Lou’s View: By Any Other Name
“Hey, I know you!” the guy says to me as I’m walking down the street. “I love your history columns! It’s Mike, right?”
“Lou,” I say in return. “But nice try.”
Something like this happens to me a couple of times a month. Though most people are very clear on how much they like my writing, sometimes they get a little fuzzy on the name. People get odd ideas about names, which brings me to my point finally.
In Clinton County, there are some names that don’t make sense until you know the backstory, or else people have adopted explanations that don’t make sense. Some of the names in Clinton County do not come from the source you think it did, and may need clarification.
The most obvious, and most common one I hear, is Church Street. “Oh, sure,” people say,”When Lock Haven was founded, that’s where all the churches were.” Which isn’t true in the literal sense exactly, if you mean the church as a building. Church Street had a Church on it, but it wasn’t a building. It was our town founder.
Lock Haven was founded in 1833 by Jerry Church, who settled on the street he named after himself. The alleys on each side are named Willard’s Alley and Mary’s Alley, after Jerry’s brother and sister-in-law. Down by the courthouse, there is Sarah’s Alley, most likely named after Sarah Spear, the only single female when Lock Haven was first founded. So, yep, we have an alley named after the local dating pool. (I could go on about the alleys, but a friend once pointed out that nobody knows the names of the alleys except ambulance drivers, pizza delivery, and me.)
Out in Colebrook Township, we have Queen’s Run. We also have any number of people who will be happy to tell you that it was named after the Queen of Spain, though that is not correct. It is true that the Queen of Spain built a mansion in the area, but the name has nothing to do with her. In fact, the community predates her.
It began as Quinn’s Run, named after local settler Samuel Quinn. Over time, the name was mispronounced and corrupted, becoming Queen’s Run and leading to all manner of confusion. It didn’t help that Queen Maria Christina really did invest money in the area, further twisting the issue.
And let’s take a look at Peter’s Steps, the outcropping of rock that stands above Riverview Park. Most of the locals have all heard the story—Peter Grove, early settler, jumped his horse off there in an effort to escape a Native American attack and rode to safety, thus giving the place its name. This isn’t true, either, and it would have been more likely that Peter Grove, early settler, jumped his horse off there and splattered both himself and the horse all over the countryside. If there was any horse-jumping, it was almost certainly at a safer spot.
The name didn’t come from Grove. In the very early days, a hunter named Peter McGinley spent a lot of time there, which is what gave that spot its name. Over time, though, the Grove legend grew and shifted to that mountain, and people forgot about McGinley. Don’t feel too bad for Grove, though—He’s remembered with Grove Street, which really was named after him. He also has a marker on his grave in the Dunnstown Cemetery.
People get strange ideas about some of these names sometimes, which is why I’m here to clarify things. I try to make sure people know the real history of the area, and I like teaching this kind of thing. If you see me outside sometime, and have questions, feel free to flag me down and ask! I answer to “Mike.”
