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Oregon Geographic Names Board
The Oregon Geographic Names Board (originally known as the Oregon Geographic Board) is responsible for recommending names for geographic features in the state of Oregon. The board submits its recommendations to the United States Board on Geographic Names for approval. In 1959, administrative responsibility for the board was transferred from the state government to the Oregon Historical Society.
Today, the Oregon Geographic Names Board is responsible for recommending names for geographic features within the state of Oregon. It ensures standard geographic nomenclature is applied to Oregon place names and prevents name duplication. The board assists federal, state, and local governments by reviewing geographic name proposals. The board submits its recommendations to the United States Board on Geographic Names for approval.
In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison established the United States Board on Geographic Names. The board was given responsibility for settling questions regarding the names of geographic features within the United States. The board was needed because inconsistencies in place names were causing serious problems for surveyors, map makers, and scientists who required uniform geographic nomenclature. This problem was especially acute in the western states and territories where explorers, soldiers, miners, and settlers all had a hand in naming geographic features in addition to the names given to features by Native Americans. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the board's charter to include responsibility for approving all new place names and name changes on behalf of the U.S. government. In addition, the board was specifically directed to standardize and document geographic names of all domestic, foreign, or undersea features. Today, Antarctic names are within the U.S. board's jurisdiction as well.
The Oregon Geographic Board was established by Governor George Chamberlain in an executive order signed on October 1, 1908. It was created to assist the United States Board on Geographic Names in naming geographic features within the state of Oregon. In 1911, the U.S. Board formally recognized the Oregon Board as its official advisory body for Oregon geographic names.
In October 1908, Governor Chamberlain appointed William Gladstone Steel, Doctor Joseph Schafer, and John B. Horner to the board. In December of that year, he added George H. Himes and Major Thomas L. "Lee" Moorhouse to the board. The members selected Steel, a well known outdoorsman and advocate for national parks, as the board's first president. On December 26, 1908, the Oregon Geographic Board took its first action in recommending that Mount Pitt in Jackson County be changed to Mount McLoughlin in honor of Doctor John McLoughlin, head of Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon Country from 1825 until 1846.
After Steel left the board in 1911 to devote his time to the development of Crater Lake National Park, the board elected George H. Himes as its president, a position he held until his death in 1940. Himes was one of Oregon's most respected historians and also a founder of the Oregon Historical Society, as well as museum curator from 1915 to 1940.
In 1914, Governor Oswald West appointed Lewis A. "Tam" McArthur to the board. McArthur was a Pacific Power and Light Company executive with a passion for geography and history. In 1916, he was selected board secretary, a position he held until 1949. McArthur's position on the board allowed him to study journals of early explorers, read pioneer diaries, browse newspaper archives, research government documents, and thoroughly reviewed every book on Oregon history he could find. He also conducted personal interviews with living Oregon pioneers. The Oregon Historical Society published his research in eight issues of the Oregon Historical Quarterly in the early 1920s. In 1928, McArthur paid to have the first edition of Oregon Geographic Names published. The book was quickly recognized as the authoritative source for information regarding the origins and history of Oregon place names. A second edition was published in 1944. The book's third edition was published in 1951, shortly after his death.
Another long-serving member of the Oregon Geographic Board was the well known newspaper journalist and science writer Phil Brogan of Bend. Brogan served as president of the board from 1947 to 1958 and then again from 1960 until 1968.
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Oregon Geographic Names Board
The Oregon Geographic Names Board (originally known as the Oregon Geographic Board) is responsible for recommending names for geographic features in the state of Oregon. The board submits its recommendations to the United States Board on Geographic Names for approval. In 1959, administrative responsibility for the board was transferred from the state government to the Oregon Historical Society.
Today, the Oregon Geographic Names Board is responsible for recommending names for geographic features within the state of Oregon. It ensures standard geographic nomenclature is applied to Oregon place names and prevents name duplication. The board assists federal, state, and local governments by reviewing geographic name proposals. The board submits its recommendations to the United States Board on Geographic Names for approval.
In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison established the United States Board on Geographic Names. The board was given responsibility for settling questions regarding the names of geographic features within the United States. The board was needed because inconsistencies in place names were causing serious problems for surveyors, map makers, and scientists who required uniform geographic nomenclature. This problem was especially acute in the western states and territories where explorers, soldiers, miners, and settlers all had a hand in naming geographic features in addition to the names given to features by Native Americans. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the board's charter to include responsibility for approving all new place names and name changes on behalf of the U.S. government. In addition, the board was specifically directed to standardize and document geographic names of all domestic, foreign, or undersea features. Today, Antarctic names are within the U.S. board's jurisdiction as well.
The Oregon Geographic Board was established by Governor George Chamberlain in an executive order signed on October 1, 1908. It was created to assist the United States Board on Geographic Names in naming geographic features within the state of Oregon. In 1911, the U.S. Board formally recognized the Oregon Board as its official advisory body for Oregon geographic names.
In October 1908, Governor Chamberlain appointed William Gladstone Steel, Doctor Joseph Schafer, and John B. Horner to the board. In December of that year, he added George H. Himes and Major Thomas L. "Lee" Moorhouse to the board. The members selected Steel, a well known outdoorsman and advocate for national parks, as the board's first president. On December 26, 1908, the Oregon Geographic Board took its first action in recommending that Mount Pitt in Jackson County be changed to Mount McLoughlin in honor of Doctor John McLoughlin, head of Hudson's Bay Company in the Oregon Country from 1825 until 1846.
After Steel left the board in 1911 to devote his time to the development of Crater Lake National Park, the board elected George H. Himes as its president, a position he held until his death in 1940. Himes was one of Oregon's most respected historians and also a founder of the Oregon Historical Society, as well as museum curator from 1915 to 1940.
In 1914, Governor Oswald West appointed Lewis A. "Tam" McArthur to the board. McArthur was a Pacific Power and Light Company executive with a passion for geography and history. In 1916, he was selected board secretary, a position he held until 1949. McArthur's position on the board allowed him to study journals of early explorers, read pioneer diaries, browse newspaper archives, research government documents, and thoroughly reviewed every book on Oregon history he could find. He also conducted personal interviews with living Oregon pioneers. The Oregon Historical Society published his research in eight issues of the Oregon Historical Quarterly in the early 1920s. In 1928, McArthur paid to have the first edition of Oregon Geographic Names published. The book was quickly recognized as the authoritative source for information regarding the origins and history of Oregon place names. A second edition was published in 1944. The book's third edition was published in 1951, shortly after his death.
Another long-serving member of the Oregon Geographic Board was the well known newspaper journalist and science writer Phil Brogan of Bend. Brogan served as president of the board from 1947 to 1958 and then again from 1960 until 1968.