Readers expound on place names
Last Sunday’s IN Life cover story, “Making a Name,” about area place name origins, revealed an important truth: It’s an inexact science.
Even the established reference books, such as “Place Names of Washington,” by Robert Hitchman, contain a number of educated guesses and conflicting theories.
Another way to put it would be that the book is “riddled with errors,” according to Eastern Washington University professor Grant Smith.
However, since place name origins rarely can be proven through documentary evidence, historians inevitably have to choose from a number of legends, stories or anecdotes and then make their own interpretations and educated guesses.
With help from some Spokesman-Review readers, we have found several entries in our story that may have alternate, and in some cases, better, explanations:
Peone Prairie – We cited Hitchman’s entry that it was named for Louis Peone, a Hudson’s Bay Co. employee. However, we heard from James Gordon Perkins, a descendant of Louis and a family historian in Colville, who said that it was named not for Louis Peone, but for Baptiste Peone.
He’s almost certainly right. Baptiste Peone lived on Peone Prairie, just a few miles northeast of Spokane, beginning in 1848, and was often referred to as “Chief Peone,” as a leader of the Upper Spokane band on the prairie. He also filed a homestead claim on the prairie in 1880.
Louis Peone homesteaded in Colville, 60 miles north, and has no clear connection to the Peone Prairie.
Veradale – The entry (taken from Hitchman) was correct: The town was named for Vera McDonald, daughter of the man who platted the town site.
But as reader Vernon Hecht, a longtime resident, pointed out, the photo was not correct. It was the wrong Vera.
“She was my mother’s cousin and I knew her,” he said. “And she didn’t look like that. Of course, that was a long time ago, and I may be wrong.”
No, he’s right. The photo showed Vera McDonald, daughter of Alonzo McDonald, who later married Vern Olson. The correct Vera, however, is Vera McDonald, daughter of D.K. McDonald, who later married Joseph Cunningham.
Kaniksu – The entry, taken from “Idaho Place Names – A Geographical Dictionary,” by Lalia Boone, said it was the Coeur d’Alene Indian word for “black robe,” meaning Jesuit priest.
However, one reader said she believed it was “black robe” from the Kalispel language, not the Coeur d’Alene language.
Since the word is used for places in the Kalispel tribal region, we’re leaning toward Kalispel as well, although the languages are related.
Sandpoint – “Idaho Place Names” credits fur trader David Thompson with calling it “a point of sand” in his 1809 journal. Yet since his journals were published long after the name was established, he can’t get all the credit. More likely, it was called Sandpoint, after the obvious geographical feature, by just about every visitor, of which Thompson was merely the most famous.