Author Title Imprint 19—47372-3 OPO The Changing of Historic Place Names By George P. Donehoo Secretary of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission and President of the Potter Countv Historical Society ^ ith an Introduction and Glossary of Some Historic Names Changed or Misspelled In Pennsylvania By Henry W. Shoemaker Member of the Historical Society of Penus>lvania and Chairman of the Committee on Historical Activity, Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies Published under the Auspices of the Pennsylvania Alpine Club, J. Herbert Walker, Secretary and Historian Altooiui, Feiiusylvaiiia Tribune Press, 1921 fl "SO "There are vicissitudes in all things." — Terence. T^) ^V ' Prefatory Note y^ HE author wishes to state that this l)rief monograph is V«/ written at the suggestion of Col. Henry W. Shoemaker, who has not only assisted in the writing, but who also has kindly paid the expense of publication. 'iMie article could be extended very greatly. The author thinks, however, that enough is written to call attention to the evil of changing place names. G. P. D. Introduction X|T is indeed a privilege, through the agency of tlie Pennsyl- vania Alpine Club, to assist in the publication of so ^^ timely a monograph as that of Dr. Donehoo's, on the subject of changing historic place names. Every month the senseless shifting is going on, newcomers wresting from the historic past the heritage of honored names. It will be difficult a century hence to follow the course of history in Pennsylvania ; even now it is hard to identify rhe places visited by early travelers like Spangenberg, Ettwein and Col. Weiser, as innovators have changed and re-clianged even the names of the streams and mountains that they crossed. It will be hard to trace the racial and philological development of the vState. as the haphazard sys- tem of renaming places destroys all historic sequence of nation- al5ty and individual tendencies. One bright spot remains. Pennsylvania has discarded fewer of her Indian names than most other States; personal vanity or prejudice was hardl}- strong enough to oibliterate these — for evea more than "their names are on the waters and you cannot blot them out," the Indian-named mountains, valleys, lakes, rivers and streams persist and bid fair to defy the ruthlessness of the ages. Let the constant watchfulness of every pulblic-spirited Pennsylvanian be directed to "save the ancient landmarks" and keep inviolate the sturdy, distinctive nomenclature and speUing handed down by our fore- fathers. Henry W. Shoemakkt!. "Restless Oaks," McEt.hattan, Pa., April 30, 1921. ^\:% H Me? 0^ Changing Historic Place Names y^^ 111'- -Mosaic Law cuiUained the following': "Cursed l)e he Vl/ ih'cit renn ivetli his neighlior's lanrlniark : and all the ijeople shall say, Amen." They (Hd not have a Historical vSociety (hiring the early development of the Jewish Commonwealth, or Aloses might have added' to these wise regulations, "Cursed be he that ciiangeth one of the 'historic names of towns and villages, and all the people shall say, Amen." A place name is not only a landmark, but it is a historic land- mark, often of more real value than the landmark of an individual occupant of the soil. Sometimes the whole history of a region can be dug up by the careful student of the names which are given to the towns, villages, streams and mountains in that region. Very few of the earlier place names in Pennsylvania were given in a haphazard way. They all meant something", and in most cases something of real historic value. Some of these early names are most beautiful lo hear, and some are not. But they are all of interest and historic value. Many of the most beautiful sounding names, and names of his- toric value, 'have disappeared entirely from 'the maj) of the state. Wyoming; is an illustration of the disappearance of an old. beau- tiful and historic name. Many people think that the niinie "Wyoming" belongs to the state to which it migrated from the beautiful vale of Pennsylvania, where it was made historic for all time. Some of the earliest place names now are ap])lied to towns and topographical features far removed from the ])lace which gave ithem biiTth. Shamokin is an illustration of this change. This name is one of the very oldest on the Susc^uehanna River, and it was used during tlie entire ])eriod of settlement, as well as during the period of Indian occupancy, when the Vice-Gerent of the Iroquois Confederacy made it 'the Indian capitol of Penn- sylvania. All of the early traveler.s and all of the official docu- ments relating to Indian afifairs use this name for the present Sunbury. The name Shamokin has been given to a town which is in no way connected with the historic town from which this name was taken. In order to avoid confusion, a 'historical writer now has to always refer to the old. historic place in this manner: "S'hamokin (now Sunbury)."' The same rule has to apply to the other hisitoric village of Wyoming. When this place is men- tioned, the statement must be made as "Wyoming (now Wilkes- Barre)." Probably the greatest crime of all is that which was committed by some classical school iteacher in the change which was made from Tioga to Athens. The author in other publica- tions 'has referred to the trail of the massacre of Indian place names by these classic school teachers from New England. It was one of die sad results of the Connecticut Settlement of Pennsylvania and Western New York. The Indian names were slaughtered without pity. The Scotch-Irish in 'Pennsylvania killed the Indians, but spared the names which the Indians had given to the rivers and mountains in the region in which ihey had lived. The New England school teacher slaughtered the names. Follow the trail of these classical scholars from Athens up into New York and you find a vertial)lc trail of blood of liis'toric and beautiful Indian names. Imagine, if you please, the following names within the historii- habitat of the mighty Iroquois: Cato. Ovid, Camillus, Rome, Utica, Troy, Syracuse, Marathon. Ithaca, CTcneva. Sempronius, Aurelius, Marcellus, Scipioville, Aurora, Romulus. Junius — and so on ad nauseam, there is hardly any limit 'to the list. The beau- tiful lake region of New York seems to have been the "Gettys- burg'" of the New England teacher, where the "high tide" of classical slaughter was done. By direct trail he reached 'the headwaters of the Susquehanna, where he killed Tioga in cold blood, and then erected "Athens." About this time the tide of Scotch-Irish and German "Pennamiites" swept up the Susque- hanna River and ended the advance of the classical scholar and prevented the continuation of the slaughter along the Susque- hanna River. I 'have always been thankful that this classic invasion of Pennsylvania soil did not come into the State by the way of the Allegheny River. Had it done fo, the Ohio, or La Belle Riviere, might probably have been re-baptized the "Styx," and the old twin towns at the headwaters of this stream called Romulus and Remus. A -name" means something, it stands for the person or place. To the Israelite the name of the Deity was so sacred and awful that it was not pronounced at all. One of the Command- ments relates to the taking of "the name in vain." We Ameri- cans are losing our spirit of reverence for almost everythmg. Names of places are changed without a feeling of loss. Some- times these changes are due to the errors of clerks or map makers. There are so many illustrations of this method of change that only a few can be mentioned. Carter Camp, in Potter County, has been substituted for Cartee Camp— the name of a historic family, of which General Cartee was a member. One can easily see how this change was made by a copyist glancing at the name Cartee and then writing the more familiar ••Carter!" Another illustration of the same sort of error is found in 'the name "Queen's Run," which should be Quinn's Run —named for a famous early settler and Indian fighter who settled above Lock Haven, on the West Branch. Col. Henry W. Shoemaker calls my attention to a few other changes of this sort. The Castleman River should be "Cassel- man," being named for a famous family of pioneers which settled m Western Pennsylvania. One of the townships in Clinton County is now named "Gallagher" instead of -Gallauher," in honor of ludge Abraham Gallauher. The recent maps of Penn- sylvania arc literally tilled with such clerical errors, which finally have the authority of the United States Government to back them up. in the Geological Survey Maps and naming of Post Offices. These errors could all be avoided by having the proofs of maps and other official documents sul)mitted to the County Historical vSocieties before final publication. Other changes of names are intentional, as in the case of the many names, such as Athens, for Tioga Point; Sunbury, for Shamokin; Wilkes-Barre, for Wyoming. These changes were made so long ago that the more recent name has become historic. I '.lit changes are being made which have no historic significance whatever. One of the worst, which the author often thinks about because he remembers the place by its old name, is that of the large and growing town of Coraopolis, below Pittsburg, which formerly had the historic name of Vance Fort— which means something of the romantic period when the early settlers on ilic ( )lii() had lo tly to N'ance's Fort for protection from the huHans. "Coraopohs"" means nothing whatever. Thfere are '■()l)ohs"' witliout number in the L'nited States. There was only one \'ance Vov[. The change of X'enango to Frankhn is another ilhislralion of gi\ing u]) an early and historic name. Another change which Col. Shoemaker tells me of is the sug- gested change of Shousetown to Glenwillard. The Shouse family- was one of the early pioneer families on the upper Ohio in the days when the male members of the family defended the frontiers of civilization. There are "glens" of every possible style and degree of fashion in the State, but there is only one Shousetown, or Shouse Ferry. Somehow, whenever a certain type of people move into a locality, it seems to be about the first thing which these modern pioneers think of, is that of changing a name, which does not have an up-to-date sound, to "'glen"-something-or-other. Instead of cutting down trees, they cut down names. My very good friend Gifford Pinchot is a perfect friend' of "forestry con- servation," so is my other friend, Col. Henry W. Shoemaker — more power to both of them in their good work ! Let us all start a movement for the "preservation and conservation of the historic place names of Pennsylvania." Some of these names are not as "pretty" as they might be, but they mean something, and they are historic. I know that Mary is a rather old-fashioned name for a girl, when compared with Gladys or Ethyl — ^but somehow the name means more. It has the historic light of ages playing about it. One thinks of deep-blue Syrian skies and the lakes of Killarney, and a lot of other things, when it is mentioned. So, Shousetown has a sort of crude sound when compared with "Glenwillard'.'' But if you think of the sturdy frontiersman who ferried across the Ohio in the early days, the name becomes romantic. So also with the other names. If you know why they were given, you will realize why they should stay. Another matter which calls for the attention of Historical Societies is that of giving names to places which never had a name, 'i'hese names should have some meaning, either in local or state history. Oftentimes new towns are given names which bear no relation to anything in local or State history. Such names as "Mexico," "Arroyo," "Vera Cruz," etc., have no relation vvliatever to anything hjcal or vState. Many of these names are intrusive. Thc\ ha\e liistorical significance elsewhere, but not here. In view of these very brief remarks about Pennsylvania ])lace names, the author would suggest to the various Historical Socie- ties in the State the passage of an Act of Assembly forbidding the giving of names to any place, or the changing of any place. name, without the authority of either the HJistorical Commission or of some other historical body, such as the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The author understands that many European countries and some of our own States already have such laws. A [)erson has the right to call his own country place or farm by whatever name he wishes. But State names of places become tiic property of the State, and become a part of the State's archives. vSuch a law would prevent tlie ignorant vandalism which has been so much in evidence in the past, in blotting out historic names, and it would also prevent the thoughtless and, oftentimes, utterly ridiculous bestowal of names. There are hundreds of appropriate and beautiful historic names in early Pennsylvania history, among which are many really signihcant Indian names, which have never been given to any places or topographical features. These narnes, rather than meaningless ones, could be given to new towns and villages, and even to country places. Now is the iitting time for the Historical Societies of the State to commence a movement having in view the results mentioned in this article. Nearly every county in the State now has a Historical Society, or has such a society under way. This work can be made a most valuable part of the activity of such societies. The change of historic place names may seem :i small matter, but it is not. Equally offensive is the mis-spelling of historic names, for it adds a studied indifference to the illus- trious names or events in history, which no patriotic x\merican should pass over lightly. We must hold' to our historic place names as the tangible links in the chain of our historical devel- opment. A Partial List of Historic Place Names (.hanged or Misspelled in Pennsylvania (Compiled by Henry W. Shoemaker) New Name Old Name or Spelling T ■ X \ Even the State Capitol was not '> Harris' Ferry, Louisbourg ^ spared! ( Harrisburg Wyoming Wilkes-Barre \ "The Place of the Horns," ) Shamokin . { where the deer performed J Sunbury ( their mewing. J Ohe-yx. } '"^Rivfere"^'^"^ River-La Belle | Allegheny River Cartee Camp \ ^crrter''^Camp ■ f Sturdy Indian fighters, ances- 1 Shousetown i tors of Hon. Jouett Shouse, , Glenwillard 1 lived here. | Muckeha. | «ZJ\tt'l, SlLl"" '"°" i Woodland Hills White's Eddy Ritchie V x^r , ( Here Mary Wolford, beautiful 1 Young woman s pioneer girl, was drowned North Bend ^^" ( escaping from Indians. ) Eyersburg Bloomsburg Longstown New Berlin Stroupstown Freeburg ( How inane the new name, com- | Swinefordstown. . J pared to the old! Middle of } Middleburg I what ? J f Why this was changed is a 1 Christunn { puzzle, as new name has lit- Middle Creek I tie special significance. ) f There are no less than thirty ] I other places called "Mifflin" I Youngmanstown . | in State, and Youngmans- \ Miff linburg town had a delicious West I 1 Country, Irish flavor! j Muhlenberg Newton Hamilton Messimersville Sheridan Dengler's Mount Penn I Stony Run really means noth- ] Wessnersville. . . . i ing definite; State is full of [Stony Run I them. 1 Quinn's Run Queen's Run Suedberg Suedburg Old Name Reidersville Peter's Camp Parkinson's Feri\v Casselman River. Casselman Shireman's Creek . Zerby Gallauher (Town- ship), Clinton County Tioga Point. . . . . Vance Fort Venango New Name Newport Blossburg \ Monongahela City } Monongahe'a This atrocity is gradually get- I ting on all maps, even some [ Csi'^t]pman River of those of State Forestry [ ^astleman Kiver Department. j .Castleman Sherman's Creek Sober Shoemakertown . Kreamersville. . Hamburg (Clinton Co.) Another victim of "Sinn Fein". .Gallagher .Athens . Coraopolis .Franklin Ogontz Pittsburg. A quamt old town re-baptized jo 11+ v, , ' 1 11 i-i-- • f Smullton to please a local politician. ) Mackevville f "H," in these days of simpli- I fied spelling, and after hav- I ing been laid aside for near- I ly a century, tacked on by 1 P. R. R. in 1902 to suit a I resident Vice-President born j in Edinburgh, pronounced Edinborough ; which itself is philologically incorrect, the original name of the "Athens of the North" having been Edwins-burg, an early set- tlement of Angles, not Celts.' Pittsburgh Brunerstown . Bloody Run . Bismarck. ( Here immortal hero blood was | / shed. Why change it? i \ A victim of war hysteria and | / over-zealous "patriotism." \ Fort Hunter. Siegfried. . . . Allenville. . . (Name changed twice) Heidelberg. Derry High Head, (Mountain) . . . Hard to trace pioneer localities since these old names are nearly all gone. With its old church, ci^elly wiped off the map. In Penn's Valley, Centre Coun- ty. There are no less than 100 other mountains and hills in State called "Round Top." Somerset Everett Quentin . Rockville Northampton Northampton Allentown Schaefferstown Hershev Round Top y O'.d Name Old Eagle StiK-ktown . A stalwart Indian fightei-'s name obliterated to make way for a stockholder in a new railroad through the town. Dunnsburg T f>wi«' T aVp * ^^^y ^^^^ sentimental, slushy l.ewis i^ake , ^^^ name? Strasburg (York County) Greersburg Exetertown (Name changed twice) Saltzburg Anderson's Ferry Dekanoagah Kloster (Cloister) Wright's Ferry Tiadaghton Karoondinha Standing Stone Town New Name Strafford McClure .Dunnstown "Eaglesmere' . . Shrewsbury . . Darlington \ Exeter ( Lorane . .Saltsburg . . Marietta . Bainbridge . .Ephrata . Wrightsville . Pine Creek ( John Penn's Creek } Penn's Creek . .Huntingdon . .Blainsport Reinholds Petersburg [Changed, as another town of j j^ * I same name m State. ) { The name of old Reuben ] 9f-r.vAv'« 1 Stover, pioneer and hunter, [ ^^^^^^^ 1 deserved to be thus perpet- | ( uated. Why Livonia? J Livonia Weirickstettle , Millersburg, (Berks County) Allemingle. \ Penn's Creek P.O. \ Centreville Riviere Le Boeuf. . Sinnemahoning . Nippeno. Changed owing to there being another Millersburg in State, but new name of no local significance. "All Wants," meaning "Land of Plenty." A very distinc- tive cognomen. New name of no local significance whatever. ."River of Buffaloes" Changed by railroad. Indian name Sinne-Mahoning, or "Stony Lick." Another railroad infliction. Old name "N i p p e n o," from Nippe-nuse, an Indian Chief of the locality. Bethel Albany . French Creek \ Sinnamahoning Nippono 10 Old Name New Name Manayunk Schuylkill i..,,^.K,,..,v \ Changed so as to be the "soul I .-, , ^ I mate of Sunbury. \ i>itw;,.ii.N Jacobsburg- Woodward [ A sturdy pioneer sounding | The Forks | f^"J^- Changed by railroad I ^^ I land agents to please an m- | 1 fluential citizen of county. J Panther Run. . . . \ ^"^ abbreviation which destroys [ p^^^her / most of the local significance. \ "■"'"^^'■ Hightown White Deer Littlestown Bradford Rattlesnake } ^^J'oXfct'or.'^^""'''" ^ ^^'"'"'''^ | Whetham f Changed on account of being | Susquehanna I other town of same name in [■ Nisbet I State. ) I On former domain of Queen | Riansares I Maria Christina of Spain. I r> tt-h (Mountain) .... 1 Named for her husband, the f ^ ^'"'"^ "''^ ( Duke of Riansares. | Stavertown Glen Burgettstown I,angeloth Reastown ! g^jf T"' ( Bedford Coryell's Ferry New Hope Quiggleville Lycoming Geulich, (Town- ship) Clearfield County Gulick f Another railroad blunder in ) Renezet ' spelling. Named for An- [ Dp„p„p++g ^^"^^^^ 1 thony Benezet, Quaker Abo- | ^enezette I litionist. I Chatham's Run, (Hamlet) Charlton Barclay Wyside ( Here was a big camp of Irish 1 D J , , T> railroad laborei-s when Sun- [ Tp„^^ d„„ „,„ Paddy s Run j ^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^ Railroad was | ^^^^ Renovo I built about 1864. I Saltzman East Ferney j Named by early Scotch-Irish ' Swatragh, | pioneers for a brook in [ o„,„*„,.„ (Stream) | Derry, Ireland - Sewataro, I ►^^'*'^'*''' I Swetarrow. ) „,./-,, \ Pronounced Pole's Creek. Spell- ( u ... ii' /'.. >i Powl s Creek. ... J -^^ ^^^^,,^, ..^nform. > ^"^^^^ '^^ ^''''''^ M Old Name New Name Matawanna McVeytown [ Named for early tribe of red- ] Mingoville j men. New name given by ! Hec-la Park I owners of a picnic park. | I A reg'rettable abbreviation of I Hartley Hall. • • • j Major-Genei-al Thomas ,- Hartleton 1 Hartley's name. I Oak Grove ! Changed because other town j, ^ . I of same name m State. \ f An unaccountable substitution | Derrstown j of first name of Lewis Derr, j Lewisburg- I pioneer, for his last name. J C.+-+ „4-„,„„ \ Named for the first settler in | j u^„^„ btitestown 1 rt I Lebanon f An obstinate blunder creeping ] Paxtang ] ^'^^ ? .^^7^^^ ^^^^ ^i^p^o^^' [ Paxton ^ I as origmal name was Pesh- | I tank! I Funkstown. \ Altodale I Mont Alto Obold ■ Mount Pleasant Rumberger DuBois Morgan's Gap Bull Run Gap Great Shawanese Lake Ganoga Lake Air J «? J \ Blockhouse Woodrutfstown _ j liberty VVatsonburg W.^tsontown Upland An early Swedish settlement. . . .Chester Boyersville Mazeppa Green Castle Greencastle Adamsburg _ Beaver Springs Moose's Pond Mose's Pond Chinkalacamoose. . ."Meeting place of the Moose". . Clearfield Straus Schuyler Zermatt Holstein Germantown ( North Junction ( Philadelphia f Changed by Railroad Company, I which had another station Georgetown \ of same name. New name ' Dalmatia I sounds nice, but of no local I significance. Kishekokelas Kishacoquillas Jamesburg Oriole Swartztown Milton Cameronia Montandon The Spirit of the Name- Vandal ! Exit Muckelrat and Enter Woodland Hills Muckelrat is gone forever, the "Village of Woodland Hills" takes its place and every citizen holds his head erect these days ajid smiles a happy smile. The territory coniprisina the one-time Muckelrat includes that part of Wilkins Township, hounded by Braddock road, Filmore road, Glasgow road, Fairview avenue and Ridge avenue. The formal announcement of this change was made in a com- munication to The Sun today, signed "Citizens of Woodland Hills." — PITTSBURG SUN, 1921. Changing the Face of History There is another aspect of the ruthless spirit of the day which holds nothing of the past sacred and secure. That is the moderniza- tion of Civil War memorials. Most of these erected thirty years ago, instead of showing the rugged, long-haired, bearded, loosely clad sol- dier of Civil War times represented the "Civil War" warrior to look like the trim National Guardsman of the Nineties, with short hair, curled mustache, and tight-fitting uniform. Those erected recently, take, for example, the Bucktail monument at Driftwood, and the Union League Club Regiment monument at Philadelphia, represent the Civil War soldier as short haired and clean shaven, The typical Civil War soldier was neither of these, even if a few shaved their whole faces once in six weeks. All let their hair stay long; that was part of the tradition of the war, while most of the boys allowed their beards to grow and have never shaved them off to this day. The short-haired, clean-shaved Civil War soldier never existed outside of the careless imagination of modern sculptors, and in only a single monument at Gettysburg Battlefield is the real soldier of the period depicted, that sole exception being in the bronze figure on the monu- ment of the Fifth Minnesota Regiment. Even Violet Oakley has fallen into the popular error with her Lincoln and Meade murals in the Senate Chamber at Harrisburg, but she goes most artists one better by giving her clean-shaven soldier boys "Dutch cuts," from which their locks were as free as their cheeks were of the razor. Why can't real Civil War soldiers be put on these monuments, and not faces and costumes typical of 1915-1921 — a crime in the eyes of historic exactitude. The Civil War soldier. South as well as North, was a Poilu, and the razor applied by sculptors half a century later has stripped him of one of his principal claims to individuality. As the noted French author, Maurice Barres, remarked, in speaking of the hairy French soldiers of the World War, "Their beards have been part of the war, and of our courage." The bearded Civil War soldier bespoke his period, and told the story of camp and campaign, and any 13 attempt to change him now makes the memorials historically ineffec- tive. This is a phase of monument construction for our able State Art Commission to consider in co-operation with Dr. Donehoo's His- torical Commission. Clean-shaved Civil War soldiers are as his- torically out of place as if the typical American "Doughboy" of the World War were put on a pedestal with Lord Rocksavage side-whiskers or Lord Fauntleroy tresses. Let us be correct and exact in every detail, if we are to build for the ages to come! H. W. S. Pennsylvania Alpine Club THE CREED: To protect, study and preserve, wherever possible, the history, folk lore, folk songs and proverbs of our mountain people. To preserve historic place names and their rightful spelling, Indian tra- ditions and Indian names. To secure the Pennsylvania Mountains a wider popularity and appreciation. To work for pure air, pure water, pure manhood and womanhood against the inroads of the modern complex, urban civilization. To save the ancient landmarks, such as old forts and other pioneer structures and memorials, and historic and noteworthy trees and groves. To create a sentiment for the edu- cation and moral encouragement of the Pennsylvania mountain chil- dren, neglected in favor of the children of the Kentucky and Tennessee mountains. To stand at all times for the American Flag- and Penn- sylvania Beautiful. For the establishment of new Chapters and membership, apply to J. Herbert Walker, Secretary and Historian, Box 328, Scranton Pa. Program of Spring and Fall Outings on Application. Finis 14 iil ii jjlliiii! .... „ llili mm ilil iiiiiiili ill iii tiiiili liili l;ISv ! r,ifi«;l ift iii tell!;!! iiir 014 207 285 3,