including the Ladder Trail/Schiff Path, Dorr South Ridge Trail, and the Dorr North Ridge Dry Trail. Pemetic Mountain 1248 The towering and majestic peak sandwiched between Jordan Pond and Bubble Pond. Access via the Pemetic South feet Ridge Trail, Pemetic North Ridge Trail and the steep and intimidating Pemetic Northwest Trail. 319 Penobscot Mountain Formerly known as "Jordan Mountain", this majestic peak has wonderful views and Jordan wonderous granite formations. Access via Spring Trail/Penobscot Mountain Trail and 1194 alternatively, the exposed and thrilling Jordan Cliffs Trail, feet 118 Bernard Mountain 1071 The tallest peak of the Western Mountain pantheon on the "quiet side" of Mt. Desert Island. Access via the Western feet Bernard Mountain Trail, Sluiceway Trail, and alternate start up the West Ledge Trail. Champlain Mountain One of the easternmost peaks on Mt. Desert Island, located along the Park Loop Road north of Sand Beach. Trails 18 Newport 1058 feet lead to the top from all directions of the compass: the famous and intimidating Precipice Trail, the Champlain South Ridge Trail, the Champlain North Ridge Trail, and the Beachcroft Path. Gilmore Peak A small peak compared to its imposing neighbor, Sargent Mountain, this often overlooked peak offers some great views. Access via a Bald Peak, Parkman 1036 Mountain, Gilmore Peak hike or also the Giant Slide Trail loop hike. feet Bald Peak A wonderful little peak that offers up some great views. Access via a Bald Peak, Parkman Mountain, Gilmore Peak 974 feet hike; tag three peaks in one hike! ik Mansell Mountain Western 949 feet The other major peak of the Western Mountain pantheon, a plethora of trails lead to the summit, including the http://www.citrusmilo.com/acadiaguide/peaksofacadia.cfm 1/3 J 10 Guiue LO Acadia National Park line Peaks or Acadia Perpendicular Trail, the Mansell Mountain Trail, and the Razorback Trail. Cedar Swamp Mountain Tucked away in the "Middle Peaks" area, this mountain offers wonderful views of the "amphitheater" to the 942 feet southeast. Access via the long and wandering Sargent South Ridge Trail. Knight Nubble A small forested companion peak to the larger Bernard Mountain in the Western Mountain pantheon. Access via 930 feet the Bernard Mountain Trail, the nearby Razorback Trail, or the Great Notch Trail. 1919 Parkman Mountain Formerly known as "Little Brown Mountain," this is a wonderful little peak that offers up some great views. Access from 941 feet via a Bald Peak, Parkman Mountain, Gilmore Peak hike; tag three peaks in one hike! Brown North Bubble The taller of the two "Bubbles" (North and South) as seen from the Jordan Pond House, the view of Jordan Pond from the summit is spectacular. Access via the North 872 feet Bubble Trail. 918 Norumbega Mountain 852 feet A relatively isolated peak sitting on the east shore of Somes Sound. Access via the "Goat Trail" or the connected Brown's Norumbega Mountain Trail. Beech Mountain Located in the heart of the "quiet side" between Long Pond and Echo Lake, Beech Mountain is famous for the fire 839 feet tower at its summit. Several routes lead to the top, including the Beech Mountain Loop trails, the Valley Trail/Beech Mountain South Ridge Trails, and the more remote West Ridge Trail. South Bubble The shorter and closer of the two "Bubbles" (North and South) as seen from the Jordan Pond House. Home to the 768 feet famous "Bubble Rock" balancing at a cliff's edge. Access via the South Bubble Trail. 918 Huguenot Head Formerly named "Picket Mountain," this is a companion peak to the larger Champlain Mountain. Access via the thomplain 731 feet Beachcroft Path, although the trail doesn't go over the summit. McFarland Mountain 724 feet Located northwest of Eagle Lake; no maintained trail leads to the top. The Triad This peak with three high points is located south of Pemetic Mountain and north of Picket Day Mountain. Hiking options include a Day Mountain Trail/Triad Trail loop and an 698 feet approach via the remote Hunters Brook Trail. 918 Acadia Mountain Acadia's namesake peak and oddly enough, the only peak on Mt. Desert Island that runs east-west rather than Robinson 681 feet north-south. Access via the Acadia Mountain Trail, this is one of the most popular and scenic hikes on the "quiet side". Youngs Mountain 680 feet Located northwest of Eagle Lake; no maintained trail leads to the top. St. Sauveur Mountain Formerly known as "Dog Mountain" and located just south of Acadia Mountain on the "quiet side" of Mt. Desert Dog 679 feet Island, access is via the St. Sauveur Mountain Trail. Conners Nubble A minor peak just north of North Bubble, this summit offers wonderful views looking down at Eagle Lake. Access 588 feet via the North Bubble Trail. Day Mountain A minor peak on the south side of Mt. Desert Island near Seal Harbor. Access via the Day Mountain Trail. This is 583 feet also the only peak you can bike to the top of via carriage road. Valley Peak Perhaps it could be considered merely an extension of St. Sauveur Mountain's southern ridge, but Valley Peak 530 feet offers wonderful views down onto Somes Sound. Access via a St. Sauveur Mountain loop hike or a longer Flying Mountain/Valley Peak loop hike. Gorham Mountain A small peak located right next to Ocean Path that offers terrific views of the Atlantic Ocean. Access from the north 525 feet and south via the Gorham Mountain Trail. The Beehive While one of the shortest named peaks in Acadia, this mountain is steep and photogenic! Access via the thrilling Beehive Trail iron rung route or from the back 520 feet side via the milder Bowl Trail. Kebo Mountain A very minor peak that is the extension of the Dorr Mountain north ridge. Access via the Kebo Mountain/Dorr 407 feet North Ridge Trails. Brewer Mountain 444 feet Located north of Eagle Lake; no maintained trail leads to the top. Bald Mountain Not quite a mountain and not to be confused with the taller Bald Peak, Bald Mountain is part of the southwest 405 feet ridge of Bernard Mountain on the quiet side of Mount Desert Island. Access via the Bernard Mountain West Ledge Trail. Flying Mountain 284 feet Credited as the shortest named peak in Acadia, a short hike along the Flying Mountain Trail leads to a beautiful view above Somes Sound. Great Head Located just east of Sand Beach, this seaside high point isn't really a peak, but it does have its own summit 145 feet elevation marker. Access via Sand Beach and the Great Head Trail. http://www.citrusmilo.com/acadiaguide/peaksofacadia.cfm 2/3 The lloontains of llaine un Mount Kataludin balled simply by locals). About 1860, trails were marked IIII Mount kimon to Huntin at the Nount Nineo House, and trails on Mount Desert Island Intriguing Stories Behind Their Names WEIL Millied in 1/16 11:11 los the early insticators, Only a few other peaks, such as Pleasant Minked Mountain, the Dixmont Mountains, and Mount Waldo, had trails built Southern Coast Steven R. Pinkhan who the Iwentieth entury. Dozens of new trails opened up as fire lookout towers began Downeast, heing constitu around 1900, and while that function has basically ceased, most of the and Lowlands 2009 original trails are still the most direct and often the only approach to a summit. Camden. Elevations listed in Mountains of Maine come from several sources. The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), which maintains the list of New England's 100 highest mountains, used the topographical maps as well as GPSs and other instruments to come up with the closest current elevations of all the Maine peaks higher than 3,774 feet. All other mountain elevations are taken from the most current topographical maps of the state. Wherever possible, I have listed specific and accurate elevations; for others, I have listed the height according to their highest visible contour line on the map. Elevations are always subject to change as new maps are created and as measuring instruments and procedures become more accurate. Most of the maps for the northern half of Maine were updated in the late 1980s, with a few produced from 1997 to 2000. For many in the southern and more populated regions, the older maps, often dating from 1969 and 1970, have been photo- graphically updated. Mountains and hills get named in many ways. Often the names are descriptive or refer Colcord Pond from Devil's Den Mountain to an early settler or important land owner. Surprisingly few mountains have Wabanaki names, such as Kineo and Katahdin. Especially in the northern part of the state, the native names today applied to mountains actually originated as names for water bodies. Native T the southern coast of Maine, from the border of New Hampshire to the Kennebec River, can be divided in two-the beaches that stretch from hunters always named the lakes, streams, and waterways that were their navigational routes. Kittery to Portland and a coastline from Portland to Bath that's rocky. This Later, the settlers, trappers, and hunters would apply the waterway's name to an adjacent part of the coast has only a few small "mountains" located anywhere near mountain or ridge. the coast, most notably Mount Agamenticus/ in the southwestern section. Some mountain names have been based on legend while others have been based on like the hills of Mount Desert Island, several small hills and knobs along this conjecture, always open to the reader's interpretation. Still others have been named for an ,tretch of coast were given the title of mountain" to aggrandize their size and event that occurred in the vicinity. Often, a mountain named for some long-ago trapper, importance, with such names as Mount Ararat, in Topsham, Morse Mountain, hunter, or lumberman is the only remaining record of that individual, and today's researcher and Bradbury Mountain. However, these small hills did serve very important can find no reliable record of the mountain namesake's identity. lunction by being lookouts for ships returning home and for enemy ships This book does not cover every mountain, hill, or ridge in Maine. Many names are too during wartime. common and redundant, such as Round Mountain or Black Mountain, and are only listed The southern coast also includes the lowlands, which stretch inland as here if they have a story, fire tower, ski area, or some other notable feature associated with much as fifty to seventy miles. It includes the mountains in the counties of them. But there are enough unique names and intriguing stories to fill many pages with York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, and Androscoggin, and the land lying west interesting glimpses of Maine history and legend. of the Kennebec River in Kennebec County. Bordered on the north and west by the Oxford Hills, it is bordered further east by the foothills of the upper tennobec Region. in this coastal area, the hills and mountains are pretty well No name/subject indux. Polited, nowhere do they form distino I liking with the possible exception of the mountain clasters around the Belgrade Region. 8 MOUNTAINS SOUTHERN COANT 9 Interestingly, when Route 9 comes to the western side of Tug Mountain in township T30 MD PP, rather than climbing over the mountain, the road veers north, crosses the Machias River, turns south, then continues east again. Acadia: Mount Tunk Mountain 10 1,157 feet This solitary mountain in township T10 SD north of Sullivan takes its name from nearby Desert Island and Tunk Stream, which may be a Wabanaki word for a principal, or large, stream. This is the most likely meaning of the name, but a folk story has grown up around this name as well. Isle au Haut One evening, a local family invited a few nearby lumbermen to dine at their house. They served a common meat stew with soft bread dumplings on top. Extra dumplings remained in a dish, and when the meal was over, one of the men asked the family what they were going to do with the leftover dumplings. The host, being something of a joker, said, "This!" as he threw one directly at the inquiring man. That began a free-for-all and soon everyone was throwing the dumplings at one another. Whenever one missed its mark and hit the wall, it would make a tunk sound. Noticing this, the men coined a new word, and when they wanted to hit a certain person, they would cry, "Tunk him!" In remembrance of the rollicking fun they had, they called the area Tünk from then on. In nearby Cherryfield there is a small hill known locally as Young Tunk Mountain, a smaller version of its neighbor in Sullivan. Wabassus Mountain 820 feet Situated due west of Grand Lake Stream, this mountain most likely was called after the nearby lake of the same name. According to Phillip Rutherford, the name is from the Maliseet language and means "torchlight" or "shining. It is not clear whether this refers to moonlight on the water or some other phenomenon. Mount Desert Island Wallamatogus Mountain 480 feet ount Desert is the largest of Maine's many islands. Its tallest mountain, Wallamatogus Mountain is a small hill in the town of Penobscot, next to Penobscot Bay. M ( adillac, is the highest point of land on the Atlantic seaboard until one Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, in her extensive research of names on the coast of Maine, decided INDI 110 Mount Sugarloaf, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Wabanakis, who came that this one is definitely derived from a water name, not a mountain name. After inter- here pull summer to feast on clams and fish, called it Pemetic Island. viewing a number of locals, she concluded that the Wabanaki name Wallamatogus was akin on emplember 5, 1604, Samuel Champlain sailed by this beautiful island and to the word waliniticus, referring to a place where a brook runs into a cove. She further wills. of it in his journal: "The same day we passed also near an Island about four deduced that in this instance the cove lies at the head of Bagaduce Narrows. live beijues long. It is very high, notched in places, so as to appear from the range of seven or eight mountains close together. The summits of Washington Bald Mountain III 983 feet most of them are bare of trees for they are nothing but rock I named it the In 1789, the easternmost county of Maine was set off and named for George Washington. Manil of the Desert Mountains." The name, which has remained for almost four The beautiful chain of Machias Lakes in Washington County form a circular pattern around hundred years, did not refer to the island as a barren desert, but rather to its being the base of this small but prominent mountain. The name Washington was added to differ described," () uninhabited. Today there are three towns on the island, and it is entiate it from other Bald Mountains in the state. For many years, its summit was used as a home beautiful Acadia National Park. fire lookout station. Hogoning III the 1850s, artists and explorers, "rusticators" as they came to I'm alled, discovered the Island and began summering here, Many fascinating Hail: the tooky tenan and around the ponds In addition, 46 MOUNTAINS or MAINE magnificent summer "cottages" were built on the eastern portion of the island, making Bar Harbor Acadia Mountain 681 feet a rival to Newport, Rhode Island. David Robinson emigrated with his family from Cape Cod, first settling at Goose Cove, then By 1913, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., George B. Dorr, and other wealthy benefactors had acquired relocating to Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. This little mountain on the west side 6000 acres, which they donated to the federal government to create the Sieur de Monts National of Somes Sound was first called Monument, which later, with even more acreage added, became Lafayette National Park. in 1929 Robinson Mountain for this family, Gold Digger's Glen the name was changed to Acadia, The new name came from l'Acadie, the French term for a broad but was changed to Acadia when Various stories of buried treasure in the vicinity of Somes region stretching from the Penobscot River across Nova Scotia. Today the park encompasses some the national park was renamed. Sound have been passed down through the years. The 47,000 acres on Mount Desert Island, Isle au Haut, and Schoodic peninsula on the mainland. L'Acadie, meaning "the place," basic story relates that either Captain Kidd, an unnamed During the Depression, Rockefeller hired local men to complete more than sixty miles of was the French pronunciation of pirate, or a French captain, being hotly pursued by the carriage paths within the parks, as well as an auto road to the top of Cadillac Mountain. These the Indian name for a vast land British, buried his treasure in this area. Several sites have paths made the park more accessible to hikers and walkers of all backgrounds, and gave access to nita with vaguely defined borders. been named as the place where the gold was stashed, many spectacular sites. Some claimed that it stretched and one of them is the notch between Acadia Mountain The fire of 1947, which razed most of the wealthy rusticators' cottages, ended the island's from the Maritime Provinces south and Flying Mountain, known as Gold Digger's Glen. status as a playground of the rich. At the same time, the fire, which swept over many of the ridges, to New Jersey. In 1603, King Henry Yet another explanation for the name holds that a man opened up many of the wide vistas we enjoy today. Here, in this truly unique place, a relatively short IV of France granted a patent named James Long buried his treasure there under a hike brings the reward of breathtaking views. granting Pierre du Guast, Sieur de large flat stone with his name chiseled on it. Monts, exclusive rights to colonize In 1877, Benjamin DeCosta told several more Isle au Haut and trade in this vast territory. In stories about this treasure, theorizing that the booty L ying to the southwest of Mount Desert, and accessible by ferry from Stonington, Deer Isle, is this patent the region was named may have actually been money, gold, and church relics remote Isle au Haut, about half of which is now part of Acadia National Park. When Champlain Cadie, the first time this name hidden by Father Biard when his early settlement was passed this island in his explorations, he noted its several small mountains and gave it its descriptive was mentioned in print. The name attacked by the British. name, which means "high island." A few years after Champlain, in 1614, Captain John Smith sailed litter evolved into the present-day by this conspicuous island and wrote, "The remarkablest lles and mountains for Landmarkes are As india. these; The highest lle or Sorico, in the Bay of Pennobskot. This was his phonetic spelling of the Wabanaki name Solikuk, meaning "shell place." As Fannie Hardy Eckstorm noted, there were piles Bald Mountain 167 feet of shells-middens-all along the coast of Maine, but none was ever found on this island, leaving Hold Mountain, a peninsula on the western side of Isle au Haut, creates a large sheltered cove the name a mystery. known as Moore Harbor. It gets its name, like other Bald Mountains, because it is open and The island's highest point, at 543 feet, was later named Champlain Mountain, in honor of the The southern end of the Bald Mountain peninsula forks and the cove in the middle is early explorer. (Interestingly, Isle au Haut Mountain is about nine miles to the east, on an entirely known as the Seal Trap. In an Outing magazine article published in 1885, writer Arlo Bates different island. It's a small hill on Vinalhaven, so named because Isle au Haut can be seen from its ulated that the name refers to the fact that the cove was a convenient place for early 187-foot summit.) millers to trap and kill seals for their skins. Another theory is that the name may have origi- On the 1904 topographical map of Isle au Haut, there are no hiking trails, only roads, which did nated as ciel trappe, meaning "sky-trapped" in French. not make a loop around the island as they do today. The eastern road ended at Head Harbor and the western one at Western Head. On a 1944 map, however, there are nine or ten unnamed trails Beech Mountain 841 feet crisscrossing the island, some crossing Champlain, Rocky, Jerusalem, and Wentworth mountains. this mountain is on the western side of Mount Desert Island, between Long Pond and Echo A new trail, built by the National Park Service in 1990, is the Nat Merchant Trail. Born on Deer I the and has several peaks. The tallest, overlooking Long Pond, was originally called Nipple Isle in 1801, Nathaniel Merchant spent most of his life on the water, fishing among the forty or so Mountain, due to its shape. In 1877, historian Benjamin DeCosta described it "as round as a islands forming the archipelago between Deer Isle and Isle au Haut. (Sprout, Potato, Enchanted, while's back." The name was soon changed to the more respectable Beech Mountain, for the Devil, and Hell's Half Acre are some of the interesting island names found here ) Nathaniel even- mmmerous opper beech trees once found there. It had also been known as Defile Mountain, tually settled on Isle au Haut, where he lived with the family of (/m lumer and spent his days probably il description of the rock's appearance. A fire lower has graced its summit since 1937. wandering around the island. the acond peak has il great ledge. once known as Storm Chill, which was believed to create aloun out of nowhere. It lies il thousand feet above Echo Lake and is reached by the Beech ALAUIA MOUNT DEMENT ISLAND w 48 MOUNTAINS Cliff Loop Trail. The most direct route to the top of the cliff is via a steep but fascinating trail 30s, they built a sluice, or long trough, to transport rocks and gravel on the eastern side built by landscape architect Benjamin Breeze and his gang of CCC workers in the 1930s. ml the mountain. By 1961 the Sluiceway Trail, ascending Bernard Mountain, had been built The Canada Cliffs form the steep eastern side of Beech Mountain. Early settlers evidently along the same course. could see all the way to Canada from this vantage point. Grand Manan Island, with its high cliffs, lies due east of Acadia, in the waters of New Brunswick, and would have been the piece Bowditch Mountain H 490 feet of Canada visible from here. In 1880, Ernest Bowditch, a noted landscape designer from Boston, and his friend, Albert )tis, of Belfast, Maine, first visited Isle au Haut and were so taken by its beauty and remote- Echo Lake ness that they soon purchased land there. Bowditch was a contemporary of Frederick Law Nestled between Beech Mountain and Acadia Mountain on the western side of the island, this )linsted and in his life landscaped many beautiful parks, including Rogers Fort Hill Park beautiful sheet of water once bore the name Denning's Pond, for Benjamin Denning, who operated III Lowell, Massachusetts, the grounds of Salve Regina University, The Elms in Newport, a lumber business and sawmill at its outlet. Dennings Brook still memorializes his name. The and Tuxedo Park in Tuxedo, New York. Telling their friends about this wonderful island, lake was later known as Silence Lake, then as Crescent Lake. Today's name was inspired by the Bowditch and Otis brought up friends from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and resounding echoes created by Beech Cliff, on its western shore. Both the Boy Scouts and the Appa- formed the Point Lookout Club, a private fishing fraternity. They proceeded to construct lachian Mountain Club have built summer camps at this favorite canoeing and swimming spot. it I lubhouse and a series of cottages for themselves, and new roads, library, school, and a much-needed wharf for the fledgling island community. When the National Park Service obtained a large part of the island from the descendants The Beehive 540 feet of Ernest Bowditch and other club members, they named one of the higher peaks after the Frederick Edwin Church, student of renowned painter Thomas Cole, first visited Mount Desert entrepreneurial Bowditch family. Island in 1850. He gave this conical-shaped pinnacle its current name due to its resemblance to The Bowditch Trail diverges from the Duck Harbor Trail, crosses the summit of an old-fashioned straw beehive (skep) when viewed from the south. Rudolph Brunnow created Bowditch Mountain, and just south of the summit joins the Long Pond Trail. the dizzying climb up the Beehive's south face in 1916, using several dozen iron handholds and a few ladders to help climbers across the most difficult obstacles and pitches. The Bubbles M 872 feet and 766 feet Today, the Beehive is Maine's most frequently climbed mountain, and in the summer, these two almost perfectly rounded mountains at the head of Jordan Pond were earlier known a steady line of hikers are often seen working their way up the intensely steep cliff. Older the Boobies or Bubbies, for obvious reasons. The Twin Hills and The Bubbles were more maps show a small pond, called Kiff Pond, at the foot of the mountain. The pond is filling respectable alternative names. The view of The Bubbles from the Jordan Pond House, looking in now and disappearing. It is not known where its name came from. Bernard Mountain (1) 1,071 feet Sir Francis Bernard was educated at Oxford, became a member of the bar, and was assigned as governor of New Jersey, where he served the people well from 1758 to 1760. Trans- ferred in 1760 to be the governor of Massachusetts, he became quite unpopular when he enforced the Stamp Act and other English laws the American colonists found distasteful. His authority became so weak that he was called back to England in 1769. During his tenure in Boston he devised a scheme to gain proprietorship rights of Mount Desert Island. While visiting his island property in 1762, he was alarmed to find that squatters already settled on some of the most valuable farmland. Bernard restructured the lots and tried to compel the squatters to pay him rent; however, when the Revolu- tionary War broke out, he was forced to hastily return to England and never profit from his land-holdings. In the 1920s, George Dorr applied the former governor's name 10 this eastern peak of Pond Western Mountain. and "Imbbic". When the men of the Civilian Conservation Comp were working III the HIM in the lie Hubbies and Jondan Pond 50 MOUNTAINS ALADIA MOUNT DEBUNT INLAND wonder If Acadin National Park. Native Americans who visited the island City li summer had then own lite of how The Bubbles originated during a terrible battle between il good god and ill evil god. One of them stood on Sargent Mountain, the other on Pemelto Mountain, and they squared off for down a great duel. During the ensuing battle, the evil god fell from his mountain and on his tore two mounds of rock off the cliff. These great slabs, which became the two Bubbles, way landed on the evil god, burying him forever. The good god became the victor and peace came to the valley. Bubble Pond, its name notwithstanding, is actually located in a deep notch between Pemetic Mountain and Cadillac Mountain. First called Turtle Lake, it was for a while known as Twinhill Pond and named after the nearby Bubble Mountains. Cadillac Mountain K 1,528 feet He Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac (1658-1730) was the son of a minor nobleman in Gascony. entered the army at a young age, serving first as a cadet before rising to lieutenant in 1677. Having finished his time in the military, young Cadillac sailed to the New World in CHAMPLAIN MOUNTAIN FROM THE EMERY PATH. BAR HARBOR. ME. 1683, where he established a home Champlain mountain from the Emery Path at Port Royal, now Annapolis, Nova Scotia. In 1687, he married Eagle's Crag and Featherbed Pond Marie-Therese Guyon in Quebec. About halfway between the Blackwoods Campground and resert Island was previously called Newport Mountain, for Christopher Newport, the They initially lived on Mount the summit of Cadillac, the South Ridge Trail passes over elebrated English mariner; then Green Mountain, for the pine trees that grew on its sides Desert Island for a brief period, Eagle's Crag (698 feet), named for a huge eagle's nest that his mise of its many springs. When the town of Bar Harbor was still known as Eden, some where Cadillac had been given a once could be seen there. Other rock formations in the members of the U.S Coastal Survey renamed this mountain Adam's Apple, but the name grant of land. They spent a season vicinity of Eagle's Crag also have interesting names. One teren Mountain remained more popular. Finally, George Dorr, father of Acadia National in Hull's Cove, but fearing an that resembles a crouching lion was called the Old Leopard. Park, had it changed to honor the French nobleman. attack by the British, soon moved South of that formation are the Old Man and Old Woman, A summit hotel once graced its top, and at different times a cog railroad and an auto road back to Canada. some pits called the Pot Holes, and a nearby mound known were constructed to enable visitors to reach the summit and enjoy the magnificent views Cadillac's was a checkered as Adam's Grave. with little effort. career that took him back and forth One mile south of Cadillac's summit, three trails See also: Great Hill, the White Cap. between France and the New World, converge at a small pond known as the Featherbed, making a goodly number of enemies which is nearly filled in now and rapidly evolving into a Champlain Mountain 1,060 feet along the way. He died in his native wet meadow. The name may have been suggested by the Cadillac was not the only peak once named in honor of English mariner Christopher province, at the Castle of Sarrazine. soft appearance of the tall yellow and purple grasses that Newport. This mountain on the eastern side of Mount Desert Island was originally called In 1787, his heirs petitioned the fill the dying pond. For many years, the flat area around Newport Mountain, but George Dorr changed the name to honor Samuel de Champlain, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts the pond was known as the Great Snake Flat, though Father of New France. to receive his grants in Maine, and that name does not appear on modern maps. Benjamin Christopher Newport (1665?-1617) became a privateer and in 1592 sailed to the West when his granddaughter, Marie DeCosta heard an explanation of the name during one of Indies, where he took the Spanish ship Madre de Dios, claimed to be the richest prize ever Therese de Gregoire, later visited his early visits to the island in the 1870s. According to this secured by an Elizabethan privateer. Newport was later employed by the London Company, America, the Commonwealth of tale, farmers were losing sheep that ventured too near making four excursions to Virginia between 1606 and 1610, including being shipwrecked on Massachusetts granted her the the pond. They discovered that a great serpent or snake the Bermuda Islands in 1609. He later made three voyages for the East India Company, but eastern half of Mount Desert Island. was devouring their precious flocks, so they formed an died on his third excursion at Bantam, in what is now Indonesia. This highest point on Mount armed band and slew the creature. Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635), born at Brouge, France, learned the art of naviga- lion from his sea captain father. An able and enterprising young man, he was a soldier in 52 MOUNTAINS OF MAINE ACADIA: MOUNT DESERT ISLAND 53 AND ISLE AU HAUT MOUNTAIN WHA renamed in nonor or Cleorge Dorn the man often referred to as the father of Acadia. This wealthy, energette visionary spent his emly years on Mount aamini the climber In the more difficult areas, which also given the hiker the feeling of an Desert Island and remained, exploring every corner of the Island. This mountain's northeast Spine limb. A series of ladders in the upper Mri tion Have this path its name. shoulder is also known as Sieur de Monts Crag. time look its toll on the Ladder Trail. 11 WAN abandoned for a few years, but in the 1930s, Dorr Mountain offers several outstanding hiking trails. The Dorr Mountain Trail was the ( Ivilian Conservation Corps, under the direction of Madison B. Knowles, sought to originally known as the Emery Path, named in honor of John S. Emery, and its construction lising the trail back to its original style, and basically had to rebuild it. They used Bates's was financed by Emery's widow. This steep one-and-a-half-mile trail, which traverses the original stones until they ran out of available rock. Luckily for the crew, the road up Mount east side of the mountain, contains many rock steps and switchbacks. 4 mililla was being built about the same time. Stone was trucked from there and painstak- George Dorr created another trail as a memorial to Mrs. Charles Homans, a summer listly hand carried up the mountain and put in place on the Ladder Trail. The current Ladder resident who donated large tracts of land for the National Park. This path ascends the east timil follows most of Bates's original path, except for the last 175 or so steps, where today's face of the mountain, and contains more than four hundred perfectly designed steps and mail takes il more direct approach to the summit. switchbacks. Oddly, the path did not lead anywhere. After climbing up the steep side of the A mail up Dorr Mountain from the north was built in memory of Jacob Schiff, a man mountain, it abruptly ended, and nobody seems to know why. In 2003, the National Park who contributed in many ways to the trails of the Bar Harbor region. Now part of the Dorr Service and Friends of Acadia reopened this trail, making another circuit of Dorr Mountain Alumnian Trail, this fascinating path first climbs up more than six hundred stone steps, then possible from the eastern side. along the lip of a cliff some seven hundred feet above Tarn Pond and connects with the In 1915, Dorr built a short, steep trail up the mountain's east face and named it in memory lormer Jomans Path, Emery Path, and Kurt Diederich's Climb on its way to the summit. of Kurt Diederich, grandson of Boston artist William Hunt. It includes an impressive 700-step Duck Harbor Mountain 15 309 feet stone stairway as it winds its way through a reconstructed talus slope. The former Kurt Diederich Climb is now known by the less impressive title of East Face Trail, but still brings a thrill to the the name of Duck Harbor, a cove on the southeastern end of Isle au Haut, harks back to the hiker and stimulates deep respect for the backbreaking work put into moving the rocks and mid 1800s, when the inhabitants of the island would hunt ducks during the molting season, stacking them cleverly into steps. when the ducks could not fly. Surrounding large flocks with their boats, the hunters would hirld the birds into this small inlet where they could be killed without any chance of escape. In 1891, Waldron Bates, a young, energetic lawyer from Boston, began building the Ladder Trail, another challenging and dizzying route up the cliff on the east side of the Many stories were told of the huge numbers of birds taken. The name of the harbor was later transferred to the small mountain, and today, the mountain. Bates and his small crew painstakingly moved thousands of rocks into place to limbor serves as the entrance to the Isle au Haut portion of Acadia National Park. The Duck build a staircase of 1,075 stone steps. This was also one of the first trails to use iron rungs Habbor Trail crosses the summit of this small mountain. Indian Pass Eliot Mountain 456 feet The deep, long notch bétween Dorr Mountain and Champlain Mountain was once a route used by this small mountain on the east side of Northeast Harbor was originally known as Asticou's the Wabanakis, who summered on the island, used when they hunted for beaver in the local ponds. Mountain, for the chief of the Penobscot band that summered here. Later it was sometimes Archaeological evidence indicates that the local native tribes have been visiting the island, especially the called Savage Mountain, after a local family, but eventually was named in honor of Charles Somes Sound area, since around 1000 BC. William Eliot, noted conservationist and president of Harvard College. Indian Pass was logged several times during the 1800s. Early loggers cut and harvested logs, In 1869, after a trip to Europe, Eliot wrote several articles on education that attracted floating them down the notch during the spring melt. They first hauled the logs to the Tarn and Otter wide attention. Later that year he was selected to be president of Harvard College, a post he Cove by sled, then used a Model T to get them to their destination. held for four decades, retiring in 1909 at the age of seventy-five. In 1880, his son Charles On the southern end of the pass, Harold Peabody and his crew opened a trail in 1925 from Ellot led a small group of Harvard students, the Champlain Society, to Northeast Harbor, the Canon Brook Trail leading north to the high point between the two mountains and named it where they set up camp for two summers and spent their days performing scientific experi- the A Murray Young Path for one of their comrades. A tablet on the path is inscribed "In Memory ments and exploring. of Andrew Murray Young, who loved this Island where God has given of His Beauty with a lavish Taken by the beauty of the area, Charles advised his father to build a summer home on hand 1861-1924. Canyon Brook, which often runs dry in the summer and only flows after a good 11 lot that he described as "a site with beautiful views of seas and hills, good anchorage, fine rainstorm, was named because its bed resembles à western canyon, but the letter y got dropped over rocks and beach and no flats." President Eliot liked the idea and subsequently purchased a time, and the misspelled Canon Brook name is now the official designation. 100-acre lot that included the Asticou Ridge and some shore frontage. In 1902, in response to logging activity high up on Dry Mountain and Green Mountain 56 MOUNTAINS OF MAINE ACADIA: MOUNT DESERT ISLAND 57 AND ISLE AU HAUT Asticou Ridge This ridge on the lower flanks of Eliot Mountain was named after a local Penobscot Indian leader. Joseph H. Curtis purchased land in Northeast Harbor in 1880. On the lower part of the ridge he built a beautiful stepped garden that he called Asticou Terraces. Today, the Asticou Terraces Trail connects some of the higher mountain trails to nearby Thuya Gardens. In 1613, two Jesuit missionaries, accompanied by Jesuit theologian Pierre Biard and forty-five hearty colonists, sailed southward for Kedusquit, later the site of Bangor, to claim the lands for Biard's sponsor, Antoinette de Pons, marquise de Guercheville. In his search for the legendary land of Norumbega, Blard landed instead at Somes Sound, on Mount Desert Island. One legend relates that Asticou, a local Penobscot* chief, lay ailing from a mysterious illness and sent for the missionary in order to ask the priest's blessing. Other versions of the story say that Asticou only feigned the illness in order to gain the friendship of these new Europeans. Either way, Biard's blessing apparently cured the chief and gained the confidence of the tribe, so Biard decided to stay and established his mission nearby. Valley Cove from Flying Mountain (Dorr and Cadillac today), Eliot published a small article titled, "The Proper Development Flying Mountain { 271 feet of M.D.I." Gathering the support of other summer residents who wanted to protect "their HOWN originally as Carroll Mountain after a local resident, this hill was later endowed beloved retreat," he launched the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. Eliot with its current name based on a Penobscot legend. C. Tracey, one of the early historians died at his Northeast Harbor home in 1926, at the age of ninety-two, one of America's most it Mount Desert Island, was told that the local Wabanakis believed this mountain broke enlightened educators and one of Mount Desert Island's favorite visitors. all from St. Sauveur Mountain and "flew down" to its lower perch next to Somes Sound. Probably this tale alludes to a rockslide that may have occurred centuries ago. Fernald Hill 39 280 feet Between Flying Mountain and Acadia Mountain lies Man-o-War Brook, so named Fernald Hill is the highest land on Fernald Point, a broad peninsula on the west shore near minuse, during the War of 1812, the British frigates came here to renew their supplies of the entrance to Somes Sound. The local tribes camped there regularly for more than three finals water. Somes Sound was apparently deep enough for the frigates to come close to thousand years. Some scholars say it was also the site of Father Biard's doomed settlement, aline. On the side of Acadia Mountain, above the valley through which this brook flows, is a though others believe the Jesuit priests located along the valley of Man-o-War Brook, farther bill lill known formerly as the Crow's Nest. up the sound. According to Phillip Rutherford, the peninsula and its hill were named for Tobias Fernald, an early settler. Gilmore Peak 1,030 feet Rufus Wilmot Griswold, in his Republican Court, was one of the first to try to prove that apretal sources say that this rocky peak between Parkman and Sargent mountains was named Charles Maurice Talleyrand, the notorious French diplomat, was actually born on Mount IIII it III al family, though a search through records finds no family there by this name. Desert Island, on Fernald Point, and not in Paris as his first biographer stated. One story In 1921, Charles Grandgent, an active and enthusiastic member of the Northeast Harbor says that Edward H. Robbins, later lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, found him there Pittle ( committee, built a path that bears his name. Beginning at the summit of Sargent as a young boy, wandering around aimlessly. It is also said that in 1753, the older residents Mountain, the trail descends into Grandgent's beloved wilderness valley, then ascends of the area recognized him as the son of a local girl and a French ship's captain, though his steeply over the summit of Gilmore Peak, where it ends at the Giant Slide Trail. biographers agree he wasn't born until February of 1754. One version says his mother died and a French gentleman took the boy away. Another, more passionate version has the boy Gorham Mountain 522 feet taken away from his mother, who subsequently dies of a broken heart. oner between the Otter Clill and the Beehive, this small ridge was first known as the Peak Whether he was born at Mount Desert Island or in Paris, the lame cleric went on to be one of 11⑈ litters, but around the late 1800s the name was changed to Gorham Mountain. It is not the most controversial men in French history. Switching loyalties as best suited his ambitions, known whether il was named for il person who first discovered and climbed it, for a nearby Talleyrand was, at various times, advisor to Louis XVI, supporter of the French Revolution, il writer. 111 for the town of Gorban in southern Maine. The first possibility is the most likely. real estate speculator in Massachusetts, and an advisor to the emperor Napoleon. A mill has led 10 the summit of this mountain lot many years. and in the enrly 1900s. it AUADIA MOUNT DESKRT ISLAND NO 58 MOUNTAINS The Bowl Bar Harbor, Me. the building of a steep trail up Huguenot Head that incorporates some 1,482 stone steps. Named after Mrs. Smith's summer estate, the Beachcroft Trail begins at the Tarn, goes over Huguenot Head, and ends at the summit of Champlain Mountain. Kebo Mountain E 407 feet the derivation of this name remains a mystery. Phillip Rutherford, in his Dictionary of Maine Plue Names, ventured to say that if it is of Indian derivation, then it must be Wabanaki and mean "I fall," though he sites no reference for this. Perhaps Kebo refers to an unfortunate in lilent when someone fell from this mountain's steep ledges. Mansell Mountain 193 938 feet 'ill Robert Mansell was born in 1565, third son of Sir Edward Mansell (or Mansfield) and Hrandson of Henry, earl of Worcester. He was married in 1617 to a Miss Roper, a maid of humor in Queen Anne's household, and in 1592 began a successful seafaring career, being The Bowl near Gorham Mountain hughted for helping take Calais, France, in 1596. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1601, and appointed in 1604 as treasurer of the Royal Navy. colored trail system stretched from Gorham Mountain Mansell was very active in developing the English glassblowing and winemaking The Bowl north to Champlain Mountain. Today, the Gorham Indistries. A member of the early merchant adventurers belonging to the Council of Mountain Trail extends across the mountain from the Landscape artist Frederick Church Virginia in 1607, he also helped send Henry Hudson to Canada in 1609. Later, he was a Beehive south to Monument Cove. A side loop trail attempted to rename this small, 1114 miner of the first board of directors of the Northwest Passage Company in 1612, and in on the southeast side of the mountain is known as the circular pond nestled below the 11,'10 will on the board of the New England Company, which helped finance the Pilgrims' Cadillac Cliffs Trail. Beehive, Champlain, and Gorham colony at Plymouth. mountains. In the 1870s, he briefly III 1622, Sir Robert, then commander of the Royal Navy, received a deed to Mount Great Hill N 552 feet changed the name to Loch Anna, Dear Island for a "note of one hundred and ten pounds." Samuel de Champlain had already Just north of the Whitecap, the Cadillac Mountain as many Scottish names were being mined the island, but Mansell now claimed it for England and renamed it Mount Mansell Auto Road makes a sharp turn south. This is near introduced to Acadia at the time, but Island. The colonists of Massachusetts used this name for about seventy years, but eventually the top of Great Hill, the former name of Cadillac's the local name, The Bowl, won out the name Mount Desert was restored. northern ridge. The mountain's old carriage path and has been retained on maps since. In 1848, the island township of Tremont was incorporated as Mansel, later changed to approached the summit from the north, going over 114 unrent name. The small fishing community of Manset in Tremont was also named for Great Hill and Whitecap on its way to the summit. It was near Great Hill that the Howe 1/114 great naval officer, but someone in the early days mistakenly crossed the last letter and brothers, summer visitors to Bar Harbor in 1882, were accosted by an unknown high- changed the name to Manset instead of Mansel. wayman and forced to give up all their valuables. About 1868, when the Reverend Benjamin DeCosta and friends visited the island, he renamed Brown's Mountain, near Somes Sound, as Mount Mansell. George Dorr subse- Huguenot Head 720 feet changed the name of that peak to Norumbega Mountain and later bestowed the east Mountains seldom change their basic shapes, but this little mountain, first called Round Hill, forroste of Western Mountain with the name Mount Mansell, in tribute to Sir Robert. gained a new name-Peaked Hill, indicating a different shape when viewed from another angle. This new name evolved into Picket Hill, but eventually George Dorr gave it a more McFarland Mountain 724 feet interesting name: Huguenot Hill, because Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, an important I III nied just outside of the town center of Bar Harbor, this small mountain was named for figure in the early European history of the region, had belonged to that group of French humer McFarland, an early shipbuilder. In the late 1930s, the Bar Harbor Outing Club built Protestants. During the sixteenth century, the Huguenots were persee uted by the French an HOO loot ski trail with a 1,330-foot long rope low on this mountain. By 1949, they had Crown. Many fled France, and some of them came 10 various colonies In North America, milled more trails the Stemwinder, Loop, and West Side Trail. The ski area was operated Mrs. C. Morton Smith of Philadelphia, it summer resident at Hat Harbor, financed loi many years, but finally closed after 1971. MOUNTAINS ADM MOUNT DEBERT ISLAND 01 AND ⑉ A11 WAIM Monte Carlo 277 feet In M.E. Sweetser's 1888 Chisholm's Mount Desert Guide Book, he mentions a small mountain Hadlock Ponds and Hadlock Brook of called "Monte Carlo, the most northerly spur of the Green Mountain range reaching a height these water bodies are tucked against the southeastern flanks of Norumbega Mountain. Samuel 320 feet, and commanding an enchanting view over the bay and the sea, Hull's Cove, Hadlock moved his family to Northeast Harbor in 1785, and built a sawmill at the outlet of Lower and the Gouldsborough Mountains." Chisholm also related that in 1888, Charles T. How of Hadlock Pond. His venture was short-lived, for in 1789 he got into a fight with a drunken visitor Boston constructed a carriage road to the summit of this little hillock, and several summer named Eliab Littlefield Gott. It appears that he may only have been defending himself against the cottages-Highbrook, Woodbury Park, and Abbey's Retreat-were built there. ounger and stronger man, but newspapers of the day indicate that he was indicted, tried, convicted, No Monte Carlo name appears on modern topographical maps. Apparently the name and hanged for killing Gott. Hadlock's son Samuel, Jr., continued to run the lumber business until the only seemed necessary while the grand summer cottages graced its slopes. They all burned burned. He then removed to Little Cranberry Island and bought a ship, filled it with dried fish he in the 1947 fire. (aught in Labrador, and began a successful new business. The Upper and Lower Hadlock Ponds were named for this family, and nearby Baid Mountain Mount Gilboa 147 feet was once known as Hadlock Mountain. The outlet brook of Lower Hadlock Pond has its own story. Like Mounts Nebo, Pisgah, and others, this small hill in the town of Tremont, in the In 1883, the Mount Desert Herald published a story called "The Legend of the Haunted Mill," southwest corner of Mount Desert Island, got its name from the Bible. Mount Gilboa is recounting a legend about strange creatures similar to werewolves that frightened residents and named in the Old Testament account of the defeat and death of King Saul in a battle with the divoured sheep and other livestock in the area around an old mill on Lower Hadlock Pond. It is said Philistines (recounted in the books of Samuel and Chronicles). that one day the mill started itself up, lights tuned on and off, and strange voices were heard. Another explanation offered to explain the reputed weird phenomena is that Captain Kidd and Norumbega Mountain 852 feet due of his crew buried treasure at the spot where the mill was later built, and Kidd then killed the In the early centuries of exploration, it was the unspoken goal of the English, French, and poor crewman so his spirit would guard the treasure until Kidd returned to claim it. Spanish to find Norumbega, a fabled city of gold that was thought to be somewhere around the forty-fifth parallel in the region of Maine. Parkman Mountain 920 feet Fannie Hardy Eckstorm, in her Indian Place Names of the Penobscot Valley and the I lite Brown Mountain, like its higher neighbor Brown Mountain (today's Norumbega Maine Coast, states that the word is definitely of Indian derivation, but gives no interpreta- Mountain), was named for John Brown, a nearby settler. George Dorr subsequently renamed tion. Phillip Rutherford wrote that it might be Wabanaki meaning "still water between falls," I ille Brown in honor of Francis Parkman (1823-1893), one of America's greatest historians. making it a reference to the Penobscot River above Bangor. The early writers did continu- Parkman, son of a Boston minister and educated at Harvard, read classical languages as ally connect the fabled city with the upper reaches of this mighty river, so if the city actually really as he did English. An avid explorer, he made countless trips to the places he subse- existed, it would most likely have been there, not along the coast. quently wrote about-the American West, New England, Canada, and Europe. He loved Eckstorm also cites that Father Biard, an early missionary on Mount Desert Island, wrote likking, and his college chums could never keep up with him in his jaunts among the forests a passage in his journal that translates as "The old geographers speak of a certain Norumbega and mountains. and give the names of cities and strongholds of which today no trace or even report remains." In 1844, he took a grand tour of Europe, and then in 1846, spent several months She continued that Lescarbot, Samuel de Champlain's companion on his trip to Acadia, wrote following the Oregon Trail, living among the Native American tribes that fascinated him so. in his book, New France, that the Spaniards have been "drawing a long bow," or getting aggres- the western trip took a toll on his health, damaging his eyesight, but he managed to write sive over, "a great and powerful city, which they have placed about the forty-fifth degree. If minietous books, get a law degree from Harvard, spend several months in a monastery in this fair town ever existed I would fain know who has destroyed it in the last eighty years; Home, and become a professor of horticulture at Harvard in 1871. He left us with many for there is nothing but scattered wigwams made of poles covered with bark or skin, and the wient historical works-The Oregon Trail (1849), The Conspiracy of Pontiac (1851), name of both the settlement and the river is Pemptegoet and not Agguncia." This refers to the Plancers of France in the New World (1865), The Jesuits in North America (1867), La Salle Penobscot River and the Huron name for Norumbega. Like the fabled city of El Dorado in the ml the Discovery of the Great West (1869), and Montcalm and Wolfe (1884). south, Norumbega, the northern city of gold and wealth, remains a legend. This mountain was originally called Brown's Mountain after John Brown, who owned Pemetic Mountain 1,247 feet a large plot of land to the north. It was George Dorr who changed the name to honor the alled Black Mountain by the settlers for its color, it was later changed to the Wabanaki mythological city. name of the island. Father Francis Biard, the early missionary, referred 10 Mount Desert Inland its Pemetig in his 1611 journal. Pemelic roughly means "II range of mountains." Fannie 62 MOUNTAINS OF MAINE ALADIA MOUNT DESERT ISLAND 03 Hardy Eckstorm felt the original term must have had some form of the root adn in it, as the The south shoulder of St. Sauveur Mountain is now known as Eagle's Cliff, but this Wabanakis almost always used this sound to signify mountains. previpitous ledge has also been known as Bow Arrow Hill, Storm Cliff, Thunder Cliff, and Visitors who launch their kayak or canoe at the public boat access site on Eagle Lake will Valley Peak. The latter name has been retained in the name of the trail that ascends northerly find themselves gazing across the length of the lake toward Pemetic Mountain. Originally In the top of Eagle Cliff and on to the summit of St. Sauveur Mountain, where it continues known as Young's Pond, this scenic water body was renamed by Frederick church in the along the top of the ledge and connects with the Acadia Mountain Trail. 1870s for an eagle's nest on the surrounding cliffs. One of the most frequently visited places in Acadia National Park, Eagle Lake is encircled by carriage paths and foot trails. Sargent Mountain 1,379 feet this peak was first known as Penobscot Mountain 1,196 feet Brassy Mountain for the golden The Bates Chasm Trail Because of its nearness to Jordan Pond, this eminence was called Jordan Mountain for many line created when the setting Waldron Bates was one of Mount Desert's prolific trail years, but later received the name Penobscot, which is somewhat out of place. Fannie Hardy 41111 shone on it. The name was builders. Graduating from Harvard in 1879, he got a law Eckstorm found that the term Penobscot referred only to a ten-mile section of river between hanged to Sargent Mountain degree from Boston University and took a position with a Treat's Falls at Bangor and Old Town Great Falls. The name literally means "the rocky place" after the family that owned land prestigious law firm in Boston. His first and real love was the or "the descending ledge place," and at that section of the Penobscot River there were a series 111 the north of the mountain. outdoors, however, and he spent many of his summers at of rocky ledges requiring a great amount of portaging. 'augent Mountain Pond, a small Bar Harbor, building amazing and awe-inspiring paths. In 1835, William Bennett constructed the first road to Jordan Pond, where he built 6,111 located in the dip between A tireless hiker and explorer, he carried many of the a house and several mills. Three years later, two brothers, George N. and J. S. Jordan, langent and Penobscot mountains, stones himself to hundreds of stone steps in the Ladder purchased the mill and property from Bennett and was first called Summit Lake, then Trail, Goat Trail, and Jordan Bluffs Trail. In all, Bates has been constructed a permanent lumber camp at the pond The Jordan Pond House I like of the Clouds, a familiar credited with having constructed more than one hundred in order to take advantage of the giant trees that were In 1883 Charles T. How of Boston name to White Mountain hikers. fifty miles of trails on the island by the time of his accidental growing on Pemetic and Penobscot mountains. In egend had it that the pond was death in 1909. discovered the beauty of the pond 1847, the brothers built a house at the south end of below Penobscot Mountain and birth bottomless and home to a sea Bates also purchased and donated forty acres, as the the pond and opened a rough path for hauling logs purchased the Jordan brothers' repent. beginning of the national park we know today. He also left from the pond to the beach at Seal Harbor. This property to entertain his friends at The circular head of the ravine $5,000 toward the building and maintaining of his beloved allowed them to use oxen and horses in the winter seasonal picnics. He added rooms to between Sargent Mountain's paths. In 1910, the Village Improvement Association, whose to haul the logs across the snow and ice, making the original house as more and more with ridge and the south ridge of roads and paths committee Bates had chaired for many transport much easier. folk began coming to the pond, and Penobscot Mountain reminded the renamed the Chasm Brook Trail on the north side of Unfortunately, in 1852, a raging forest fire burned from this came the famous Jordan only explorers of a Greek amphi- Sargent Mountain in his honor. all the trees and soil on the sides of the mountains, Pond House, where generations of theater and they named it accord- bringing such a financial burden to the siblings that visitors have made it a custom to stop imply. The Amphitheater Trail, built in 1914, passes through the small cirque. their business was ended. Jordan Pond and Cliffs were for afternoon tea and popovers. The three-mile-long Giant Slide Trail follows along the western side of Sargent Mountain. named for these unfortunate brothers. After passing through a wooded section, the trail comes to a jumble of huge boulders at the loot of a great slide, known locally as the Giant Slide for its enormous size. Passing through St. Sauveur Mountain 690 feet 1/114 incredible jumble of rocks, the path then descends through a deep notch between Local legend tells how a somewhat crazy and senile woman from Somesville climbed to Parkman Mountain and Gilmore Peak, ending at the Maple Spring Trail. the summit of this mountain with her dog. Because the smaller mountain below had been named Flying Mountain, she hurled the poor dog off the cliff to see if he would fly down to Sawyer Mountain 490 feet the other mountain. Unfortunately for the dog, her attempt to defy gravity did not work. Phenezer Sawyer (1757-1838) was born and raised in Falmouth, now Portland, Maine, For many years, this peak was known as Dog Mountain for that unlucky canine. It was where he learned to be a fisherman, His father Ebenezer came from a fishing family in Cape renamed to commemorate the failed Jesuit mission on Fernald Point nearby. Father Biard and his listbeth and his mother Susannah Yeaton descended from a fishing family on the Isle of small band who settled there in 1613 had been connected (1) St. Sauveur Church in France and should Seeking opportunity. the younger Ebenezen and his wile moved east, settling on Isle had christened their new home with the same name. The 110016 in Englinis means "Holy Savior," IIII Haust about 1791. Here, he continued fishing until he died in the winter of 1838, and his 64 MOUNTAINS ACADIA: MOUNT DENENT ISLAND as OF MAINE only son, Paul, feeling isolated on The Herrick Trail frails on Western Mountain the small island, moved to Deer This former trail was located on the western side of Isle au The Perpendicular Trail Isle, thus ending the name on Haut and once connected the main village with the houses at Wedern Mountain has many interesting paths, but this one on the northeast side of the mountain Isle au Haut. Sawyer Mountain, a Moore Harbor. It crossed over the top of Black Dina (184 feet), wands out. In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps, working with the island's local public works long, flat ridge, is named for this a ledge on the side of Sawyer Mountain named for the dark graips, took on the challenging job of building a new path up the mountain to replace an old trail built early family. It lies in the middle color of the rock. of the island, just south of Rocky by the Southwest Harbor Improvement association in 1913. The trail was named for the seafaring members of the Vernon Lunt, the technical foreman, and his crew of about twenty-two men faced a most inter- Mountain. Oddly, Sawyer Notch, Hérrick family, a large clan of mariners and fishermen that lived riting challenge in the form of a large talus slope. Instead of choosing an easy route around the pile a small cleft, lies north of Rocky on the Blue Hill peninsula and occasionally used the Isle au of huge boulders, the crew spent many grueling days rearranging the rocks into a great, winding set Mountain, separating it from Haut Thorofare as a protected anchorage. of stairs, complete with a small resting bench partway up, The trail climbs an amazing 704 steps across Champlain Mountain. the talus slope and then heads through the woods, working its way up steeply to a series of iron rungs The Triad 00 690 feet If approaches the summit of Mansell Mountain. The Perpendicular Trail is a lasting monument to the incredible work performed by the crews, and rivals many other higher paths located in the East. This small mountain in the south-central area of Mount Desert Island has one main peak and two smaller peaks on its western ridge, making three summits, hence the name. the Razorback Trail Lafy maps of Western Mountain show an unnamed trail running from Gilley Field to the top of Mount Wentworth Mountain 299 feet Mansell, Lying south of and paralleling the Mansell Trail, it climbs up through a ravine and over a series of Joshua Wentworth, a farmer and mariner, left his native New Hampshire as a young man, exposed ledges and outcrops. In the mid-1970s, the National Park Department reopened this obscure married at York, Maine, and then went to Frankfort, Maine, where he began a large family. naming it the Razorback Trail for the bony ledges it traverses on its strenuous climb up the mountain. About 1824, he moved to Isle au Haut, where he farmed and fished, earning a meager living. Wentworth Mountain is supposedly named for his daughter Betsey, who was sixteen years old when the family first came to Isle au Haut. The Loop Road, which traverses most of The White Cap M 920 feet the island, goes over Wentworth Mountain, near the center of the island. IIII 10 are several mountains in Maine named White Cap, but the one on Mount Desert Ishand IS surely the smallest. Named for the white rocks located on its peak, this mountain is Western Mountain DS 1,071 feet di linally a northern arm of Cadillac Mountain, and the auto road passes just under its small The highest mountains of Mount Desert are clustered in the southeastern quadrant of the mitumit. For a number of years, a small side trail has ascended White Cap from the east, island. On the western side of the island are a few small mountains between Somes Sound 111 ling, its summit. and Long Lake, the highest and largest of which is Western Mountain, which is actually a range of hills rather than a single mountain. Young's Mountain III 205 feet Known originally as Westward Mountain, it has four summits, named West Peak, I Humah Young, a participant in the Boston Tea Party, moved from Cape Cod to Bar Harbor Bernard Mountain, Knights Nubble (named for a local resident), and Mansell Mountain. (then alled Eden) before 1774, with his son Captain Ezra Young. They settled at Duck The prominence originally called East Peak was renamed Bernard Mountain by George thook, but the father later moved to Trenton, Maine, and died in Lamoine in 1832. Dorr for Governor Bernard, the last English governor, who was driven out during the In March 1776, Captain Ezra was appointed to serve on the Committee of Correspon- American Revolution. Safety, and Inspection, a very important position in each community during the On the southeast side of the mountain is a large hollow, where a large stream was America Revolution. Later that year, he was elected captain of the militia, and at Bar dammed and a water-powered mill was built in 1860. The mill operated for a few years, Hashut's first meeting was chosen moderator and first selectman. He died in 1812, the most utilizing the unlimited forest surrounding it, until one cold winter night it mysteriously influential and important person on the island. Young's Mountain on the upper half of the caught fire and burned to the ground. Today, the site is simply called Mill Field and 14/11/11 was named for this early public servant. is the place where several hiking trails branch out to climb Western Mountain by different approaches. See also: Bernard Mountain and Mansell Mountain. 66 MOUNTAINS ALADIA. MOUNT DEVERT INLAND of OL MAINE Chamberlain, E. G. "Panorama from Pleasant Mountain," Appalachia, June 1925. Smith, Rev. Arthur Warren, and Samuel Pearce Merrill. "Historic Sketch of the Town Emery, Edwin. The History of Sanford, Maine 1661-1900. 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Norway, Me.: Oxford Press, 1975. Williamson, Joseph. Frankfort and the Origin of the Name of Mount Waldo. Bangor Historical Wheeler, George A., and Henry W. Wheeler. The History of Brunswick, Topsham and Magazine 7, 1891. Harpswell, Maine, Including the Ancient Territory known as Pejepscot, 2 vols. Boston: W.P.D. "Ragged Mountain Reservation." Appalachia, June 1925. Alfred Mudget & Sons, 1878. Acadia: Mount Desert Island and Isle Au Haut Down East Coast and Lowlands Appalachian Mountain Club. AMC Guide to Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park. Davis, Varina H. Jefferson Davis, Ex-president of the Confederate States of America, 1st through 7th eds. Boston: Appalachian Mountain Club, 1977 to 1993. A Memoir. New York: Belford Co., 1890. Collier, Sargent F. Acadia National Park, George B. Dorr's Triumph and the Illustrated Story of Drake, Samuel Adams. A Book of New England Legends and Folklore in Prose and Poetry. Mt. Desert, the Most Beautiful Island in the World. Farmington, Me.: Knowlton Boston: Little, Brown, 1902. and McCleary, 1965. Eaton, Cyrus. Annals of the Town of Warren in Knox County, Maine, with the Early History DeCosta, Benjamin F. Rambles in Mount Desert with Sketches of Travel on the New England of St. Georges, Broad Bay, and Neighboring Settlements on the Waldo Patent. Hallowell, Coast from Isles of Shoals to Grand Manan. Boston: A. Williams Company, 1891. Me.: Masters and Smith and Co., 1851. Eliot, Samuel A. "The Romance of Mount Desert." New England Magazine, August 1989. Eckstorm, Fannie Hardy. Indian Places of the Penobscot Valley and the Maine Coast. Orono, Fleming, Deidre. "Mountain Mystery: Homans Path at a glance." Maine Sunday Telegram, Me.: University of Maine at Orono Press, 1941. August 17, 2003. Forbes, Charles B. "Blue Hill in Maine." Appalachia, December 1953. Hale, Richard Walden, Jr. The Story of Bar Harbor, an Informal History Recording "Schoodic Mountain." Appalachia, December 1957. One Hundred and Fifty Years in the Life of a Community. New York: L. Washburn, 1947, Harden, Brian, et al. Shore Village Story, An Informal History of Rockland, Maine. Rockland, Hansen, Gunnar, ed. Mount Desert, An Informal History. Published by the Town of Me.: Rockland Bicentennial Commission, 1976. Mount Desert, 1989. Karl, Alice Wardwell. "Mt. Megunticook: Here History, Tragedy and Breath-Taking Beauty Lapham, W.B. Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island. Augusta, Me.: Farmer Printing, 1888. Combine." Lewiston Journal, October 29, 1938. With Pen and Pencil at Mount Desert. New York: Liberty Printing Company, 1886. Lincoln, Franklin P. "Long Ago a Little Girl Made a Monster Out of a Mountain." "Legends of Mount Desert: The Witch Ponds." Mount Desert Herald, August 7, 1885. Portland Press Herald, May 4, 1954. Martin, Clara Barnes. Mount Desert on the Coast of Maine. Portland, Me.: Loring, Locke, John L. Sketches of the History of the Town of Camden, Maine, Including Incidental Short, and Harmon, 1877. References to the Neighboring Places and Adjacent Waters. Hallowell, Me.: Smith Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Story of Mount Desert Island. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1859. and Company, 1960. Munson, Gorham. Penobscot, Down East Paradise. Philadelphia and New York: Roberts, Ann Rockefeller. Mr. Rockefeller's Roads. The Untold Story of Acadia's Carriage J.P. Lippincott Co., 1959. Roads and Their Creator. Camden, Me.: Down East Books, 1990. Patten, Roland T. "A Day on Notch Mountain." (Somerset County, Me.) Sawtelle, William Otis. "The Gilley Family of Mount Desert." Sprague's Journal of Independent Reporter, May 3, 1923. American History 12, nos. 1 and 2. Reed, Parker McCobb. History of Bath and Environs 1607 1894. Portland. Me.: Simpson, Dorothy. The Maine Islands in Stories and Legend. Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott Lakeside Press, 1894. Co., 1960. Robinson, Reuel. History of Camden and Rockport Camden, Me: Camden Smallridge, Robert I., "Early History of Mount Desert and Some Early Families." Publishing Company, 1907. Undated manuscript in the Northwest Harbor Public Library. 210 MOUNTAIN St. Germain, Thomas, and Saunders, Jay. Trails of History, the Story of Mount Desert Island's Vogler, Mark, "Jockey Cap: Fryeburg's Big 'Rock," Portland Press Herald, May 26, 1975. Paths from Norumbega to Acadia. Bar Harbor, Me.: Parkman Publications, 1993. Warren, Henry P. History of Waterford, Maine. Portland, Me.: Hoyt, Fogg, and Donham, 1879. Street, George E. Mount Desert, A History. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1905. Waterman, Charles Elmer. The Oxford Hills, and Other Papers. Auburn, Me.: Merrill Sweetser, M. F. Chisholm's Mount-Desert Guide Book. Portland, Me.: Chisholm Brothers, 1888. and Webber Co., 1929. Tracey, C. "Log of a Voyage from New York to Mt. Desert and Return, July-September A City on a Hill (Paris Hill) with High Lights That Hit It. Auburn, Me.: 1855." Typewritten manuscript in collection of Jesup Library, Bar Harbor. Merrill & Webber, Co., 1931. Village Improvement Society. A Path Guide of Mount Desert Island, Maine. Bar Harbor, Wight, D.B. The Wild River Wilderness. Littleton, N.H.: Courier Printing Co., 1971. Me.: Village Improvement Societies of Bar Harbor, Seal Harbor, Northeast arbor, and Southwest Harbor 1915. The Mahoosuc Range Attwood, Stanley Bearce. "M.A.C.s New Trail Up Goose-Eye Reached by Picturesque Road The Oxford Hills along Sunday River," Lewiston (Me.) Journal Magazine, January 21, 1939. "Climbers' Disinterest May Doom Hut." Portland (Me.) Sunday Telegram, August 18, 1957. Avery, Myron H., "Mountains of Western Maine," Lewiston Journal, April 3 and 10, 1937. Barnes, Diane. The Oxford Hills: Greenwood, Norway, Oxford, Paris, West Paris Bailey, Harold G. "Bates Outing Club Blazes Trail." Intercollegiate Outing Club and Woodstock. Dover, N.H.: Arcadia Publishing, 1995. Association Bulletin, Fall 1934. Barrows, John Stuart. Fryeburg, An Historical Sketch. Fryeburg, Me.: Pequawket Press, 1938. Drake, Francis S. The Town of Roxbury, Mass., Its Memorable Persons and Places. Colton, Raymond C. By the Toss of a Coin, an Unabridged History of the Town of Roxbury, Mass.: privately published, 1878. Hiram. Denmark, Me.: Cardinal Printing, Denmark, 1883. Farrar, Charles A. J. Eastward Ho! Or, Adventures at Rangeley Lakes. Boston: Lee & Conner, Sam E., "It's Easy Run to Top of Bear Mountain from Twin Cities," Lewiston Journal, Shephard, 1880. October 29, 1938. Fobes, Charles B. "Baldpate Mountain, Grafton, Maine." Appalachia, December 1958. Ellis, Leola C., and Kera C. Millard. Early Cornish 1666-1919. Baldwin, Me., 1972. "Grafton, Maine-A Human and Geographical Study." Maine Technology More About Early Cornish. Baldwin, Me., 1978. Experiment Station Bulletin no. 42, 1951. Forbes, Charles B. "Pleasant Mountain, Maine." Appalachia, June 1952. "Old Speck, Second-Highest Peak in Maine, Offers Climber Many Thrills." Frost, John Eldridge. The Nicholas Frost Family. Milford, N.H.: Cabinet Press, 1943. Portland (Me.) Sunday Telegram, July 2, 1939. Jones, Page Helm. Evolution of a Valley- The Androscoggin Story. Canaan, N.H.: "Puzzle Mountain." Appalachia, December 1961, p. 567. Phoenix Publishing, 1975. Friday Club of Andover. Andover, the First 175 Years. Andover, Me.: Friday Club Lapham, William Berry. History of Woodstock, Maine with Family Sketches. Portland, Me.: of Andover, S. Berry, printer,1882. Gould, Roderick. "Sunday River Whitecap." Appalachia, June 1956. History of Paris, Maine, from Its Settlement to 1880. Privately Published, 1884. Heywood, Charles Errol. History of Upton, Maine. Norway, Me.: Oxford Hills Press, 1973. Moore, Pauline W. Blueberries and Pusley Weed: The Story of Lovell, Maine. Kennebunk, Howard, Alfred E. A History of Hanover, Maine 1774-1980: With Associated Historical Me.: Star Press, 1970. Events. Manchester, Me.: privately published, 1983. Shepard, Walter Lee, Jr. The Ancestry and Descendants of Thomas Stickney Evans and Jenks, Paul R. "The Story of the Mahoosucs." Appalachia, December 1933. Sarah Ann Fifield, his Wife, Both of Fryeburg, Maine. Privately published, 1940. Lapham, William B. History of Rumford, Oxford County, Maine, from its First Settlement "South Paris Talks of Building Scenic Highway Up Rugged and Bold Sides of in 1779 to the Present Time. Augusta, Me.: Press of the Farmer, 1890. Streaked Mountain." Lewiston Journal, undated clipping in personal collection. Martin, Stuart F. New Penacook Folks: A Historical Record of the Town of Rumford and Stafford, Marie Peary. "Fryeburg's Link with the Arctic." Appalachia, June 1953. the People Who Lived There. Rumford Point, Me.: privately published, 1980. Stephens, C. A. "The Story of 'Old Sabattus," The Portland Transcript, undated Pease, Arthur Stanley. "Mahoosuc Notch." Appalachia, June 1918. clipping in the Maine Historical Society files. Saunders, John and Laura. "Three Mountains in Western Maine." Appalachia, June 1956. Stickney, Mrs. E. A. G. Reminiscences of Brownfield. Privately published, 1901. Wight, Carrie. Newry, Maine 1805-1955. Privately printed, 1955. Sturtevant, Reginald H. A History of Livermore, Maine. Lewiston, Me: Twin City Printery. 1970. Wilkins, Martha Fifield. Sunday River Sketches, A New England Chronicle. Edited by Teg, William. History of Hiram, sesquicentennial ed. Cornish Me: Carbrook Press, 1964. Randy I.. Bennett. Androscoggin Publications, 1977. History of Brownfield, Maine. Comish, Me.: Carbook Press, 196.1 Wood, Jeane M., and Frank H. Wood, "Sunday River Whitecap from the South." Appalachia, Dec ember 1956. 218 MOUNTAINS Received 1/13/16 8 George Dorr's Mountain Names by Henry A. Raup Newport Mt., 1060 ft. Dry Mt., 1268 ft. Green Mt., 1527 ft. Picket Mt., 720 ft. Mt. Kebo, 405 ft. Old postcard showing mountain heights and turn-of-the-century names. George B. Dorr is called the his tenure as superintendent, Dorr cal use by local inhabitants. To Dorr, "Father of Acadia National Park" sought to change island placenames- the traditional names like Brown, with good reason. Establishment sometimes succeeding, at other times Green, or Robinson didn't have the and expansion of the park were large- failing. He favored the changes "for noble ring of Norumbega, Cadillac, ly the result of his efforts: he assem- or Acadia. In probably his most radi- bled the various pieces that went into cal change, the presumably unattrac- the park, achieved first its national tive and disparaging Dog Mountain monument and then its national park was renamed St. Sauveur Mountain. status, and served as its first adminis- What visitor could be What visitor could be encouraged to trator. As superintendent, Dorr was spend a day hiking on Dog Moun- an indefatigable promoter of the park encouraged to spend a tain? with an unending stream of ideas for day hiking on Dog Eventually Dorr engineered the its development-many of which now renaming of twelve mountains, seem ill-conceived, but which to Dorr Mountain? including several that were outside seemed perfectly reasonable. the park boundaries at the time and Among his many ideas, Dorr one (Eliot) that never became park believed that public perception of his property. Of the abandoned names, new park would be improved by four represented local families who changing the names of the island's historic reasons," completely disre- had settled around their respective major mountains. Repeatedly during garding a century or more of histori- mountains, and one (Asticou) was a FOA Journal 1992 ? 9 commemorative name. Except for the new Dorr names. Today there still Flying Squadron to commemorate Newport Mountain, all had meaning is an occasional use of an earlier name three seventeenth and eighteenth cen- to the island's history and traditions. or two. The transformation from Lit- tury treaties that Dorr thought signifi- In contrast, all twelve new names were tle Brown Mountain to Parkman cant to the story of Mount Desert purely commemorative, particularly of Mountain (for the historian, an idol of Island but not, interestingly, to com- 2 the French period on Mount Desert Dorr's) was accomplished with the memorate the recently concluded Island, an era of special Great War. This time, interest to Dorr. the Board on Geo- Mountain Reid X Green An individual, such Maletin graphic Names rejected as Dorr, cannot change Habit, Me Dorr's request, but it a mountain name. This did approve a change to can only be done by the Flying Squadron Moun- U.S. Board on Geo- tain a decade later. graphic Names. In his The name of George petitions to the board, B. Dorr first became Dorr obscured the ori- linked to the former gins and use of the for- Dry Mountain in 1917, mer names. For exam- when Henry Lane Eno ple, in requesting the proposed that Brown change from Robinson Mountain (presently to Acadia, Dorr com- Norumbega) be pletely ignored a centu- renamed Eliot Moun- ry of local use of Robin- tain and Dry Mountain son Mountain, the origi- be renamed Dorr nal ownership of the Mountain. Dorr sup- mountain by the Robin- ported this attempt, son family, and the writing: "That Presi- many Robinsons who dent Eliot's name and first settled near the mine should be associat- mountain. Instead he ed in this may be per- maligned the name, haps not inappropriate. reporting simply that NAMES OLD AND NEW I cannot decline so the mountain had been Green Mountain Cadillac Mountain gracious a gift of recog- "named for a worthless nition." Neither of and half-crazy resident Brown Mountain Norumbega Mountain these recommendations who dug for treasure at Little Brown Mountain Parkman Mountain was adopted, but in the Mountain's base." 1945, following George Dog Mountain St. Sauveur Mountain And in his 1935 request Dorr's death, Flying to adopt the name Eliot Newport Mountain Champlain Mountain Squadron Mountain Mountain to commemo- Dry or Flying Squadron Dorr Mountain was renamed Dorr rate the contributions of Mountain in his honor. Charles W. Eliot, he Robinson Mountain Acadia Mountain Not all of Dorr's pro- misleadingly wrote that posed name changes "this peak above Asticou remains with- least resistance. Conversely, Dog were adopted. He failed in his efforts out a name upon the government Mountain and Brown Mountain are to change Sargent Mountain to Penob- maps and charts," conveniently ignor- names that have been most tenacious scot Mountain, Beech Mountain to ing the established use of Asticou Hill and not easily forgotten. Lane Mountain (for Franklin K. Lane, and of his own previous support of the Dorr apparently had trouble then Secretary of the Interior), Dog traditional name. accepting one of his changes. On Mountain to Bernard Mountain, and The various name changes prompt- three different occasions, he promoted a previously unnamed tract between ed a flood of complaints that contin- changes of the same summit-two of Eagle Lake and Jordan Pond to Mather ued for many years. Both local inhabi- which were adopted-and it eventually Woods (for Stephen T. Mather, Direc- tants and more traditionally inclined was renamed for Dorr himself. In tor of the National Park Service), summer residents raised objections, 1918, at Dorr's request, the former among others. often refusing to recognize or to use Dry Mountain was changed to The continued on page 15 MOUNTAIN NAMES continued TOM a e 9 In January, 1944, just a few that Holt "has an applicable, descrip- dia National Park. The legacy of months before his death, Dorr was tive meaning, its definition being a George B. Dorr lives on, not only in still trying to manipulate the moun- wooded hill [a copse]," neglecting to his national park, but also in the twelve tain names, this time seeking to trans- mention Mrs. Holt. mountain names that he selected. form Pemetic Mountain-which he pre- Despite the occasional lack of viously had supported for its Indian acceptance of Dorr's names, those that The author, Henry A. Raup, is Professor associations-into Holt Mountain. were adopted undoubtedly are perma- of Geography at Western Michigan Uni Writing to his friend Florence T. Holt, versity, Kalamazoo, and has worked as a nent now. In retrospect, Dorr's atti- Seasonal Interpreter in Acadia National he explained that the new name would tude toward the traditional names on Park for 13 summers. For the past "carry with it the whole story of our Mount Desert Island, and his relative decade he has been studying the origin friendship as well as being appropriate ease in having some of them changed, and use of placenames on Mount Desert in itself to the Old English significance seem incomprehensible. At the time, Island, and has compiled a gazetteer of of the word." To the Board on Geo- more than 1000 names. He is now a however, these changes were just a summer resident in Somesville. graphic Names, Dorr explained only small part of his grand dream for Aca- Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Page 1 of 47 USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) About GNIS Principles, Policies, and Procedures: Domestic Query GNIS: Geographic Names - U.S. and territories - Antarctica By Donald J. Orth, Executive Secretary, Domestic Geographic Names Download GNIS Data: (emeritus) and Roger L. Payne, Executive Secretary, United States Board on State and Topical Geographic Names and Domestic Geographic Names Gazetteers U.S. Board on First printing, 1987 Geographic Second printing (revised), 1989 Names Third printing (revised), 1997 New Options Available Online Edition (revised), 2003 Foreign Names BGN Board Members GNIS Users Guide Foreword FIPS55 Data Executive Order Metadata CONTENTS GNIS Status Map FAQ's New! Chapter 1. Introduction Links U.S. Board on Geographic Names Characteristics of domestic geographic names National Geographic Names Database National Gazetteer National Digital Gazetteer Determining official names Domestic names decisions Spelling of geographic names Chapter 2. Domestic Geographic Names Principles Introduction Principle I: Use of the Roman alphabet Principle II: Names in local usage Principle III: Names established by act of Congress or Executive Order Principle IV: Names established by other authorities Principle V: One name for one geographic entity Chapter 3. Domestic Geographic Names Policies Policy I: Names being considered by Congress Policy II: Name changes Policy III: Commemorative names http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html 3/24/2005 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Page 2 of 47 Policy IV: Wilderness Areas Policy V: Derogatory names Policy VI: Use of diacritical marks Policy VII: Name duplication Policy VIII: Use of variant names Policy IX: Long names Policy X: Names of Native American origin Chapter 4. Procedures and Guidelines Submitting name corrections and changes Submitting nonrecorded names Procedure for submitting corrections, changes, and nonrecorded names Proposing names for unnamed domestic features Guidelines for proposing names Procedures for proposing a name for an unnamed feature Canada-United States boundary names Water rights names Alphabetizing and sequencing rules Chapter 5. Editorial Guidelines Writing marks Abbreviations and number names Capitalization of geographic names Appendix A. Public Law 242 Appendix B. Terms and definitions Appendix C. Domestic Geographic Name Report Appendix D. Foreign geographic names Appendix E. United Nations: international standardization Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION It would be ideal if in everyday language all people were to use but one name for a given geographic entity with only one entity known by that name. In practice, the extent to which this ideal can be reached varies with time according to sociopolitical conditions, the mobility of people and their naming habits, and language flexibility. Confusion, uncertainty, and misunderstanding may occur when the name for an entity is spelled in different ways, when different names are used for the same place, when the same name is used for different places, or when a name is applied to a feature in an unexpected or different way from the general understanding of how it should apply. Standardization of the written form of a name and its application has become increasingly important during the last 100 years http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html 3/24/2005 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Page 3 of 47 because of reference needs associated with the development of natural sciences; sophisticated transportation and communication systems; special land, mineral, and water rights; and highly accurate large-scale maps and charts. Top I Table of Contents U.S. BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES The systematic standardization of geographic names in the United States began late in the 19th century. After the American Civil War there was a surge of mapping and scientific reporting associated with the exploration, mining, and settlement of the western territories. Inconsistencies and contradictions among the many names, their spellings, and applications became a serious problem to mapmakers and scientists who required uniform, nonconflicting geographic nomenclature. As a result, President Benjamin Harrison signed an Executive Order on September 4, 1890, establishing the United States Board on Geographic Names. The Board was given authority to resolve all unsettled questions concerning geographic names. Decisions of the Board were accepted as binding by all departments and agencies of the Federal Government. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt extended the responsibilities of the Board. In addition to adjudicating conflicts, it now had authority to standardize all geographic names for Federal use, including name changes and new names. The current period in the Board's history began in 1947 when the Congress of the United States reorganized the Board by Public Law 80-242 (see Appendix A). The Board on Geographic Names, conjointly with the Secretary of the Interior, is directed to establish and maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government. The present Board operates without a budget and is made up of members and deputies from Federal departments and independent agencies, providing a broad spectrum of representation from most Federal programs concerned with the use of geographic names. All members of the Board and their deputies are employees of the Federal Government, and they serve without further compensation. Members and deputies are appointed by the heads of their respective departments or agencies for a 2-year term. The Chairman is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior on nomination by the Board. The officers of the Board are its Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Executive Secretaries. The Chairman appoints either the Executive Secretary for Domestic Names or the Executive Secretary for Foreign Names to be the Executive Secretary to the Board. Special working committees are established by the Board as necessary. The Secretary of the Interior, upon recommendation of the Board, may establish advisory committees of recognized experts in their respective fields to assist http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html 3/24/2005 Principles, Policies, & Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names reorganized the Board by Public Law 80-242 (see Appendix A). The Board on Geographic Names, conjointly with the Secretary of the Interior, is directed to establish and maintain uniform geographic name usage throughout the Federal Government. The present Board operates without a budget and is made up of members and deputies from Federal departments and independent agencies, providing a broad spectrum of representation from most Federal programs concerned with the use of geographic names. All members of the Board and their deputies are employees of the Federal Government, and they serve without further compensation. Members and deputies are appointed by the heads of their respective departments or agencies for a 2-year term. The Chairman is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior on nomination by the Board. The officers of the Board are its Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Executive Secretaries. The Chairman appoints either the Executive Secretary for Domestic Names or the Executive Secretary for Foreign Names to be the Executive Secretary to the Board. Special working committees are established by the Board as necessary. The Secretary of the Interior, upon recommendation of the Board, may establish advisory committees of recognized experts in their respective fields to assist in the solution or treatment of special problems. Current working committees include the Domestic Names Committee, Foreign Names Committee, Executive Committee, Publications and Publicity Committee, and advisory committees for Antarctic and undersea feature names. Since 1947, domestic names standardization has been carried out in the name of the Board by its Domestic Names Committee, which meets monthly. Consisting of members and deputies representing the Departments of the Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture and the Government Printing Office, Postal Service, and Library of Congress, it is responsible for standardizing the names of places, features, and areas within the 50 States and in other areas under the sovereignty of the United States. The Executive Secretary and staff support for the domestic names activities of the Board and names activities for Antarctica are provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, an agency in the Department of the Interior. From the beginning, in 1890, the Board developed principles of domestic names standardization that have stood the test of time. A primary principle is formal recognition of present-day local usage. To this end, the Committee and its supporting staff work closely with State geographic names authorities, State and local governments, and the general public in order to determine the choice, spelling, written form, and application of each name for official use. A list of State names authorities can be found in Authorities and Organizations Involved With Geographic Names: United States, Canada, Mexico - 1989, published by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Board on Geographic Names. See Appendix B for a list of terms and their definitions used by the Board in its standardization program. Members of the Board and of its staff also have represented the United States in various http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html (4 of 50) [3/13/2002 11:30:08 AM] Principles, Policies, & Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names international programs to standardize names. Appendix E gives a brief history of international programs, including those in the United Nations. Foreign names standardization is carried out in the name of the Board by its Foreign Names Committee. The Committee's members and deputies represent those Federal departments and independent agencies concerned with the use of foreign geographic names. The Executive Secretary and staff support for the foreign names activities of the Board and the maintenance of records relating to names of undersea features are provided by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency in the Department of Defense (see Appendix D). Top Table of Contents CHARACTERISTICS OF DOMESTIC GEOGRAPHIC NAMES Geographic names normally originate in and are influenced by spoken language. It is important to remember this fact because many people are concerned with written forms of names, including matters of spelling, capitalization, word form, and writing marks, that may have little to do with the way names are spoken. Most geographic names are binomial in that they have two parts, denoting the specific and the generic: Middleton (middle town), Coal Hollow, or Sierra Nevada. The generic part tells the kind of place, feature, or area to which the name refers, and the specific part uniquely identifies the particular place, feature, or area. The generic part of the name is usually a single topographic term such as brook, hill, bay, peak, mesa, or lake; the specific part may consist of one or more words such as Grosse Roche, Jenny Lind, and Casale Campo di Carne. The binomial (two-part) form is strong, and in written usage often leads to combining words in the specific part of the name, such as Threemile Run and Redhill Gulch. The names of some features can be long, especially if that specific part is a prepositional phrase: Cliffs of the Seven Double Pillars, Foot of the Mountains Run, and Canon del Rajadero de los Negros. Some names have nonce (rare) generic forms; consider, for example, colorful American names such as Bald Alley (ridge), Butlers Toothpick (pinnacle rock), Titans Piazza (hill), and Devils Racepath (ridge). Among variations of the binomial form are one-word names that require a capitalized article: The Bend, La Pica, The Cape, The Nose, and The Maze. Single-word specific names such as Boston and Pinhook are common for populated places and some civil divisions; the kind of feature meant is implied by sentence context. Several names with the same generic word may be treated as a group in text with the generic word in plural form: "Calumet, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan Counties"; "Wisconsin and Illinois Rivers." http://geonames.usgs.gov/pppdgn.html (5 of 50) [3/13/2002 11:30:08 AM] OTHER BOOKS BY GEORGE R. STEWART N and C.S Bret Harte: Argonaut in Exile Ordeal by Hunger Lan John Phoenix G East of the Giants by George R Stewart Doctor's Oral Storm gn the fact I 380 THE LIBRARY COLBY JUNIOR COLLEGE NEW LONDON, N. H. Chapter I C Of what is attempted in this book ONCE, from eastern ocean to western ocean, the land stretched away without names. Nameless headlands split the surf; nameless lakes reflected nameless mountains; and nameless rivers flowed through nameless valleys into nameless bays. Men came at last, tribe following tribe, speaking different lan- guages and thinking different thoughts. According to their ways of speech and thought they gave names, and in their generations laid their bones by the streams and hills they had named. But even when tribes and languages had vanished, some of those old names, reshaped, still lived in the speech of those who followed. After many centuries a people calling themselves Americans held the land. They followed the ways of the English more than of any others, especially in their speech. Yet they gathered to- gether in their blood and in their manner of life something of all those who had lived in the land before them. Thus they took as a heritage many names of the past. Adding more names, they gave to their children with every generation the heritage richer than before. A few hundred were great names, known to all Americans, of states and cities, mountains and rivers. But most of them were little names, known only to those who lived near by, of ponds and swamps and creeks and hills, of townships and villages, of streets and ranches and plantations, of coves and gulches and meadows. These little names arose by SO many thousands that at last they were numbered by millions. a Thus the names lay thickly over the land, and the Americans spoke them, great and little, easily and carelessly-Virginia, Sus- [3] NAMES ON THE LAND Of the naming that was before history quehanna, Rio Grande, Deadman Creek, Sugarloaf Hill, Detroit, Where jagged mountains reared up along the horizon, many Wall Street-not thinking how they had come to be. Yet the names would describe shapes, but in a flat country names of other names had grown out of the life, and the life-blood, of all those meanings would be given. Where most streams were clear but one who had gone before. From the names might be known how here ran thick with reddish mud, a man coming to that stream would one man hoped and struggled, how there another dreamed, or call it Red River, whether he said Río Colorado, or Rivière Rouge, died, or sought fortune, and another joked, twisting an old name or Bogue Homa, or blurted syllables in some now long-forgotten to make a new one-Providence and Battle Mountain, Hardscrab- tongue. Since alders first grew close to water and desert-cedars ble, Troy, Smackover, Maine, Elrio, Pasadena, Troublesome Creek, clung to hillsides, they predestined Alder Creek and Cedar Moun- Cape Fear, Nashville, Lincoln County, Fourth Crossing. tain. Long Lake and Stony Brook, Blue Ridge and Grass Valley, In this heritage of names the Americans were fortunate, for in lay deeper than tribe or language; the thing and the name were general the names were good, and they were closely bound with almost one. the land itself and the adventures of the people. In older countries No one knows when man came, or who gave the first names. the story of the naming was lost in the ancient darkness. But in Perhaps the streams still ran high from the melting ice-cap, and the land between the two oceans much of the record could still be strange beasts roamed the forest. And since names-corrupted, read-who gave the names and when, and even why one name transferred, re-made-outlive men and nations and languages, it was chosen rather than another. may even be that we still speak daily some name which first meant "Saber-tooth Cave" or "Where-we-killed-the-ground-sloth." This is written, then, as the story of that naming-how the great There is no sure beginning. At the opening of history many and names, one by one, came to stand large on the maps, and how the various tribes already held the land, and had given it a thin scat- little names in their thousands arose on the tongues of the people, tering of names. The names themselves can be made to reveal the after the varying customs of time and place, of blood and lan- manner of the earliest naming. guage. Once, let us say, some tribesmen moved toward a new country, which was unknown to them. Halting, they chose a good man, and sent him ahead. This scout went on, watching not to be ambushed or get lost, knowing he must report shrewdly when he returned. First he skulked along the edge of a big meadow, Chapter II C Of the naming that was before where he saw many deer. Then he came to a stream where he noted some oak trees, which were uncommon in that country. history All this time he was skirting the slope of a great mountain, but because he was actually on it, and because the trees were SO thick, he did not think of a mountain; and, besides, it made no differ- ence to him one way or the other. So he went farther on-through a little swamp, and to a stream which he crossed on a beaver-dam. IN THE distant past, then, the land was without names. Yet the This stream was the same as the one where the oak trees grew, nature of the land itself prefigured something of what was to be. but he had no way of being certain, and besides it did not matter [4] [5] NAMES ON THE LAND How they took the names into the mountains Thus in that long period of steady development the names be- came more English as the strange Indian and Dutch and Swedish rendered the more notable because of the History of the Dividing words were made over, but in most other ways the names became Line written by that sprightly Virginian, Colonel William Byrd of Westover. less like those of England. The surveying party was a cross-section of colonial society. Some Sapponi Indians went along as guides. From them the scale ranged upward through hunters, ax-men, horse-tenders, and sur- veyors, to the chaplain and commissioners, reaching the pinnacle in Byrd himself-planter, gentleman, wit, gallant, scholar in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Chapter XIV L How they took the names into From the very beginning the controversy grew out of a name, and like that involving the Charles and Merrimack it illustrates how little the English government understood the difficulties in- the mountains volved with names in a new country. In 1665 the northern bound- ary of Carolina had been fixed by reference to Weyanoke Creek, located only as lying "within or about the degrees of 36 and thirty minutes northern latitude." The region of the boundary lay in the DURING half a century, there were no new colonies; then in 1732, vicinity of the Great Dismal Swamp, and was not attractive. Be- the fifth year of King George II, the last of the thirteen was fore it was settled, tradition had lapsed. As Colonel Byrd put the merely called in its charter, without explanation: "The Colony of matter: "In the long course of years Weynoke Creek lost its name, Georgia in America," thus taking the King's name with a Latin so that it became a controversy where it lay." Recourse to old- timers merely resulted in the usual split: "Some ancient persons in ending. Virginia affirmed it was the same with Wicocon, and others again About this time the frontier began to reach the mountains. First in Carolina were as positive it was Nottoway River." The differ- of all went the hunters and Indian traders, but their namings ence was a strip fifteen miles wide, extending in theory three thousand miles to the other ocean. often failed to be written down and preserved. Next went most often the surveyors, and the giving and recording of names came The commissioners finally agreed upon an interpretation, and to be part of their profession. Their work was to determine the with a point on the Atlantic coast thus settled, they set out to run boundaries between colonies, or lay out the lines of grants. With the survey due west. The first 125 miles passed through country both, they made maps, and wrote on them the names of streams which was sparsely settled and already named. The surveyors entered in their notes such common backwoods names as Black- and other easily recognizable features, such as outstanding or strangely shaped hills. By reference to these, other men could water River, Jack's Swamp, Beaver-Pond Creek, and Pigeon- Roost Creek. Nut-bush Creek was the last of these, and Byrd locate the surveyors' marks. Once thus written on a map, a name became involved with land-titles, and had a fair chance to survive. entered the next stream as Massamony, "Paint-Creek," "because of One of the most famous surveys was that of 1728 to settle the the great quantity of red ochre found in its banks." At that point boundary between Virginia and North Carolina, an expedition the surveyors had apparently passed beyond the frontier of settle- ment and established English names, but were in a region familiar 126] [127] NAMES ON THE LAND How they took the names into the mountains to their Indian guides. Within the next thirty miles, four more multitudes of water-falls," would have used the folk-name Falling such Indian names were taken over. In this same sector, also, Creek. Cascade Creek sounds like the Colonel himself. Byrd recorded their first giving of a name. It was October, and The most successful name of this expedition was also probably the ducks were flying south. The surveyors came to a small stream his. The despairing lover in English folk-lore might die of a where they saw many ducks of a kind called Blue-Wing, and broken heart but did not resort to jumping from a precipice. As using a phonetic spelling of the word, Byrd noted from that inci- a student of the classics, however, Byrd was familiar with Sap- dent, "we gave the name of Blewing Creek, because of the great pho's leap from the Leucadian promontory. On October 25th, he number of those fowls that then frequented it." wrote: "The air clearing up this morning, we were again agree- On October 7th the Carolina commissioners, deciding that the ably surprised with a full prospect of the mountains." One of line had been carried far enough, turned back, and took with them toward the south was very high, and "the west end of it them all the Indians except Ned Bearskin. Apparently he was no terminated in a horrible precipice, that we called the Despairing longer familiar with the country or its names. After Hico- Lover's Leap." This Carolina cliff was thus probably the first ottomony Creek, surviving as Hyco, the surveyors bestowed Eng- spot in America to be called by a name upon which the folk- lish names liberally. imagination quickly fastened. Most of them were of the common stock of the frontier- It spread from coast to coast. Even Louisiana, the flattest state, Buffalo Creek, "so named from the frequent tokens we discov- has several. Lover's Leap may be anything from a little clay bluff ered of that American behemoth"; Cane and Lowland Creeks by to a typically grandiose Californian example insuring a good obvious description; Miry Creek, "so called because several of the thousand feet in the clear. Local legend sometimes reports, half- horses were mired in its branches"; Crooked Creek, because in heartedly, the story of a lover, usually an Indian girl. But even running the east-west line they found themselves forced to cross the tellers of the stories seldom show conviction, and it would be it several times; Mayo and Irvin Creeks in honor of two of the difficult among our hundred or more Lover's Leaps to find a sin- surveyors; Tear Coat Camp, an often-recurring folk-name, be- gle one from which a lover ever jumped. Often, like Byrd, the cause of the rough thickets surrounding it; Cockade Creek, namers seem only to suggest that here would be a good place to "because we there began to wear the beards of wild turkey-cocks take off, if anyone wanted to. in our hats." The fascination of a high place and the prevalence of a similar Occasionally they indulged a little fancy, as with Matrimony Indian folk-tale may have aided the popularity of the name. Cer- Creek (doubtless suggested by Massamony), "called SO by an tainly the alliteration made it stick easily in the mind. Any alliter- unfortunate married man, because it was exceedingly noisy and ative coupling is likely to be often repeated-Roaring Run, impetuous." But the worldly-wise Colonel added, "though the Crooked Creek, Hungry Hill, Robbers' Roost, Devil's Den, Hell's stream was clamorous, yet, 'like those women who make them- Half-Acre. selves plainest heard, it was likewise perfectly clear and unsullied." In similar ironic mood they named one small mountain The Wart Colonel Byrd made another excursion to look at some lands. In and another The Pimple because neither was of much size in, his journal for September 19, 1733, he wrote: comparison with the greater ones in the distance. The heavens lowered a little upon us in the morning, but, like a Now and then Byrd's own vocabulary was in evidence. The damsel ruffled by too bold an address, it soon cleared up again. Because packers and ax-men, when naming a stream "by reason of the I detested idleness, I caused my overseer to paddle me up the river. 128] [129] NAMES ON THE LAND How they took the names into the mountains On returning home, he and his surveyor indulged in some By shallow rivers, to whose falls, Melodious birds sing madrigals, fancy: We laid the foundation of two large cities. One at Shacco's to be he suggested, not a roaring cataract, but something gentler. Thus called Richmond, and the other at the point of Appomattox river, to be the first English used fall, in America, to mean almost any place named Petersburg. Thus we did not build castles only, but also where the surface of the water was broken a little. But when they cities in the air. came among the dashing streams of the mountains, they saw real waterfalls, and needing a new word for a mere swift place, they As regards the names, however, he need not have been so used ripple, which after a while became riffle. modest. Petersburg made use of an already established Peter's They still advanced upstream, and SO said branch sometimes. Point, although Byrd may also have enjoyed using the name of But that remained mostly a tide-water word. In the hills, when the Russian capital recently built up by Peter the Great from the men came to a place where they looked ahead and saw two marshes along the Neva. Richmond he is thought to have named streams flowing together, their minds worked in different ways. from some fancied resemblance of its site on the James to that of If one stream was much larger than the other, they might keep Richmond on the Thames, which he had known during his long the old name of the lower course for that stream, and call the residence in London. Both names survived and were copied for other by a new name. But it was hard to think of new names. So, many other towns. if the main stream was Sandy, they might call the smaller one Little Sandy. This also was easier to remember. When the two Farms were beginning to fill the coastal plain and the rolling streams coming together were of much the same size, the place country behind it. On the western horizon, many men besides might be called the Forks of Sandy, and one stream the North Colonel Byrd saw the higher mountains, "like ranges of blue Fork, and the other the South Fork. And sometimes, using a clouds." Needing a name before they got close enough to see the different figure of speech, they said North and South Prong. green of the trees, men began to say the Blue Ridge. Men using canoes also developed some new words. When they Stretching a thousand miles north and south, they had no gen- came to a riffle and were forced to carry their canoes around it, eral name, and were often called merely The Mountains. They they called that a carrying-place. The smooth stretch above a were too huge for any man to see at one time. So, coming to some riffle, they called a stillwater. particular part, men called each differently. Sometimes they But Those who traveled by land needed words for low places learned an Indian name such as Kittatinny, "big mountain." through mountain barriers, for there was no common English the Indians had few names for mountains, and so their names for word. In New England, men came to say notch; in the other streams often did double service, as with Allegheny. So it was too colonies, gap. Sometimes the gap or notch was named first because with the Dutch Catskill, "Cat's Creek," SO called probably be- it marked the road, and was more important than the mountain cause someone saw a wildcat there. Everywhere rivers were likely that merely towered above it. to be named first, and then mountains to take their names from One of the many men who went into the mountains was Asa rivers, and seldom the reverse. Kinsman. His could be the story of hundreds. He piled his goods The English needed words for mountain streams. When Mar- on a cart, yoked his two oxen, and went with his wife to take up lowe wrote: land. At some place where the rough track branched, he went [ 130] [131] NAMES ON THE LAND How they took the names into the mountains right instead of left. When he came at last to a settlement, they told him that his land was off to the northwest over the trackless there fire, was too fearful a name to be lightly used. But of the others mountains, and that he must return and take the left-hand fork. But he was of that stubborn breed which will not turn back on the Thick-forested Gilead, Mount Hermon, Mount Moriah, Mount Mount prophets dwelt; Mount Nebo, where Moses died; Mount Ephraim, were many-Mount Carmel and Mount Horeb, where the traveled road. He found a low place between mountains, and cut himself a road with his ax, and took his cart through. So men too names of those far-off desert peaks. Even Mount Zion the with chestnut and spruce and maple they Pisgah. echoed called it rightly Kinsman Notch, and later, Kinsman Mountain. The English even took sea-coast words into the mountains. Flat had meant low land by the sea, as men still say tide-flat. But slopes From no olive trees had ever fluttered their little leaves. walked, came more than one Mount Olive on whose wooded holy. And from the Mount of Olives, where Christ was had not it became a level spot on the side of a mountain. Cove, which had meant a little bay, came to be used for a valley shut in among hills. Thus tom, Mount should precede and Mountain should strange follow. cus- that Biblical usage also sprang perhaps another gray they said Mount Tom, but Black Mountain. Most mountains were SO shaped that they were easily called by the old word ridge. But the English had no word for a moun- tain standing up sharply by itself. So they began to say knob. As the English worked into the mountains, they began to have Individual mountains got their names in the usual ways, by watered new experiences. In England they had known mostly well- description, or incident, or ownership. Most of these mountains certain country where streams ran throughout the a but in had thick forest all the way to the top. But some were higher or bourne parts the people had found need of the name year; Winter- more wind-swept, or more rocky, or had perhaps been cleared by the all the tide-water country had been well watered, and Eng- land and to denote a stream which ran only in winter. New fire. These grassy-topped or rocky-topped mountains stood out sharply among the others and were good landmarks. In all the Later, tradition of Winterbourne was lost, along with the word SO colonies they were most often named Bald Mountain, sometimes region Then it where the water ran off quickly from the steeper came to a when the colonists entered the mountains, they burn. Bare Mountain, occasionally Naked Mountain. In some regions the name became so common that any such summit was simply happened, especially toward the south, that in slopes. called a bald. Later, after the forests had been cleared, these moun- where August or September hunters or surveyors came to a stream-bed some hot tains were not SO individual, or sometimes the trees grew on a wonder, no water ran among the boulders. This was a for burned summit. Then, because the sounds were the same, men often wrote Bear Mountain. So there is no way of telling which it water name was a contradiction in itself. Perhaps the stream although the spoke of Dry Run, or Dry Creek, or even Dry River, men and all such matters for wonder create names. matter So first was, but there are SO many more of these than of mountains named for other animals that most of them were probably Bare Thus during ten months; even so, it often kept the name ran Mountain. bourne arose another difference between the countries. Dry. Men found the mountains strange, and sometimes fearsome. In the noted the presence of water, but Dry Creek arose Winter- from one way the names reflected this sense of awe. The English did opposite point of view and emphasized its absence. not often name rivers for streams of England or of the Bible. But mountains were constantly called for Biblical mountains. Mount Sinai, where the glory of the Lord was like devouring shaggy his beast with the ponderous head. Where they first the tales of the great buffalo. In every glade they looked for heard Also, like Colonel Byrd, all who went westward had [ 132] on traces, they often called the place by that name. So, saw right him [133] NAMES ON THE LAND across Virginia runs a line of buffalo names. Eastward there are none, for there the buffalo had not come. Westward such names are fewer, for by the time men had reached those regions the buffalo had ceased to be a novelty. But north and south, from Buffalo Branch in Augusta County to Buffalo Springs in Mecklen- Chapter XV l Of the years when they fought burg, that line of names still shows where our ancestors first came the French to the range of the buffalo. As they entered the mountain-country and passed through it, they began to find other strange traces, and not of beasts. Perhaps a Kanawha squaw nursed a blue-eyed papoose, or in a Twightwee village a crucifix hung by a lodge-door. Then the Englishmen the ON A winter night in 1690 some French and Indians surprised looked at each other, and sometimes they gave a name. Even on frontier village of Schenectady, sacked and burned it, killed the sea-coast it had been heard before-French Harbor, French sixty people, and carried off twenty-seven captives. From that Watering-Place told where strange ships once dropped anchor. and time, for three-quarters of a century, the frontier knew only war Far in the north, above Winooski River, French Hill marks off the threat of war, and for a while war seemed to dominate the inland frontier. That stream itself was once called French even the giving of names. River, because along it the French with their Indians marched upon the English settlements. In Massachusetts a hill and three In 1699 the French began to colonize again on the Gulf near the streams may be called from some colonist named French, or may mark where a raiding partisan led his painted warriors. The line tribe mouth of the Mississippi. They founded a fort in the country of a who had long been known to the Spaniards as Mauvila. The swings around the Iroquois country, but French Creek in western French made the name over into the form of a French word New York shows the route of King Louis's men southward from Mobile. On a river near by they found some Indians who called as Lake Erie. Among the mountains the name runs on toward the themseives "thicket-clearers," meaning perhaps that their south until at last, far in Carolina, the Broad River flows off to- tors the had learned to cultivate land. The French wrote of them ances- as ward the Atlantic; but over the ridge the westward-flowing Alibamons, and called the river by that name. stream is the French Broad. If the fortunes of battle had proved different, the western stream might have been La Grande, and the new King, the Duc d'Orléans became regent. The Scottish At last in 1715 old King Louis died, and in the infancy of the eastern La Grande Anglaise. moter, John Law, won his ear with grandiose schemes for pro- chief Mississippi. Since the project had the Regent's the on making, the and a great company was organized to found a money- colony from city was to be called Nouvelle Orléans, taking support, its it his title and from Orléans on the Loire. Like Philadelphia name fixed. was named before it was born, and even before the location place for The founders voyaged along the river, looking for a suitable was the city in 1718. the settlement and the name. Finding one, they founded [ 134] [135] SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD 1890 to 1932 UNIVERSITY STATES HOMELAND DEPARTMENT UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : 1933 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C. - Price 80 cents (Paper cover) I. CHARACTERISTICS OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES Geographic names, like roads and boundaries, are superimposed by man upon the surface of the earth. They constitute a revealing and important record of human migration and settlement, and afford in- sight into the history, the language, the economic and social structure, and the religious faith of a people. Although geographic names may have little or no relation to natural physical features, they inevitably bear the impress of one or more languages. A single spot may be known, at different times, or by different people at the same time, by several geographic names which are wholly dissimilar in origin and form (e. g., Manhattan and Nieuw Amsterdam). Geographic names generally reveal the nationality or mother tongue of their authors-unless they have been so modified as to obscure their origin, in which case they usually reveal the language of I THAT those who modify them. In Great Britain, for example, there are groups or patches of names of Roman, Celtic, Danish, Saxon, and Norman origin. In the United States there are thousands of Spanish names in the Southwest, numerous French names and French spell- ings of Indian names throughout the original colonies and the area of the Louisiana purchase, a trail of Dutch names in eastern New York and New Jersey, and many other linguistic groups both from the colonial period and of recent origin. It is convenient to group and study geographic names as descriptive names, nondescriptive names, personal names, transplanted geo- graphic names, names commemorating a date or an event, religious and social names, casual and whimsical names, metamorphosed names, and mixed types of names. 1.) DESCRIPTIVE NAMES All names, which are conferred on account of some characteristic of the place or feature which is named may be regarded as descriptive even though the characteristic may be of minor importance. Names such as Blue Ridge, Colorado, Detroit, Green Bay, Iceland, Lac qui Parle, Painted Desert, Rocky Mountains, Sawtooth Range, Sierra Nevada, Tierra del Fuego, and Vermont are descriptive of some phys- ical feature or characteristic. Sometimes shape is emphasized, as with Moosehead Lake (Maine). Sometimes the reference is to vege- tation, as with Florida and the numerous Pine Mountains, Juniper Points, and Cottonwood Creeks. Many of the American names of SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD 5 4 SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD (f) Metamorphosed names. Key West is a corruption of the Spanish Indian origin are descriptive, as Connecticut, the long river. The "Cayo Huesco," meaning "bone reef." Tombigbee is a corruption meaning of the greater part of the American Indian place-names is of "itombi-ikbi," meaning "where coffins are made. "1 Ozark is a lost, but many of the names are nevertheless descriptive in origin. modification of the French "Aux Arcs." There are a number of Some descriptive, names, such as Flathead and Nez Perce, describe such names in the United States, usually small and unimportant. the people living in the region, rather than some physical feature of Many of the important names in foreign countries have gone through the region. Similarly, Yugoslavia means South-Slavia, or land of one or more metamorphic transformations, examples of which may be the South Slavs. found on pp. 31-32. 2. NONDESCRIPTIVE NAMES 3. MIXED TYPES OF NAMES (a) Personal names are frequently given in honor of some great or prominent person, or of an early settler. There are approximately Mixed types of names ending in -burg, -field, -ford, -ham, -ton, and 450 towns, counties, townships, streams, and mountains in the -ville, may be regarded as semidescriptive. The descriptive suffix is United States named Washington. Other well-known personal names frequently preceded by a personal name. Examples are Harrisburg, in the United States include Baltimore, Bessemer, Bismarck, Cleve- Pittsburgh, Brantford, Charleston, Galveston, Nashville. The names land, Custer, Delaware, Houston, Hudson, Lincoln, and Scranton. Constantinople and Indianapolis are somewhat similar. Sangre de Carolina and Georgia are derived from personal names. Cristo, and Mount of the Holy Cross are names which are both (b) Transplanted geographic names, such as Boston, Cambridge, descriptive and religious. There are composite names of many types, and Gloucester (Mass.), Albany, Troy, Utica, and Syracuse (N. Y.) embracing combinations of various types of nondescriptive names and Rome (Ga. and N. Y.), Cumberland Mountains, and Jordan with practically all types of descriptive names. River (Utah), have no relation to local physical features, and their 1 See p. 14 for further information relating to this name, derivation in the country from which they are transplanted has little or no significance in relation to the region to which they are trans- planted. Such names frequently bear a clear imprint of the history and characteristics of the early settlers. (c) Names commemorating an event are sometimes given, particu- larly the date of discovery, e. g., Christmas Island (Pacific Ocean), Christmas Mountain and Creek (Alaska), Easter Island, Sunday Creek (Montana), Mount St. Elias (discovered on St. Elias day), Natal, Rio. de Janeiro. Council Bluffs commemorates the councils of Lewis and Clark with the Indians at certain bluffs on the Missouri River. (d) Religious names reflect the religious sentiment and fervor of discoverers or early settlers. Such names as Bethlehem, Bethany, and Bethel are found in many parts of the United States. Phila- delphia may perhaps be regarded as belonging to this category. Many Catholic names are in honor of saints, e. g., St. Augustine, St. Louis, San Francisco, Santa Barbara. Others are nonpersonal but of religious significance, such as Los Angeles, Trinidad, Concep- ción, Santo Domingo, Santa Fe, Providence (city and river), and Zion, Canyon. (e) Casual and whimsical names are usually the names of small villages or minor physical features, for example Fair Play, Harmony, Unity, Necessity, Economy, Charity, Solitude, Surprise, Pork and Beans, Vigor, Virtue, and World's End. bonwating I. HOW THE GEOGRAPHIC BOARD WORKS 1. HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE Cases which come to the board for decision receive careful exami- nation, first generally by the secretary who consults printed authorities such as mother maps, gazetteers, local histories, atlases, etc. A study of all the early maps, and of subsequent maps taken at varying periods, furnishes much of the general data as to the deriva- tion of the name, its changes in form, and the extent to which it has been used locally to designate a certain feature or group of features. Maps often provide the only means of tracing chronologically the various changes in form and spelling. Not only do they usually ante- date State and local gazetteers and histories, but for a number of States where such sources are either lacking or out of date they repre- sent the best readily available means of determining the history of a name If the examination of maps shows also features or places with names somewhat similar to that under investigation, the scope of the study is extended to include such names. Especial inquiry is made, usually through correspondence, to learn local usage, or predominant usage if two or more names are in use. Local usage is usually obtained from State geographic boards, or from local officials such as State, county, or town officers, postmasters, historical societies, and residents who are familiar with local condi- tions. This information derived from correspondence is often sup- plemented by the oral testimony of individuals having personal knowledge of the name under consideration. The information needful for deciding may be obtained quickly, or it may take months. When this research work is completed the results are tabulated upon printed cards. These cards (usually prepared one for each place or feature), together with all correspondence, maps, and other informative data relating thereto, are then referred to the executive committee. The committee, examines the card, and the correspond- ence-maps and other evidence connected therewith, and each member records his preference by initialing on the card the name or spelling preferred by him. Thus there is a record vote of the executive com- mittee The finished cards thus initialed, with all papers, maps, etc., pertaining to them, are submitted to the board at its first regular meeting thereafter and considered one by one. 65593 33 5 55 56 SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD 57 In order that it might dispose of the large number of cases which were frequently submitted by the executive committee it soon became the usual practice of the board to accept the judgment of the executive committee whenever it is unanimous and by acquiescence or unani- mous consent to approve the committee's recommendation, thus eliminating a time-consuming vote on each name so recommended. Sometimes, however, the unanimous recommendation of the executive committee is questioned, and in such cases the member having special knowledge, or acting for a department or bureau having special UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD interest, requests delay and further study, or a reference to an inter- Adopted Indian Wells. Approved ested department or bureau, before reconsideration and final action by name Thing Valley, in Kern, Invo, and San Bernardino Counties, California. June 2, 1920 the board. When the members of the executive committee have not named agreed unanimously in favor of a single name or form of name, a formal Names Authorities vote is taken and, a quorum being present, a majority vote decides. Salt Wells Valley Wheeler Survey, sheet 65 (D) Erpds. 1871 & 1876. Should the data submitted in support of any name recommended by G. L. O. Map of Cal., 1891, 1900, 1907, 1915. Death Valley Expd., Map 1891 the executive committee be considered inadequate, the board returns State mining bureau, Map of Cal., 1891, 1911. " " Map of Cal., Whitaker & Ray, San F., 1895. the case to the secretary or to the executive committee, or refers it to Brown Valley G. S., Searles Lake sheet, 1915. Forest Service, Map of Sequoia Forest, 4 mi. - 1 in., 1919. some especially qualified or interested member, for additional infor- Indian Wells Valley Report on-Conservation Com., State of Cal., Rept., 1912, formerly called Salt Wells , p. 404. mation. Valley. Indian Wells Valley G. S. Bull. 580, pp. 269-270, & Pt. VII, 1916. The decision when reached is placed at the top of the card, in Inyo-Kern Valley Hearing Rec., Com. on Public Lands, H. R. 406, 66th Cong. 1st Sess., 1919, Water supply of Los Angeles, pp. 129, 130, 13%, printed or typed form, and the card is stamped Approved, with the date 133, 202. Local Usage of approval. This completes the case and the decision card is filed Indian Wells Valley E. Smith. County Clerk, Kern Co., Bakersfield, Cal. alphabetically and becomes the easily consulted record of the official Howard N. Gill, Posimaster, Brown, Kern Co., Cal. E. C. Siebenthal, Postmaster. Leliter, Kern Co., Cal. name adopted by the board. The correspondence connected with F. H. Hill, Posimaster, Inyokern, Kern Co., Cal. (He prefers Inyokern.) each case, including petitions, maps, etc., if any, also are filed for future reference. A reduced copy of one of these cards is printed Recommendation of Executive Committee on the opposite page. Indian Wells FB Submitted by U.S.G.S. CSS 2. COOPERATION IN THE STUDY OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES Date May 23, 1920 CINN JMcC (a) ADVISORY COMMITTEE This card prepared by Jas. McCormick The study of geographic names impinges upon the fields of the geographer, the historian, the linguist, and the lexicographer. For this reason, the United States Geographic Board has, within recent months (1931), enlisted the cooperation of a number of individual geographers, historians, and lexicographers who are particularly competent to advise the board on certain matters of general principle and policy, relating both to domestic and foreign geographic names, such as the preparation of a pronunciation table, and the style and form of the board's decisions which should prove most satisfactory to users of the board's reports. The advisory committee is an unof- ficial body whose members usually give their views in writing, for 58 SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD 59 consideration of the board, without coming together for meetings. The present membership is listed below: These State boards are composed principally of historians, geolo- gists, and other individuals who have been personally interested in the ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD study of local place names. In States in which there is a geographic board which is functioning, the United States Geographic Board [June 30, 1932] usually does not make a decision concerning a name within the State Mr. P. W. Carhart, Editor, Merriam-Webster Dictionaries, Springfield, Mass. without first ascertaining the views of the State board. Dr. C. H. Grandgent, Professor of Romance Languages, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. In this way the study of place names in the United States is expc- Mr. W. L. G. Joerg, Research Editor, American Geographical Society of dited and much valuable information acquired before it is too late. New York, New York, Without greatly increasing the work of the board, the volume of the Dr. Wellington Jones, Professor of Geography, University of Chicago, Chicago, decisions is appreciably increased, and the decisions become more III. adequate and authoritative. The national board can assist the State Dr. Edmond S. Meany, Professor of American History, University of Wash- boards in developing the most effective method of study, and can ington, Seattle, Wash. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution (E. H. correlate their activities. Names adopted by State boards, when they Harriman Fund), and Trustce, National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. are adopted by the United States Geographic Board are brought Dr. Edward Sapir, Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics, Yalc University, together in a single alphabetical arrangement, with uniformity of New Haven, Conn. style and form, and also, to a considerable degree, with equal standards Dr. Frank H. Vizetelly, Editor, Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary, of excellence. New York, N. Y. Among the most useful activities of the State boards are the efforts (b) DOMESTIC NAMES I being made to eliminate duplicate names where their proximity makes Problems involved in the study of geographic names in the United for confusion. How great a field this constitutes may be judged by States are nevertheless simpler on the whole than the problems con- noting that in the State of New York there are at least 71 ponds nected with place-name study in the Old World. It would seem and lakes known by the name Mud and 60 by the name Little. desirable, however, that studies of American place names be made Among the names given to mountains and peaks most commonly somewhat analogous to the scholarly studies of the origin of geographic duplicated in California are Sugarloaf with 26 examples, Black with names in Great Britain which are being made and published by the 21, and Bald with 18. In Wisconsin, for instance, there are 35 Long English Place-Name Society, through voluntary assistance and Lakes, 28 Bass Lakes, 27 Twin Lakes, 24 Round Lakes, 22 Pinc support. In some of the Scandinavian countries the study of place Creeks, and 20 Hay Creeks. As typical of the work being donc by names is being made with State support. It may be that, owing to the the State boards in this direction there may be cited a complete list nature of the problem in the United States, and the volume of the of names for natural features in Sawyer County, Wis., approved by work to be done, such studies may well be made, to a considerable the State board, in which the names of 9 lakes in that county, formerly degree by associations of historians, geographers, and other special- known as Bass, have been changed to Ashegon, Blue Gill, Indian, ists. Little Buck, Perch, Placid, Twenty-seven, Windigo, and Weirgor. State geographic ards.-Evidence of inestimable value to the geographer or specialist is being rapidly lost in the United States, (c) FOREIGN NAMES especially that which must be obtained by word of mouth from early The United States Geographic Board has established cooperation settlers in the West. Since the most effective and satisfactory study and agreeable relations with the analogous committee in Great Britain, of geographic names is made in an application of general principles the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official to intensive study of local names, and since the present local usage is Use. The P. C. G. as it is frequently called, has, since its of great importance in connection with making a decision concerning organization in 1919,4 devoted itself to the study of geographical any geographic name, the United States Geographic Board has in names outside the British Isles, confined thus far within the Eastern recent years, as stated above, encouraged the creation of a State Hemisphere. It has published a general transliteration table, and geographic board in each of the States of the United States. separate transliteration tables for more than 50 languages. The I See pp. 15-16 on "Trends in adopting new names and in changing old names," and pp. 17-20 on "Criterin volume of its decisions relating to foreign geographical names is several and standards of the United States Geographic Board in rendering docisions concerning domestic names." Olsee the Geog. Jour., vol. 57 (1021), pp. 35-43, for an account of the organization, etc., of the P. c.a. N. 60 SIXTH REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHIC BOARD times as great as the number of similar decisions which the United States Geographic Board has thus far rendered. The transliteration table adopted by the United States Geographic Board differs in only two minor particulars from that of the P. C. G. N., and the policies of the two boards as they relate to foreign geographical names are in II. HISTORY OF THE GEOGRAPHIC BOARD general accord. The advantage of this cooperation is that divergent usage in the English-speaking countries is reduced practically to a 1. BRIEF HISTORY OF) THE BOARD minimum. The United States Geographic Board owes its origin to the need of There is very close cooperation between this board and the Geo- the departments and bureaus of the Federal Government for uniform- graphic board of Canada in matters of common interest. Where the ity and authority in the naming of geographic features in the United feature to be named lies in the two countries, it is the practice for the States-on maps and charts, and in the text of reports and documents. board to suggest a name and spelling, forwarding at the same time a Difficulties had been experienced because, in many instances, local statement as to local usage, and as to the origin and history of the usage had not crystallized, and there was no agency to choose between name. The naming of features along the international boundary names competing for the same place. There was no authority to between British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska has been in recent approve new names which were lacking. It frequently occurred that years an important phase of the joint activities of the two boards. the same bureau had used different names or forms of the name at The Canadian Board also serves as an authority to whom this different times and in different publications. Confusion prevailed. board directs inquiries of a general nature, received from Govern- Changes in printing plates were expensive. mental and private sources, relating to the geography and nomen- In the winter of 1889-90 the matter became the subject of inter- clature of Canada. departmental conference among representatives of the various Federal departments most deeply interested, and it was decided to attempt the removal of a serious and growing evil in the publications of the Government. A voluntary association of 10 representatives of several interested bureaus was formed early in the year 1890, and later in the same year President Harrison by Executive order made it an official "Board on Geographic Names," specifying that "all unsettled questions concerning geographic names which arise in the departments" were to be referred to the board, and that the decisions of the board are to be accepted by these departments as the standard authority in such matters." In the early years of its existence the Geographic Board confined its activities to the settlement of specific disputes regarding the choice and the spelling of names presented to it by the various Gov- ernment departments and establishments. The problems presented to the board have gradually come to embrace all aspects of the study of geographic names, so that the scope of the work of the board now embraces the entire field of geographic nomenclature. The board, during the period 1890-1932, has rendered decisions on approximately 32,000 geographic names, of which about 14,000 are in the United States, 15,500 in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, and other outlying possessions, and about 2,500 in foreign countries. The complete text of the Executive order appears on p. V. 61 I 33.2! N 15 FEC 11 1993 This copyright Code). CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL . UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES A WORLD OF NAMES COMPLETED ok A WORLD OF NAMES CELEBRATING THE CENTENNIAL UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES A world without names is difficult to imagine, so deeply rooted is the human need to identify experience: people, places, things, and events. "Nam- ing," as Jessamyn West wrote, "is a kind of possessing," a powerfully satis- fying ordering of life. And as Thomas Carlyle suggests, naming things is an enjoyable, creative act: "Giving a name is a poetic act; [and] all poetry is but a giving of names." Unlike personal names and momentous events, on which great thoughts have been lavished, place names have remained relatively unsung. Yet great battles have been fought over naming, that is, possessing the land, and almost everyone has some story to tell of place names they know, from Kenne- bunk, Maine, to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. A World of Names explores place names throughout the world with an eye toward understanding their power, pleasure, and pedigree. Using a variety of objects-maps, journals, case files, books, photographs, t-shirts, sheet music, whiskey bottles, and video-the exhibition examines the processes by which names are applied to the landscape; conflicts in nam- ing places; the romance of place names; and how place names are stan- dardized. The exhibition also celebrates the centennial of the United States Board on Geographic Names, which is comprised of representatives from nine federal agencies, including the Library of Congress. The Board reviews all new names and name changes proposed by organizations or individuals, and establishes domestic and foreign place name usage within the federal government, and, in effect, for the country at large. This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the member agencies of the United States Board on Geographic Names 1 117 118 110 120 121 12% 123 izy 126 127 128 129 130 131 13z 133 134 New Jersey, the Garden State of Farm & Industry, Tercentenary, 1664-1964, 1964; Nevada, the Silver State, Centennial, 1864-1964, 1963; Michigan, Great Lakes State, 1972; Michigan, Wolverine Beam Bottle & Specialties Club, 1975, 1975; New Mexico, 60 Years of Statehood, 1912-1972, 1972; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 25th Annual Ralph Edwards Fiesta, 1974, 1974; West Virginia Cen- tennial, 1863-1963, 1962; Florida ABC Liquor Stores Lounges, 1973; Key West, 150th Anniversary of the Old Island, 1822-1972, 1972; Australia, 1973; New Zealand, 1974; Italy, designed by the boys of Boys' Town of Italy, 1973; The E. E. "Pop" Harrison No. 1 - Permian Basin Oil Show, Odessa Texas, Oct. 18-21, 1972, 1972; Kansas Centennial, 1861, 1960; Boot Hill, Dodge City, Kansas, Cen- tennial, 1872-1972, 1972; Idaho Centennial, 1863-1963, 1962. Copyright Office (114-132) NAMING THE LAND The processes by which places are named is complex, often cogently reflecting the history of settlements in an area and, particularly, the impact of successive cultures. Over the centuries, the most important agents in the naming process have included explorers, settlers, surveyors, cartographers, politicians, and entrepreneurs. Their responses in naming the land have been inspired by various motivations, ranging from simple expediency to calcu- lated deliberations. The European settlement of America offers excellent examples of the nam- ing process. Most of the places penetrated by explorers were already named by the aborigines. In the logs, journals, and drawings documenting their experiences, some explorers retained these native names, often adding new ones from their own cultural traditions and occasionally in commemora- tion of their own discoveries. This process was greatly accelerated when officially appointed surveyors and cartographers recorded commonly accepted names and new names on their maps, which, when published, encouraged the standardization of names. The panoply of names in America was greatly enriched by the ensuing flood of immigrants, who imposed new names in new languages: Spanish, Dutch, French, English, and, more recently, German, Irish, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese, among others. With the growing establishment of distinct political units, the naming process became increasingly institutionalized, 8 8 110 120 121 122 127 124/124/126127 128 129 130/132 13% 133 134 134 136 138 133 140 141 142 dominated by governmental and commercial interests, which tended to favor commemorative names, especially those of European cities which they hoped to emulate and to rival. The naming process has not ended. Since the sixteenth century, new tech- nologies have opened up new frontiers which require new names: in the undersea realms, in the polar regions, and in outer space. Paradoxically, these remote areas are among the few in recent history in which names of living people have been applied, largely in honor of their having discovered or explored some feature. Strait of Magellan Magellan's route around the world, 1519-1521, depicted by Agnese, ca. 1544 Pen, ink and watercolor on vellum. In [Portolan Atlas], by Battista Agnese. [Vene- zia, ca. 1544], folio 14. Vellum Coll. No. 5. Geography and Map Division (134) Model of Columbus' flagship, the Santa Maria, a nao (or square-rigger) of the type used by Magellan in his trip around the world Wood and fabric. National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (135) Map of Patagonia in the diary of the Venetian Antonio Pigafetta, who accom- panied Magellan on his voyage around the world, 1519-1521 Watercolor on vellum. In Magellan's Voyage by Antonio Pigafetta. Translat- ed by R.A. Skelton. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969, vol. 2, folio 21. Facsimile of the 1525? manuscript in the Beinecke Library. General Collections (136) Early eighteenth-century map showing the strait named for Magellan and the Pacific Ocean and Tierra del Fuego named by him Hand-colored engraving. Tabula Magellanica qua Tierrae del Fuego by Jan Jansson. Amsterdam: P. Schenk and G. Valk, ca. 1709. TC, Chile (1eg.)-Magellan, Strait. Geography and Map Division (137) Ferdinand Magellan (ca. 1480-1521), Portuguese explorer, first to circum- navigate the globe Photograph of an engraving. Biographical File, Prints and Photographs Division (138) A Magellanic penguin of the type inhabiting Patagonia when Magellan arrived Mounted specimen, Speniscus Magellanicus. Division of Birds, Smithsonian Insti- tution (139) Chesapeake Bay John Smith's map of Virginia (1612) recording Indian names in the Chesapeake Bay area, which he explored in 1608 Engraving. Virginia Discovered and Discribed by Captayn John Smith, 1606, by William Hole, 1612. London, 1624. G3880 1624 .S51 Vault. Geography and Map Division (140) John Smith (ca. 1580-1631), one of the founders of the Jamestown colony, and friend of Pocahontas Photograph of an engraving. Biographical File, Prints and Photographs Division (141) 9 118 118 110 120 121 122 127 124 124 126 127 128 129 30/132 13% 133 134 134 136 137 138 Pocahontas (ca. 1595-1617), daughter of Chief Powhatan and wife of John Rolfe Photograph of an engraving in Generall Historie, by John Smith, 1624. Rare Book and Special Collections Division (142) Augustine Herrman's map showing the imposition of English names in the Chesapeake Bay area, 1673 Engraving. Virginia and Maryland 1670 Augustin Herrman, by W. Faithorne. [London]: Herman and Within-brook, 1673. G3880 1670 .H4 Vault. Geography and Map Division (143) St. Lawrence Valley Scrimshaw powder horn showing St. Lawrence River Valley and the Great Lakes, ca. 1760 Incised horn, ca. 1760. Powder Horn No. 2. Geography and Map Division (144) Extent of French settlements along the St. Lawrence River (1777), shortly after the British took control of Canada in 1763 Hand-colored engraving. A Map of the Inhabited Part of Canada London: William Faden, 1777. G3401 .F2 1777 .F3 Vault. Geography and Map Division (145) Plan of Quebec, the French colonial capital, ca. 1750, whose name was derived from an Indian word meaning "narrowing of the waters" Hand-colored pen and ink drawing. Plan de la ville de Quebec, [ca. 1750]. G3454 Q4 1750 .P5 Vault. Geography and Map Division (146) Portion of the Thousand Islands (1818), showing British names honoring Admi- ralty staff and ships, and the Duke of Wellington (Wellesley Island) and his triumphs (Lake Waterloo) Engraving. A Survey of the River St. Lawrence from Lake Ontario to the Galop Rapids by Capt. W.F.W. Owen. 1818. London: Hydrographic Office, 1828, sheet 3 of 5. BA 338. Geography and Map Division (147) Headwaters of the Mississippi Nicollet's field notebook (1836) with a sketch of the headwaters of the Missis- sippi, including Indian and French-Indian place names Manuscript notebook, by Joseph N. Nicollet, 1836, vol. 1, pt. 1, no. 42. Nicollet Papers. Manuscript Division (148) Nicollet's field notebook (1838) with a sketch of Lac des Amourettes in South Dakota, two of which he renamed for Secretary of War Poinsett and Captain Abert, Chief of Topographical Engineers Manuscript notebook, by Joseph N. Nicollet, 1838, vol. 5, no. 817. Nicollet Papers. Manuscript Division (149) Model of a Chippewa birch bark canoe, of the type that Nicollet used in explor- ing the Mississippi River Birch bark and leather. Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution (150) Scene on the Mississippi, with flatboatmen frolicking Engraving. The Jolly Flat Boatmen. After a painting (1847) by George Caleb Bingham. Prints and Photographs Division (151) Upper Mississippi River basin showing names recorded and given by Nicollet during the course of several expeditions, 1836-1840 Engraving. Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River by Joseph 10 THE N. Nicollet, 1836-1840. [Washington, D.C.]: U.S. Senate, 1843. G4042 M5 1843 N5 Vault. Geography and Map Division (152) Secretary of War Joel Poinsett (left) and Captain John N. Abert (right), after whom Nicollet named two lakes in eastern South Dakota (center) Photocopies. (Left to right) Lithograph, Joel Poinsett, by Charles Fenderich. Prints and Photographs Division; portion of the map, Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi River by Joseph N. Nicollet, 1836-1840. Geography and Map Division; Colonel John Abert, by Thomas Sully. West Point Museum Collections, United States Military Academy (154-156) State of Wyoming Thomas Campbell's poem, Gertrude of Wyoming, immortalizing the massacre (1778) of white settlers by Indians in the Wyoming Valley of northeastern Penn- sylvania "Gertrude of Wyoming," in The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbel!. Hartford: Silas Andrus and Son, 1852, 124-125. General Collections (157) Bird's-eye view of the Wyoming Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania, scene of the brutal Indian massacre in 1778 Reproduction of woodcut by Thomas Fleming, The Beautiful Valley of Wyo- ming July 3d, 1778. New York: Photo-Engraving Co., late-nineteenth century. TC, Pa. (reg.)-Wyoming Valley. Geography and Map Division (158) A section of John Vanderlyn's painting the Murder of Jane McCrea (1804), representing the Ft. Ticonderoga massacre of 1777 Photo mural from a photograph of the painting in the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hart- ford, Connecticut (159) Town of Wyoming, Pennsylvania (ca. 1860), site of the infamous massacre of 1778, showing the monument to those killed Hand-colored lithograph. Draft of Coal Lands Belonging to the Monument Coal Company, by L.M. Rosenthal, Philadelphia, ca. 1860. TC, Pa.-Luzerne Co. Geog- raphy and Map Division (160) Sagebrush from the state of Wyoming, accompanied by a note from United States Senator Alan K. Simpson of Wyoming Courtesy, Susan Simpson, Jackson, Wyoming (161a, b) Buffalo (bison), recalling the millions that roamed the Great Plains until 1900, when they became almost extinct in the United States Bronze, ca. 1900 By Henry Merwin Shrady (1871-1922). Wildlife of the Ameri- can West Art Museum, Jackson, Wyoming (162) Wyoming Territory (1383), named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, site of the massacre of 1778 Hand-colored engraving. Holt's New Map of Wyoming, by Frank and Fred Bond. Cheyenne: G. L. Holt, 1883. TC, Wyoming. Geography and Map Division (163a) Excerpts of Senate debate, June 3, 1868, on naming of Wyoming Territory Photocopy. The Congressional Globe Second Session Fortieth Congress Washington, D. C., 1868, vol. 82, pt. 3, pp. 2795-2796. Law Library (163b) Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg Webster, Massachusetts (1970), with Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagogg- 11 numan IIIIIIIIIII inthing chaubunagungamaugg, a Nipmuck Indian name meaning "You fish on your side, I fish on my side, nobody fishes in the middle" Reproduction. Map of Webster [and] Dudley, Massachusetts. Boston: Map Corpora- tion of America, [1970]. G3764 W36 1970 .A3. Geography and Map Division (164) Bird's-eye view of Webster, Massachusetts (1892), with the shortened version of the Indian name for the lake, Chaubunagungamaug Chromolithograph. Webster, Massachusetts. Boston: O.H. Bailey and Co., 1892. G3764 W36A3 1892 .02. Geography and Map Division (165) Two cartoons in the Boston Herald, June 1953, playing on the Indian name for LakeChargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg,which resi- dents prefer to the often-used name, Lake Webster "The Summer Folks" and "More Spelling Trouble," by Dahl. Boston Herald, June 20 and 23, 1953. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (166,167) Moscow, USA A view of metropolitan Moscow in the seventeenth century Hand-colored engraving. Moscovia Urbs Metropolis Totius Russiae Albae. In Civi- tates orbis terrarum, by Georg Braun. Cologne, 1612-1618, vol. 6, pl. 54. G1028.B7 1612 Vault Geography and Map Division (168) Record jacket for Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, written in 1882, which shows the battle of Moscow and which helped popularize the city's name in nineteenth- century America Color reproduction of a painting. A Tchaikovsky Spectacular. Angel, 1973. Motion Picture, Radio, and Recorded Sound (169) Bird's-eye view (1891) of Moecow, Pennsylvania, probably named after Moscow, Russia Lithograph. Moscow, Lackawanna County, Penn'a. 1891, by T.M. Fowler, Morris- ville, Pa. G3824 .M79A3 1891 .F6 Fow 38. Geography and Map Division (170) Application of March 1873 to the Postmaster General requesting a post office for Moscow, Idaho, traditionally thought to have been named after Moscow, Pennsylvania Post Office application form, March 5, 1873, p. 1. National Archives and Records Administration (171) Fire insurance map of Moscow, Idaho (1904), previously called Hog Heaven and Paradise Valley Color lithograph. Moscow, Latah Co., Idaho Dec. 1904. New York: Sanborn Map Co., 1905. Geography and Map Division (172) George Washington's Legacy Places and features throughout the United States named after George Washing- ton, as of 1932 Photocopy. United States of America Showing Features Named for George Washing- ton From The George Washington Atlas, edited by Lawrence Martin. Washing- ton, D.C.: U.S. George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932, plate 50. G1201 .S3M34 1932. Geography and Map Division (173) Statues of George Washington and places and features outside the United States named after him, as of 1932 Photocopy. Features Named for and Statues of George Washington outside of Con- 12 25 30 45 30 16 THE BOSTON HERALD SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1953 THE SUMMER FOLKS by Dahl WEBSTER POSTOFFICE STAMPS 93 WEBSTER "HAVING FINE TIME AT LAKE CHARGANGGAGOGGMANCHANGA- GUNGAMAUGG, WISH YOU WERE HERE, 8 193 MASSACHUSETTS CONNECTICUT Map and cartoon inset of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagun- gamaugg, the Indian name preferred by local residents over the often-used name Lake Webster. tinental United States. From The George Washington Atlas, edited by Lawrence Martin. Washington, D.C.: U.S. George Washington Bicentennial Commission, 1932, plate 49. G1201 .S3M34 1932. Geography and Map Division (174) Plan of the nation's capital and Robert Mills' proposed monument (1855), both commemorating George Washington Hand-colored engraving. Georgetown and the City of Washington New York: J.H. Colton and Co., 1855. G3850 1855 .J22. Geography and Map Division (175) Fisheye view of Mount Washington, New Hampshire (1902), considered by the Romantics one of the distinguishing features of the American landscape Color reproduction. Birds-Eye View from Summit of Mt. Washington; White Moun- tains, New-Hampshire. Boston: George H. Walker and Co., 1902. TC, N.H. (reg)- Washington, Mt. Geography and Map Division (176) 13 30 30 Part of a dollar bill showing the engraving, after Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum portrait, of George Washington (1732-1799), first president of the United States Photo mural from a dollar. Interpretive Programs Office (177) A stereoscopic view of Mount Washington, one of the most popular tourist attractions since the early nineteenth century "Mount Washington from The Glen," in Gems of American Scenery among the White Mountains. New York: Harroun & Bierstadt, 1878, pp. 70-71. General Collections (178) A trilogy of governmental units in Iowa-town, township, and county-named after George Washington Color reproduction. State Highway Commission Official Map, Washington County, Iowa Des Moines: Press of Iowa Publishing Co., 1913. TC, Iowa-Washington Co. Geography and Map Division (179) The state of Washington, named after George Washington, the only president to be so honored Color reproduction. A Pictorial Map of Washington, "The Evergreen State. 'Seat- tle: John F. Herman and Clark Teegarden, [1948]. TC, Washington-Pictorial. Geography and Map Division (180) Classical Names in New York DeWitt's map of New York showing the military reservation for Revolutionary War veterans, largely named after classical figures such as the Roman general Fabius, George Washington's exemplar Engraving, by C. Tiebout. 1st Sheet of De Witt's State-Map of New-York, by Simeon DeWitt. New York, 1792. G3800 1792 .D4 Vault. Geography and Map Division (181) Portraits of Roman heroes commemorated on De Witt's map of New York: (top to bottom): Pompey (106-48 B. C); Cicero (106-43 B. C.) Photographs from books in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, and the General Collections (182, 185) Onondaga County, New York, including part of the military reservation for Revolutionary War veterans, which retains the classical names from DeWitt's map and adds others, such as Syracuse Hand-colored engraving. Map of Onondaga County, New York by L. Fagan. Syracuse and Providence: E.H. Babcock & Co. and Geo. C. Brown, 1852. G3803 .03G46 1852 .F3. Geography and Map Division (186) Portrait of Joseph M. Toner, M.D. (1825-1896), done (1883) in the classical Roman Republican style, which was popular in eighteenth and nineteenth- century America Marble. By John Quincy Adams Ward, 1883. Rare Book and Special Collections Division (187) New Frontiers -Antarctica Ross Sea area, Antarctica, showing the unique application of a variety of con- temporary and historical names, such as Roosevelt, Ickes, and Rockefeller; Ross, Amundsen, and McMurdo Color reproduction. Ross Sea Regions. New Zealand: Department of Survey and 14 18 110 120 121 122 127 1 041241201271 128 120 130/132 13z 133 134 134 136 137 138 139 140 141 142/1431 Land Information, 1987. G9802 .R6 1987 ,N4. Geography and Map Division (188) Antarctica, one of the new frontiers unique in allowing the application of con- temporary personal names Plastic relief model. Antarctica. [Washington, D.C.]: USN Photographic Interpre- tation Center, [1961]. G9801 .C18 1961 .U6. Geography and Map Division (189) Edith Ronne and Rupert B. Southard pointing to areas on a relief map of Antarctica which are named after them Photograph, 1990. Interpretive Programs Office (190) New Frontiers - Undersea Captain Sigsbee, Commander of the Maine, member of the Board on Geographic Names, and namesake of several prominent underwater features in the Gulf of Mexico Photograph. In The "Maine" , by Charles D. Sigsbee. New York: Century Co., 1899, frontispiece. General Collections (191) Gulf of Mexico showing underwater features named for Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, who conducted hydrographic surveys in the area Color reproduction. Submarine Physiography of the Gulf of Mexico, by R.N. Ber- gantino. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 1969. G9112 .M4C2 1969 .B4. Geography and Map Division (192) New Frontiers - The Moon Early representation of faces of the Moon and names applied to features dis- covered through use of the telescope Hand-colored engraving, by J. B. Homann. Tabula Selenographica by J.G. Doppelmayr. Nuremberg, [1748?]. TC, Moon. Geography and Map Division (193) Helmet, glove, and boot, part of an Apollo 11 moon space suit Plastics, fabric, and rubber. National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institu- tion (194-196) NASA lunar globe prior to first manned space landing, incorporating names applied through 350 years of telescopic and satellite observations Color reproduction. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lunar Globe. St. Louis: USAF Aeronautical Chart and Information Center, 1969. G3162 .M6 1969 .U5. Geography and Map Division (197) Astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, the second man on the moon, photographed by Neil A. Armstrong, the first man on the moon, after the successful landing of the Apollo 11 module "Eagle," July 20, 1969 Color-photo mural. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (198) 15 118 118 110 120 121 122 127 124/124/126127 128 129 1130/132 13% 133 134 134 136 137 138 139 1401411 STANDARDIZING NAMES In a world of instantaneous global communication and growing interdepen- dence, the need for standardizing place names is not merely desirable, but essential. Although a universally acceptable system of standardization may never be fully realized, great strides have been made toward that end. Many countries have boards on geographic names which not only monitor inter- nal place name usage, but also work cooperatively with other countries. Moreover, there are efforts toward standardization on a global basis being made within the framework of the United Nations. Among the many problems impeding standardization of place names are the multiplicity of names often applied to one place; the multiplicity of places with the same name; the variant spellings within even a single language of particular place names; and the translation or transliteration of place names from one language to another. Attempts to resolve these problems began in antiquity and have developed most rapidly since the late nineteenth century. The writings of the second century A. D. Roman geographer Claudius Ptolemy are notable among the early efforts to regularize place names. The most significant advances in standardization were made during the Renais- sance as a result of great technological developments and the internatica- alization (in the West) of culture-embodied in those extraordinary compilations of maps and geographic data called atlases, first published by the Dutch in the sixteenth century. These efforts continued into the nineteenth century when in 1890 Presi- dent Benjamin Harrison created the United States Board on Geographic Names, the first such agency in the world. The Board now reviews names on a world-wide basis, and sets standards not only for the federal govern- ment, but for most mapmakers in the country. Standardizing Names, 150-1890, A.D. John Wallis' puzzle of Europe, designed for geography students, 1814 Box, and engraved puzzle by McIntyre. Wallis's New Dissected Map of Europe. London: John Wallis, 1814. G5701 .A9 1814 .W3 Vault Shelf. Geography and Map Division (199,200) 16 Typical portable globe, 1817 Hand-colored engraving. Newton's New & improved terrestrial pocket globe. Lon- don: George Newton, 1817. G3170 1717 .N4 Vault. Geography and Map Division (201) Mitchell's school atlas, designed for students of geography Mitchell's School Atlas , by Samuel Augustus Mitchell. Philadelphia: E.H. Butler & Co., 1858, cover. G1019 .M66 1858. Geography and Map Division (202) Fan depicting administrative divisions of China, ca. 1870 Hand-colored wood engraving. Shanghai, ca. 1870. Oriental, Misc. No. 2. Geog- raphy and Map Division (203) Ptolemy's map of the known world, second century, A.D. Hand-colored woodcut, by Johann Schnitzer. In Cosmographia, by Claudius Ptolemaeus. Translated by Jacopo d'Angelo, edited by Nicolaus Germanus. Ulm: Johann Reger, 1486, pp. 117-118. G1005 1486 Vault. Geography and Map Divi- sion (204) Portolan chart, in the medieval tradition, of Italy and the Central Mediterra- nean, ca. 1590 Pen, ink, and watercolor on vellum. In [Portolan Atlas], attributed to Juan Oliva, [Messina ?, ca. 1590], chart 2. Vellum Coll. No. 8. Geography and Map Division (205) Ortelius' map of the known world, 1570 Hand-colored engraving. Typus orbis terrarum, by Frans Hogenberg. In Theatrum orbis terrarum. Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius, 1570, map 1. G1006 .T5 1570b Vault. Geography and Map Division (206) Galbraith's Railway Service map of Iowa, one of a series, in which he represented post office names in caricature as a memory device for the company's mail clerks Pen, ink, and watercolor. Galbraith's Railway Service Maps. Iowa, by Frank H. Galbraith. Chicago: McEwen Map Co., 1897. G4151 .P3 1897 .G Vault. Geogra- phy and Map Division (207) Repetitive map of northwestern Europe showing place names given in Esperanto and seven other European languages, technically referred to as "exonyms" Color reproduction. Exonymen, by P.C.J. van der Krogt. Nederlandse Vereniging voor Kartografie, 1980. G5721 .E6 1980 .K7. Geography and Map Division (208a) Poster of the flags and names, in English and French, of the members of the United Nations Color reproduction. Flags of the United Nations, 1987. Copyright Office (208b) United States Board on Geographic Names Minutes of the first thirty-six meetings of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, March 18, 1890 -December 1894 Manuscript minute book. Meetings 1-36, 1890-1894, p. 13. U.S. Board on Geo- graphic Names (209) Sample publications of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names National Gazet- teer of the United States-New Jersey 1983; Geographic Names Gazetteer Pro- gram, September 1990; First Report of the United States Board on Geographic Names, 1890-1891, 1892; Decisions on Geographic Names in the United States, January-March 1988; Gazetteer of the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands, 1987; First Report on Foreign Geographic Names, 1932; and Romanization Guide, 1964. 17 Geography and Map Division and General Collections (210a-214b) Copies of the Executive Order of 1890 establishing the Board (right), and of the Public Law of 1947 (left) authorizing it under the Department of Interior after it had been abolished and reassigned in the 1930s during Roosevelt's administration Photocopies. (Right) Executive Order, September 4, 1890; (left) Public Law 242, July 25, 1947. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (215, 216) First Board on Geographic Names to be photographed, 1913 (below), and the Hooe Building (above) on F Street, home of the Geological Survey and the Board's principal meeting place until 1914 Photographs. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (217, 218) Two work sheets of Mt. McKinley, Alaska (right), and the west coast of Florida (left) showing the various names of features which the Board considered for final approval, 1943 Pen and ink on mylar and paper. (right) Mount McKinley, Alaska, no. 26, Septem- ber 15, 1943; (left) Florida, West Coast no. 42, October 6, 1943. National Archives and Records Administration (219,220) Sample case file work cards (1897-1940) on which the process for determining names is recorded, including information gathered in the field and the final approval by the Board File cards. (Lower right) Animas, 1897; (upper right) Bierstadt, 1914; (upper left) Cochise, 1932; (lower left) Dragoon Creek, 1940. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (221-224) Two maps of the Caribbean island which the U.S. Board on Geographic Names called Puerto Rico, prior to American acquisition in 1898 (above), then Porto Rico, 1900-1932 (below), and then Puerto Rico again in 1932 Color reproductions. (Above) Map of Puerto Rico, by J. Domingo Sulsona. Baltimore: A. Hoen & Co., 1899; (below) Map of Porto Rico. [Washington, D.C.]: War Office, 1905. TC, Puerto Rico. Geography and Map Division (225, 226) Selected documents from the Board's case file on Bluebird Creek, Iowa, which was named in 1988 through the efforts of Mrs. Diane Noll's second grade class of Sioux Valley School, Peterson, Iowa Holograph letter, Joey Doran to Donald P. Hodel, February 1988; typescript let- ter, Donald J. Orth to Joey Doran, February 25, 1988; envelope from Mrs. Noll to the Executive Secretary of the Board, March 1988; holograph letter, Mrs. Diane Noll to Mr. Orth, March 1988; news article, "Sioux Valley students name creek," Sioux Rapids Bulletin Press February 10, 1988, p. 1; photograph of Mrs. Noll's class; program, Name Day Celebration, May 21, 1988; holograph note, Amber Click to U.S. Board on Geographic Names, [May 1988]. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (227-233) The Socialist Republic of Romania (left), whose name the U.S. Board recently approved as simply Romania (above), based on official Romanian publications which reflect current political changes (Left) Color reproduction. Republica Socialista Romania, by Victor Tufescu. [Bucharest]: Ministry of Education and Instruction, 1989. G6880 1989 .T9. Geog- raphy and Map Division; (above) Typed memo, Erno Horvath to BGN Foreign Names Committee, March 22, 1990. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (234, 235) 18 25 30 45 30 Nineteenth century geography teaching aids, recreational but also important in furthering the standardization of place names. Amber Click to the United States Board on Geographic Names, [March 1988], in gratitude for approving the name of BlueBird Creek Screened mural of a holograph letter. U.S. Board on Geographic Names (236) Derogatory Names Ten U. S. Geological Survey quadrangular maps (one entire, nine excerpts) showing derogatory and suggestively derogatory names Map. Color reproduction. "Gringo Peak," Robinson Peak, New Mexico, 1971. Color photographs: "Nigger Jack Hill," (changed to negro ), Washington, Califor- nia, 1951; "Jap Bay," (changed to Japanese ), Kaguyak, Alaska, 1954; "Dago Joe Spring," Montezuma Peak, Nevada, 1970; "Squaw Butte," Verde Hot Springs, Arizona, 1967; "Jewtown," Brunswick East, Georgia, 1956; "Chinks Point." Annapo- lis, Maryland, 1978; "Mick Run," Spruce Knob, West Virginia, 1970; "Polack Lake," Corner Lake, Michigan, 1958; "Scotchtown," Dugger, Indiana, 1963. Geography and Map Division (237-246) 19 Pp. 20-25 onilled 30 45 301 Oriens 8 NAMES IN CONFLICT Just as the world is in a constant state of change, so are place names. The most radical changes occur usually as a result of military conquest and the domination of one group by another; others grow out of cultural differ- ences; and still others because someone's sensibilities are offended. In almost all instances of name change, or even suggested change, passions become inflamed. In antiquity, for example, the ancient Greek city of Byzantium was renamed by the Roman conquerors and again later by the victorious Turks. After World War II, the ever problematic area formerly known as East Prus- sia was divided between the Poles and the Soviets and renamed accord- ingly. More recently, dramatic name changes have occurred in the Middle East and in Southeast Asia as a result of war, and the British and the Argentines have battled over the islands in the South Atlantic which each calls by a different name-signifying the vast cultural differences that separate the two nations. The African and Asian colonies which have recently gained their indepen- dence, generally peacefully, have changed their names largely to empha- size their new national identities. In Africa, for example, Ghana and Zaire have taken on names that are more expressive of their cultural heritage. And in Asia, Sri Lanka and the former French colonies of Indochina have dropped names which, although ancient, still were associated with modern colonial regimes. Names in conflict erupt in the most unexpected places, even when changes are made with the best of intentions. The renaming of Cape Canaveral to Cape Kennedy raised a storm of protest because the antiquity of the name and the powerful associations connected with it were totally disregarded. Beneath the peaceful visage of Mt. Rainier, so named in 1792, simmers a century-old debate in favor of its native American name, Mt. Tacoma. Examples of the conflicts cited here may be multiplied by the score. Cape Canaveral Model of a Saturn 1 rocket used in the Apollo moon mission at Cape Canaveral Wood. National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution (247) 20 A 118 120 121 12% 123 1Z4/1Z4 124/126/127 128 129 130 131 13z 133 134 13433 137138139140141/44 FIASHBACK What's in a Name? AMC founders live on in the mountains By KATHARINE WROTH I have seen valleys both in this coun- west of Mount Hancock; Hitchcock Fall [and] a graceful dancer of waltzes." try and in Europe, but I do not recall on Mount Madison; and Hitchcock Samuel Bemis. A transplant to the one where more beauty is centred Flume on Mount Willard. north, Bemis made his mark and his for- than there." Nineteenth-century J. H. Huntington. Working along- tune as a Boston dentist and daguerreo- painter Benjamin Champney wrote side Charles Hitchcock, geologist Hunt- typist, practicing the new photographic these words in praise of the area we know ington is credited with establishing the craze. On your map you'll find Mount as the Mount Washington valley, con- first observatory at the summit of Mount Bemis, Bemis Ridge, and the Bemis tinuing, "The valley is broad, the moun- Washington. He hunkered down on that Brook Trail. Bemis' home, Notchland, tains are high, but not too high or near to peak during the winter of 1870-71, and still stands as an inn. shut out the sunlight." Today, more than no doubt had time to explore the area Among the other original members a century after the artist and ear- who left their mark on the ly AMC member roamed the mountains were the Rev- Whites, Champney's attachment erend Henry G. Spaulding, to the area is reflected in more a Boston minister (Spauld- than his words. In fact, a trail ing Spring, near Edmands and waterfall (pictured) on Col); George L. Vose, a pro- Mount Chocorua bear his name. fessor of civil engineering The artist's moniker is among at Bowdoin the many that live in perpetuity in the White Mountains. While some place-name sources are ob- vious-we all know Washing- ton, Adams, and Jefferson-oth- ers are less known. Among the mountains, paths, and waters of the north are many bearing the names of the earliest AMC members. Those names, too, have be- come familiar. But who were these men? "I have seen valleys Let's start at the beginning, with AMC founder Edward Pickering. The MIT pro- both in this country fessor, just 29 when he created the club, was one of three family members who and in Europe, but I inspired the christening of 1,930-foot Mount Pickering, part of the Montalban do not recall one Ridge. The name also honors his broth- er William, a fellow mountain-lover who where more beauty served as president of the club, and their uncle, Charles, a zoologist and explorer. is centred." College whose When Edward got it into his head to specialty was railroads (Vose create a club for "those interested in that would become Huntington Ravine. Spur on Mount Carrigain); and hon- mountain exploration," he sent 50 invi- Farther south, Mount Huntington sits orary member and Princeton geology tations. Here are a few who responded: near Mount Hancock. professor Arnold Guyot, who, besides Charles Hitchcock. Mount Picker- J. Rayner Edmands. In the Presi- three Mount Guyots (New Hampshire, ing's first cartographic appearance came dentials today you'll find both Edmands North Carolina, and Colorado), is rep- in 1876 on a map `created by Hitchcock, Path and Edmands Col; the names hon- resented by the Guyot Crater. Which New Hampshire's first state geologist. or the Harvard researcher and prolific you'll spot next time you're on the The Dartmouth professor wrote the trail builder. A tough trail boss at times, moon. three-volume Geology of New Hampshire; Edmands was also described as "courtly -Katharine Wroth is associate editor he lives on through Mount Hitchcock, and chivalrous an accomplished pianist, AMC Outdoors. also Michael Rawson's NAMES AND PLACES 2 the Charles Combridge Forbes ) U.P., in 2010. Pp. 256f., n 343.n.77 STUDIES IN GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE By J. D. WHITNEY LIBRARY CAMBRIDGE PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1888 INTRODUCTORY. 77 are perfectly familiar to the people of one portion of this country, but which are quite unknown in other sections except through books. Furthermore, we shall find that the TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE. number of words used to designate the vari- ous natural features of the earth's surface is large - much larger, in fact, than would have been expected previous to making a special I. INTRODUCTORY. study of the subject. Indeed, so numerous are these words, that it cannot possibly be IT is proposed, in the present section of this claimed that the list will be exhausted in the little work, to discuss the origin and meaning present attempt to bring them together. A of the names given in the United States to beginning may, however, be made on the prominent topographical features of the earth's present occasion, and the subject taken up surface. In doing this, it will soon become again for a fuller treatment at some future evident to the reader that it would be impos- time. sible to limit our range to one country or one Of all the terms which are mentioned in language. It will be seen that, owing to the the following pages, there is not one which vast extent of the territory embraced within comes to us from any of the aboriginal or the limits of this country, and to the manner Indian " tongues once spoken over the re- in which portions of it have been occupied gion now occupied by the United States. A from time to time by races speaking different considerable number of Indian words form languages, names of natural objects or features all or part of various proper names, and have of the landscape are current, in some sections thus become quite familiar to us - as, for in- of the country, which are not English - that stance, 'sipi," minne," squam," " kitchi," is, which are not current in England except and many others ; but no one of all these words as they have been carried from the United has been generalized so as to have become States back to the land of the mother-tongue. We shall find also that there are words which applicable to any class or form of scenic 78 TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE INTRODUCTORY. 79 feature. We do, it is true, to a very limited which have found their way to this country, extent find it convenient to make a distant although many of them are unknown to us approach to such a generalization of certain except through the reading of English books. names as, for instance, if we should say - It is the features of the land surface of the as has been said - that the Shoshone Falls globe which here particularly demand our are a smaller "Niagara," or that the Hetch- attention; but as a preparation for that which Hetchy Valley is almost a "Yosemite " but is to follow, a few lines may be devoted to this is not carried far enough to justify us in the consideration of the nomenclature of the putting either Niagara or Yosemite in any water. The most important division of the dictionary other than one of proper names. earth's surface is into land and water ; and Setting aside, therefore, as seems necessary, the coast-line of a country is, for any region all consideration of the aboriginal tongues, wholly or in part bounded by the ocean, that even a very elementary knowledge of the his- feature which first claims the attention of the torical development of our country will suffice investigator of its geography. The first step to make it clear that we shall have in the in géographical discovery was to establish main to deal with three languages - English, the shore-lines of the continents, or the great French, and Spanish. Not that the United land masses of the globe; and the next was States are not occupied, and very extensively to fix the position and determine the outlines occupied, by people speaking other tongues of those smaller areas of land which, not be- than these; but with the exception of a few ing large enough to be called continents, words which have come down from the early receive the name of islands. Only in the Dutch settlers, there is hardly a trace of na- case of Australia, with its three million square tionalities, other than those mentioned, in the miles of land, is there doubt whether the entire range of our topographical nomencla- designation of continent or island would be ture. Among words which we must call more appropriate. English, because they are in familiar use in The most general and most satisfactory England, there are many which belong to division of the land is into two parts - the the Celtic and Scandinavian families, some of Old World and the New. Asia and Europe 80 TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE. INTRODUCTORY. 81 (Eurasia) belong together, the line of separa- tion between the two being purely an artificial "shores of the ocean." Shakspeare uses "sea" one. Africa was not long since joined to and "ocean" synonymously, but the former Eurasia, but has only within the past few years much more frequently than the latter. With been artificially separated from it. Hence the English poets in general the two words are the Old World is essentially one land mass, synonymous; and both are used in close prox- with very numerous islands attached to it, imity to each other, according to the require- especially on its southeastern side, one of ments of rhyme and metre. By physical which, as before remarked, is almost or quite geographers the ocean is subdivided into five large enough to rank as a separate continent. areas, each of which is considered a separate The New World is, with the exception of its ocean, although these divisions are largely arti- extreme northwestern corner, entirely and ficial, the lines by which they are indicated widely separated from the Old World. It is being in no small part parallels and meridians. naturally subdivided into two portions, which Seas, gulfs, bays, sounds, straits, coves, holes, are in connection with each other, and yet by harbors, etc. are the names of the minor sub- so narrow an isthmus as to have led many to divisions of the ocean, or of such portions of believe that an artificial separation of the two the water surface as are more or less com- parts would be possible. Indeed, at the pres- pletely "land-locked," or separated by capes, ent time a large expenditure of money is being headlands, or sinuosities in the coast-line. made for this purpose. The nomenclature of these subdivisions is in By the simple word ocean is meant the general simple and easily understood, and it whole body of water which envelops and is not proposed to enlarge on them in the covers almost three quarters of the surface of present connection. It is with the names the globe but when the ocean is spoken of of the various portions of the land surface in a general way, without reference to any of the globe that we here have to do : the particular portion of it, it is often called the water will only be considered when its sea, and its edge the "sea-shore," but never presence is necessarily connected with the " "ocean-shore," although it is allowable to say land in the scope of the definitions under consideration. 6 82 TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE. There is one all-important feature of the earth's surface, from the point of view of to- pographical nomenclature, and this is form. To this everything else is subordinate. The landscape - and by "landscape" is meant the total impression made on the artistic or II. MOUNTAINS, PEAKS, AND SIERRAS. educated eye by such portion of the surface as is embraced within the field of vision - is THE surface of the land, when looked at a complex thing. Form is usually the prime from the most general point of view, consists factor in the impression produced but this of mountains, valleys, and plains. These are is not always the case. Besides form, there the most comprehensive terms which can be are color, and light and shade ; and the re- used in English for regions conspicuously sulting effect may vary greatly according as elevated above the adjacent land, for depres- the landscape is seen under a more or less sions within such elevated regions, and for favorable illumination or at different seasons areas which preserve a certain uniformity of of the year. A region in the highest degree level, and over which absence of considerable monotonous when every object is wrapped elevations and depressions is the important in a sombre rain-cloud may be transformed topographical feature. This seems a very into beauty by the glow of a rising or a setting easily comprehended statement of a very sim- sun. Of all this, nomenclature takes but little ple fact and yet, when we come to look heed. In the names given to the more level more closely into the matter, we find great portions of the earth's surface, however, where complexity in the forms in which mountains, form is wanting, there the character and dis- valleys, and plains exhibit themselves in dif- tribution of the vegetation become all impor- ferent regions, and a surprising - one might tant, as will be seen farther on. almost say bewildering - variety of names which are applied to these various forms. This is often true for regions inhabited by people speaking one and the same language 84 TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE. MOUNTAINS, PEAKS, AND SIERRAS. 85 for local peculiarities of the landscape and nomenclature, while in Great Britain it is still dialectic variations of the mother-tongue may more prominent, the composite character of give rise to names, some of which are current the English language showing itself in the only within very circumscribed areas, but all most marked degree in the wealth of names of of which essentially form a part of the lan- the features of the landscape which we there guage, and which for that reason must be find current. studied. But in investigating a subject of this While the present inquiry has especially kind we are led, almost as a matter of neces- to do with English words in use as topographi- sity, to take a wider range, and include more cal designations, we shall not hesitate to seek than one language within the scope of our for light in the study of other languages, to inquiry, because there are few important divi- which indeed we are naturally led by those sions of the earth's surface over which only circumstances connected with the former one tongue is spoken, and fewer still in which occupation of large portions of our present there is not more or less mixture of various territory by people not having English for languages, offering words which are relics of their mother-tongue, as has already been former races of inhabitants, or which for va- mentioned. rious reasons have been borrowed from other By the term "orography" is meant the countries, and whose study may lead to in- investigation of the forms and structure of teresting historic results. For instance, no mountains and mountain-chains, and it needs one could investigate the orography of the but little orographic study to find out that a Alps in any detail without the aid of some single entirely isolated mountain is something knowledge of Latin, Italian, French, and Ger- of comparatively rare occurrence in Nature. man, as well as of various dialectic forms of Almost without exception, every mountain these languages. For the Pyrenees we need belongs to a "system of mountains' - to a both French and Spanish, since that chain is di- "group," "range," or "chain." Indeed, vided between nations speaking those tongues most of the great mountains of the world, and in France we find the Celtic element belong to great mountain-cliains, and have becoming of importance in the topographical around them other summits of similar charac- 86 TOPOGRAPHICAL NOMENCLATURE. MOUNTAINS, PEAKS, AND SIERRAS. 87 ter and of somewhat nearly the same eleva- are sometimes of extraordinary length, and tion. This is due to the fact that mountains which are generally so grouped as to have are the result of general causes, which have the element of length greatly predominating been active on a grand scale and through long over that of breadth. Hence we find that periods of time, and not of such as were con- most mountains are grouped in such a way fined within narrow limits. The most striking as to form what are called chains " or "ran- exception to this general statement will be ges," the two words being nearly synonymous. found in the fact that volcanic cones are Several "ranges" make up a "system" of sometimes quite isolated, and rise, in such iso- mountains. There is a very general tendency lation, high above the adjacent region. As to designate by the term "chain" a succession a remarkable instance of this, the grand cones of high points connected by lower ones in on the plateau south of the Colorado River such a manner as to impress upon the mind may be mentioned, as well as those which the fact that, in spite of these differences of extend in an east and west line across Mexico. altitude, there is an essential unity in the mass But the Colorado volcanoes are almost near thus designated. In accordance with this, we enough to each other to form a group and find the word "chain" (Lat. catena, Fr. chaine, those of Mexico, in spite of their isolation, Sp. cadena, Ger. Kette, etc.) in common use may well enough be taken as belonging to one where mountains are written about scientifi- chain. Etna, however, rises in solitary gran- cally. Quite analogous to this use of the deur; and Vesuvius, with Somma as a portion word "chain" is that of "cord" or 'string," of the once united whole, towers high above which, however, we do not have as topogra- the minor cones in its vicinity. phical terms in English ; but which, as such, Mountains, then, as a rule, occur extended are of frequent occurrence in Spanish, in the over elongated areas of the earth's surface, form of " cordon" and "cordillera," both de- occupying regions where elevations, foldings, rived from " cordel " (Lat. chorda), a cord, or breaks, and protrusions of the stratified and rope - the one being defined in the diction- unstratified masses of which the earth's crust ary of the Spanish Academy as "mountains is made up have taken place along lines which stretching over a long distance the other Epp, Ronald From: Epp, Ronald Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 9:43 AM To: 'Rosamond Rea' Cc: 'jtorrance1@hotmail.com' Subject: Epp Newsletter Article HCTPR1205Edoc.do C (22 KB) Dear Josh and Roz, Well here it is, finally. I am most appreciatiev of Josh's review of the Black House Committee files because the copies sent changed the conclusions that I reached. I know that I have exceeded the word limit but I thought I had to take advantage of the fruits of the conversation that Josh and I had last week about the evolving mission of the Trustees- and that took additional paragraphs. Do let me know ASAP what you think of it. Still planning on a visit to Woodlawn next Wednesday enroute back here. Finally, I've avoided using the term "Woodlawn" in the article but it may be preferable to the Black House Museum. Your call. How do the two terms relate? Ron Epp Original Message From: Rosamond Rea [mailto:rosamondrea@hotmail.com Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 5:21 PM To: Epp, Ronald Cc: jtorrance1@hotmail.com Subject: RE: FW: Ron Epp Dear Ron, I am replying for Joshua since I will be making most of the newsletter requests and setting up the lectures. We hope that you will be able to write a piece of 600 to 800 words about Mr Dorr and the naming of the mountains or his relationship with the HCTPR. The link to either our archives or to the organization would help our cause at Woodlawn. A reminder that John Black was the land agent for a portion of MDI in the early 1800s wouldn't hurt either. I think the deadline for an article should be about May 20th give or take a few days. As to a lecture we are looking for someone to speak here in July. If it works out for you to be here during the same block of time you are speaking to the Champlain Society that would be fine. If you'd rather make a separate trip in mid-July we would be happy for that as well. I want to do whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for you. An August date would not work for us. Let me know your thoughts. I hope the "new" information is useful I look forward to your reply. Rosamond (Roz) Rea >From: "Joshua Torrance" >To: rosamondrea@hotmail.com >Subject: FW: Ron Epp >Date: Tue, 01 Mar 2005 09:34:29 -0500 > > 1 >From: "Epp, Ronald" >To: >Subject: Ron Epp >Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2005 12:28:49 -0500 > >Joshua, > >I received the copies that Rosamond copied for me. Thank you. I'll be >putting a check in the mail to cover the expense even though you were >generous enough to offer it gratis. > >I appreciuate your renewal of the offer to write a piece of for the >summer newsletter. This weekend I'll be evaluating my documentation on >the naming of the mountains to see whether the content and interest is >sufficient to sustain reader interest. I'll get back to you about this >next week; I'll be on MDI for the March 1st meeting at park HQ and if >we don't connect there I'll email you on my return. When is the due >date for the newsletter? Didn't you say that the length should be about >600 words? > >Regarding the suggestion that I deliver a lecture "on that topic and on >Mr. Dorr" this summer at Woodlawn, I am very pleased with this >opportunity to engage the Woodlawn members. Before I commit to this a >couple of questions come to mind. >What is your timeframe? I've already agreed to give a lecture to the >COA Champlain Society on June 30th during a brief vacation visit that >Liz and I will be making to MDI. We'll be back again August 13th for >the FOA Gala at the Asticou Inn. Are you thinking of a date between >these two dates or before or after? Regarding the lecture itself, is >there a particular dimension of Mr. Dorr that you would like me to >explore or would you like me to propose a couple of themes with--and >without the mountain naming piece. My presentation at the COA will >revolve around the three personal characteristics identified on the >Sieur de Monts Dorr Memorial: "Gentleman, Scholar, Lover of Nature. I >could bundle one or more of these with others for your audience > (anticipated size?) if you think that would be appropriate. I am also >hopeful that close inspection of the HCTPR minutes that Rea copied >might give me a clearer idea of how Dorr functioned as its executive >office if you think that might be of interest. I don't think that Judge >Silsby has published on that theme. I wonder what would interest him? > >In recent months I've devoted much attention to Dorr's ancestry, the >influences of parents and grandparents, and his early years prior to >college at Harvard in 1870. No one has investigated or published >anything about these matters; however, I'm not sure that this is the >right venure for discussing this since there is no direct link during >these years to the Black House history. > >Do let me know your thoughts on these matters so that we can firm up >dates and content. > >With best regards, > >Ron > > > > >Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. >Director of Shapiro Library >Southern New Hampshire University >Manchester, NH 03106 > > > 2 Epp, Ronald From: Margie_Coffin_Brown@nps.gov Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 9:28 AM To: Epp, Ronald Subject: Re: Acadia's Mountain Names The pre-Dorr names are alive and well in the Northeast Harbor VIS path district. There are still a few "Brown Mountain" signs to be found around Norumbega Mountain. I suggest contacting the Falts (Dan Falt or his brother) in Northeast Harbor for a local, contemporary perspective on trail names. -M Margie Coffin Brown Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation Waltham Field Station 240 Beaver Street Waltham, MA 02452 (781) 893-6045 x15 "Epp, Ronald" kr.epp@snhu.edu> To: CC: 06/14/2005 09:48 Subject: Acadia's Mountain Names AM AST Dear Margie, Last week when I was visiting with Josh Torrance at Woodlawn Museum in Ellsworth a discussion ensued with Stephanie Clement of the Friends of Acadia and I suggested that your input would be helpful. In 1918 Dorr provided justification to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names for renaming 10 of the 14 mountains in the MDI chain. These changes were supported by the NPS and received USBGN approvals. In 1930 Richard Hale and Samuel E. Morison worked independently to restore the traditional mountain names but lacking NPS support their efforts were unsuccessful, despite informal support from the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations and strong public support from residents polled in 1931 by the Bar Harbor Times. What we wonder is whether your work on the historic trails revealed continuing support for the traditional moutain names on the part of the public or local NPS staff. I've just finished an article on this mountain naming controversy for the Woodlawn newsletter and wondered whether local attachment to the old mountain names had been laid to rest. With best wishes, Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Director of University Library & Note: See the repository files Associate Professor of Philosophy Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH 03106 (sertes II) for the U.S. Board 603-668-2211 ext. 2164 603-645-9685 (fax) Intercor Department agency on geographic Names, an which made available to 1 files on Mount Desert R.H.Epp their tensive mountain names. XFINITY Connect Page 1 of 1 XFINITY Connect eppster2@comcast.ne + Font Size Re: Permissions & Ronald Epp From : Margaret Coffin Brown Mon, Mar 03, 2014 04:58 PM Subject : Re: Permissions & Ronald Epp To : Ronald & Elizabeth Epp Ronald, So nice to hear from you. You can certainly use that sentence. I probably assembled all of the names from the early maps as well as from Dorr's writings. Congrats on your publications! I did not get up to Acadia this year because I was college touring with my son. My dream project is to create videos of trail building techniques at Acadia. I hope to get started this coming summer! Best wishes, Margie Sent from my iPhone On Mar 3, 2014, at 4:45 PM, Ronald & Elizabeth Epp wrote: Dear Margie, Fourteen years ago we met professionally on Mount Desert Island at the Preserving Historic Trails Conference. That gathering was a mjor inpetus for the archival work that I have done since then on George Bucknam Dorr, finally resulting in the NPS Centennial publication--by The Friends of Acadia--of The Making of Acadia National Park: A Biography of George B. Dorr. I thank you most sincerely for your publications over the years that have kept me focused. I'm approaching you at this time because two months ago I completed an essay for the 2014 issue of Chebacco, the journal of the Mount Desert Island Historical Society on "Superintendent Dorr and the Mountain-Naming Controversy." In it I quote one sentence from volume one of your Pathmakers, where you identify the name changes most succinctly: "Picket as Huguenot Head, Dry as Flying Squadron, Jordan as Penobscot, Brown as Norumbega, Little Brown as Parkman, Robinson as Acadia, and Dog as St. Sauveur." (Pg. 98). Might I have your permission to use this sentence? I can send you the entire article so you can see the sentence in context if you wish. I hope you have been faring well. Most cordially, Ronald Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 532 Sassafras Dr. Lebanon, PA 17042 717-272-0801 eppster2@comcast.net http://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=187549&tz=America/New_York&xi... 3/3/2014