Derogatory mountain stream to be renamed

Back in November, U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland formally declared the term “squaw” – denoting an American Indian woman – as derogatory. Not surprising, there are a number of geographic place names in the country -- more than 600, to be exact -- with that term in it. That list includes 37 states - including one spot in North Carolina. (A high concentration of sites names using the term can be found in the American West, especially in Arizona, California and Idaho, according to Statista.)

The spot ID'd here in North Carolina? A stream called Chesquaw Branch in Graham and Swain counties, up in the mountains.

N.C. is not alone (clearly) in having some, uh, unfortunate place names, as we have discussed in the past. After all, who could forget Bloodrun Creek in Chatham County? Or Maggot Spring Gap up in the mountains? Surry County boasts Pinch Gut Branch, while Kill'em Swamp bubbles over in Hertford County.

 

 From Statista:

Gazetteer fun: S-U

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer was recently updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, S, T and U. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Sapphire, community in s(outh)w(est) Transylvania County s(outh) of Horsepasture River. Named because sapphires are found in the vicinity or for the vivid blue of the sky and water.


Toddy, community in w(estern) Pitt County. The community was known as Tugwell and the railroad name was Toddy Station in the early twentieth century. Named for the fact that a drink of whiskey could be had at a local store.


Utah Mountain, central Haywood County between Snakeden Top and Fulbright Cove. Named for the fact that a band of Mormons lived there in the 1880s and 1890s. Their practice of polygamy made them unpopular with their neighbors, and the Mormons were forced to leave North Carolina. Their houses, barns, fences, and other property were abandoned, and the ruins still exist. Orchards and vineyards, as well as ornamental flowering shrubs, are now growing wild in the vicinity.

Gazetteer fun: P-R

My apologies for not doing this in a while. Quite honestly, it just slipped my mind.

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer was recently updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, P, Q and R. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Pinch Gut Branch*, rises in e[astern] Surry County and flows s[outh]e[ast] into Stokes County, where it enters Big Creek. Said to have been named by Saura Indians in the vicinity who almost starved because of the scarcity of game.

Quail Roost, community in n[orthern] Durham County. Named for a former hunting club there acquired in 1925 by George Watts Hill of Durham, who turned it into a dairy farm. In 1963 the farm was given to the state of North Carolina by Hill. The large house is used as a conference center by the University of North Carolina; North Carolina State University makes use of the surrounding land, designated as Hill Forest.

Relief, community in w[estern] Mitchell County on Toe River. Alt. 2,092. Named for the patent medicine Hart's Relief, a popular product with a high alcoholic content sold at John Peterson's store there after about 1870.

*There are at least seven Pinch Gut/Pinchgut locations in the state, including Pinch Gut Creek in Anson County, Pinchgut Branch in Duplin County and Pinchgut Creek in Caldwell County, which has the distinction of being named by the same person who named another nearby creek "Coldass."

Gazetteer fun: M-O

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, M, N and O . (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Maggot Spring Gap, w[estern] Haywood County in Great Smoky Mountains National Park near lat. 35-33-08 N, long. 83-07-55 W. Named fora nearby spring used by cattle rangers that had in it the larvae of an insect that resembled a maggot.


Nimrod, community in s[outh]w[est] Mecklenburg County served by post office, 1891-1902. Was on the w[est] side of the Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad. Site is now the Yorkmont area of Charlotte.


Okay, community in n[orth]e[ast] Forsyth County served by a post office, 1890-1904.

Gazetteer fun: J-L

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, J, K and L. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Japan, former community in n(orth)e(ast) Graham County on forks of Tobacco and Panther creeks. Est. about 1908 as supply center for surrounding lumbering camps. Named for "Japan clover" (Lespedeza striata) growing in the area. During World War II, local residents began calling it MacArthur for Gen. Douglas MacArthur, but the post office name was never changed. Inundated by water of Fontana Lake, 1944.


Kill'em Swamp rises in s(outh)e(ast) Hertford County and flows n(orth)w(est) into Chinkapin Creek.


Longs Delight appears on the Ogilby map, 1671, near the upper portion of the Cape Fear River. It was a name assigned probably for Capt. Anthony Long, member of an expedition led by Capt. William Hilton in 1663 to explore the lower Cape Fear region. See also Lockwoods Folly Inlet ... which states that [f]requently in the seventeenth century, however, the word "folly" was used in the sense of the French folie (delight; favorite abode), and it formed a part of the name of English estates.

Gazetteer fun: G-I

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, G, H and I. (Click here to see some older versions.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Glassy Rock, mountain in se Henderson County overlooking Flat Rock community. According to legend, renegades hid there during the Civil War, and money and other valuables they concealed in the caves there were later found. Trail from Connemara, the Carl Sandburg house, leads to the overlook.

Haines Eyebrow, peak in nw McDowell County near the head of Buck Creek.

Intelligence, community in w Rockingham County served by post office, 1901-11. Known as Bald Hill until about 1920. Between 1850 and 1900, several tobacco factories flourished there. Named because the first public school in North Carolina was there. "Danbury," plantation home of Governor Alexander Martin (1740-1807), was nearby. Sharp's Institute, operated by James Sharp, father of N.C. Supreme Court justice Susie Sharp, was there.

Gazetteer fun: D-F

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968. (Kudos to Michael Hill at the N.C. Office of Archives and History for undertaking the updating of William Powell's monumental publication.)

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This version will look at random listings that begin with letters, D, E and F. (Click here to see A, B & C.) There are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Day Book, community in n(orth)e(ast) Yancey County on Jacks Creek. Alt. 2,350. Post office est. about 1815 and named for a book in which names were recorded of settlers moving west. Another version of the traditional origin of the name is that it came from a time book kept for employees of a local lumber company.


Eupeptic Springs, community an former resort (1860s-1870s), n(orth)w(est) Iredell County. Known as Powder Springs prior to development as a resort by Dr. John Ford, who renamed it Eupeptic (good digestion).


Fayette County was formed in July 1784 when an act of the General Assembly divided Cumberland County into Fayette and Moore Counties. It was intended to honor Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), who visited the United States that year. Fayette County retained the courthouse in Fayetteville. In October of the same year, the act was amended to retain the name Cumberland for the county.

The North Carolina Gazetteer is published by UNC Press. To order one, click here.

Gazetteer fun: A-C

The highly entertaining and educational North Carolina Gazetteer has been updated for the first time since it was first published in 1968. (Kudos to Michael Hill at the N.C. Office of Archives and History for undertaking the updating of William Powell's monumental publication.)

For those unfamiliar with the book, it is quite simply a listing of place names in North Carolina. Some are well-known, most are not; some are funny, some are sad and some are just ... quirky. It's a must-have for natives and "furriners" alike.

We figured we would highlight some of our favorites from the book every now and then. This first version will look at random listings that begin with letters, A, B and C. There
are some 2,ooo-plus listings in the Gazetteer, so feel free to search for your own faves.

Enjoy!

Aho, community in s(outhern) Watauga County near the heads of Stony Branch, Moore Branch, and Buffalo Creek. It is said that a group of men gathered to select a name for the community but, being unable to agree on a name, decided that that next word spoken by any one of them would be accepted. After a long silence, B. B. Dougherty arose, stretched, and said "Aho!"


Bloodrun Creek, rises in w(estern) Chatham County and flows s(outh)w(est) into Brush Creek. Local tradition says that a "hot skirmish" occurred between small bands of Whigs and Tories during the Revolutionary War. Each side, not wishing to reveal its losses, buried its dead secretly. One of the sites selected as a burying ground was near the small stream, and it was given its present name to commemorate the shedding of blood in the battle.


Chicamacomico, the name given to three communities on n(orthern) part of Outer Banks, e(astern) Dare County, s(outh) of Pea Island: formerly North Rodanthe, South Rodanthe, and Clarks, now known as Rodanthe, Waves, and Salvo.

The North Carolina Gazetteer is published by UNC Press. To order one, click here.