# Racist names of towns, etc. that still exist **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178 "2011-11-16T22:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/41 "2011-11-17T20:50:36Z")
> [@joan316](#): > > Joan at [maxangel95@comcast.net](mailto:maxangel95@comcast.net) Hi Joan, welcome to the SDMB. Not sure if you’re aware of the format of the message board medium in general, but nobody is going to e-mail you. I suspect you posted this OP and then, not understanding how this works, you left, never to return. If this is true, please confirm by failing to post a response in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/42 "2011-11-17T22:18:35Z")
How about the Washington Redskins? ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/43 "2011-11-17T22:27:36Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > \*Which probably still pisses off people because it’s for Black Hawk - even if it is supposed to be complimentary. But then that’s not true. We have a Black Hawk County but no Black Hawk State. As far as the state nickname is concerned think about the hero of James Fennimore Cooper’s _Leatherstocking_ novels which were very popular at the time Iowa was opened to settlement by virtue of a series of land grabs at the expense of Black Hawk’s people and a bunch of other native tribes and bands. The “Hawkeye” label smells of a little chamber of commerce hucksterism. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/44 "2011-11-17T22:37:34Z")
It’s not an ‘official’ name, but everyone that lives in Winn Parish (N. central La.) uses the term, the “quarters”, when referring to an area where 99% of the residents are black. The term has been used for as long as I can recall. Even all of the blacks use that term when referring to the area. Supposedly, it was originally called the “n\*\*\*\*r quarters”, but was shortened to ‘the quarters’. Not sure when that happened, though. (I’ll call some of my kinfolk that still live in Winn parish, and see if they know.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/45 "2011-11-18T03:04:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > What is the practical effect of this? Does the town name actually change or is it just referred to differently on maps? > > For example, if a town in Nebraska is called Canuckville and the feds demand that it be changed to Canadianville, does Nebraska have to put up new street signs? Can the state print their own maps with the offensive name? If I post a letter to Canuckville, will it be returned as undeliverable? BGN decisions officially affect only what names are used on federal maps and databases. There’s a lot of deference paid to these decisions by state and local mapmakers, but the feds can’t “demand” anything—and certainly not of a state or its subdivisions. I don’t ever recall a controversy over the name of an incorporated municipality or anything else with a posted sign, though the Post Office Department demanded some simplified spellings back in the 19th century. (The various Pittsburgs lost their _H_s, though the one in Pennsylvania later reclaimed theirs). Local usage is supposed to guide the BGN rather than be guided by it, but that sometimes conflicts with the quoted Policy V. I’m sure there are some “Nigger Hollers” deep in Appalachia that locals still know by that name, whatever the topo map says. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/46 "2011-11-18T03:34:09Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > What is the practical effect of this? Does the town name actually change or is it just referred to differently on maps? > > For example, if a town in Nebraska is called Canuckville and the feds demand that it be changed to Canadianville, does Nebraska have to put up new street signs? Can the state print their own maps with the offensive name? If I post a letter to Canuckville, will it be returned as undeliverable? There is a way to test this: send a letter to either Kinnikeet or Trent, North Carolina. When the Postal Service opened post offices in each community, in 1883 and 1898, it renamed the towns Avon and Frisco, respectively. And that’s wbat each is still called. They’re neighboring towns on Hatteras Island, if you’re looking… ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/47 "2011-11-18T04:10:04Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > I’m sure there are some “Nigger Hollers” deep in Appalachia that locals still know by that name, whatever the topo map says. One in the community I grew up in… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/48 "2011-11-18T04:12:25Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > I’m sure there are some “Nigger Hollers” deep in Appalachia that locals still know by that name, whatever the topo map says. We had one called _Swede Hollow_ right in St. Paul, Minnesota, but the city evicted all the residents and burned it down in 1956, and made it into a park. Still named Swede Hollow Park. But “Swede Hollow” wasn’t considered a derogatory name–except by the Norwegians! ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/49 "2011-11-18T04:23:06Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Did they change the placenames to Namkalb? Nice one, No, they changed Blackman to some kind of aboriginal name. In one way, since their ancestors discovered the places before my ancestor, it kind of makes sense, but it’s a bit demotivating, to see my family being erased from history, and with whatever I do in life, nothing will ever be named after me. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/50 "2011-11-18T04:29:03Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Nice one, > > No, they changed Blackman to some kind of aboriginal name. > > In one way, since their ancestors discovered the places before my ancestor, it kind of makes sense, but it’s a bit demotivating, to see my family being erased from history, and with whatever I do in life, nothing will ever be named after me. Don’t be so glum; you might die from some, heretofore unknown disease. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/51 "2011-11-19T04:33:07Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Don’t be so glum; you might die from some, heretofore unknown disease. exactly. Or you could morph into your own special kind of serial killer, which could be known as a Blackman personality type. You have to apply yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/52 "2011-11-19T06:49:47Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > exactly. Or you could morph into your own special kind of serial killer, which could be known as a Blackman personality type. > > You have to apply yourself. Thanks for the encouragement, but somehow I doubt they’ll name a murder-pattern, Blackman ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/53 "2011-11-19T07:02:29Z")
> [@kurtisokc](#): > > Squaw Valley California actually has the distiction of hosting the 1960 winter olympics, though I believe it has since been renamed Olympic Valley. Of course, nobody calls it Olympic Valley. I’ve lived in Northern California my whole life, only a couple hours from there and I’ve never heard it called that. The ski resort is still called Squaw Valley and everyone refers to the area as Squaw Valley or just Squaw. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/54 "2011-11-19T14:36:56Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > There is a way to test this: send a letter to either Kinnikeet or Trent, North Carolina. When the Postal Service opened post offices in each community, in 1883 and 1898, it renamed the towns Avon and Frisco, respectively. And that’s wbat each is still called. > > They’re neighboring towns on Hatteras Island, if you’re looking… I doubt the Postal Service will care what town name you put on your letter; they only look at the ZIP code for delivery. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/55 "2011-11-19T14:43:16Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > My surname is Blackman and one of my ancestors was a great explorer, unfortunately, due to PC whining, every place named after him has been changed. No he wasn’t, and no, they haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/56 "2011-11-19T19:03:17Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > Of course, nobody calls it Olympic Valley. I’ve lived in Northern California my whole life, only a couple hours from there and I’ve never heard it called that. The ski resort is still called Squaw Valley and everyone refers to the area as Squaw Valley or just Squaw. Though there is an actual place name of Squaw Valley, CA. It’s down outside of Fresno. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/57 "2011-11-19T19:18:40Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Thanks for the encouragement, but somehow I doubt they’ll name a murder-pattern, Blackman Not with that attitude they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/58 "2011-11-19T22:15:10Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > Though there is an actual place name of Squaw Valley, CA. It’s down outside of Fresno. I drove through there once. I remember thinking, “THIS is where they held the Olympics?” There wasn’t a big enough mountain to hold a tobaggan race. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/59 "2011-11-19T23:05:33Z")
[Nickajack Lake](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickajack_Lake). [Nickajack Dam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickajack_Dam). [Nickajack Gap.](http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=19394) [Nickajack Cave](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickajack_Cave). [Nickajack Road.](http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?q=nickajack+road&mkt=en-US&FORM=BYFD#JnE9Lm5pY2thamFjayUyYnJvYWQlMmJyaW5nZ29sZCUyNTJjJTJiR0ElN2Vzc3QuMCU3ZXBnLjEmYmI9MzUuNjUwOTIwNjcyNTcwOSU3ZS04My4yMjY4MDI4MjU5Mjc3JTdlMzMuMTUzOTc4MjA3MzE1NSU3ZS04Ni45MjM3MDIyMzk5OTAy) These place names all derive from the town of Nickajack which formerly existed in Cherokee territory, and from the Nickajack Trail which used to lead to that town. There are competing word origins for this name, but the earliest explanation I have seen, and the one I find most plausible, is that it is a reference to a black man who lived among the Cherokee, named Jack Civil. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178/60 "2011-11-19T23:09:50Z")
> [@Intelligently\_Designed](#): > > How about the Washington Redskins? I thought of this too, especially with that caricature of a screaming generic American Indian. I’d like to think a NYC football or baseball team would be called The New York Jews. I’d root for them for that alone. Imagine what its helmet or jersey logo would be… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racist-names-of-towns-etc-that-still-exist/603178.md?page=4)