Friday, January 12, 2007

Where did Pike's apostrophe go?

When and where did Pike's Peak lose its apostrophe?
- J.J.
In the 1890s, President Benjamin Harrison set up the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, whose duty was to approve names of sites such as mountains and bodies of water.
The board removed most apostrophes from place names across the country, saying these tiny punctuation marks suggest possession or ownership. In the few exceptions, such as Martha’s Vineyard, the board bowed to longtime local tradition.

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