OLYMPIA – The Washington State Board on Geographic Names has approved a name for a beach in Blyn offered by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe that makes note of the fact that it has one of the few native colonies of littleneck clams in the state.
The board also gave a nod to Howard Point in Olympia and approved other place names for final consideration during a Friday meeting.
The name for the Blyn beach, which was restored by the tribe in 2004, is Littleneck Beach. The tribe sought to name the beach for the clams that are harvested there. The site was known as the “log yard” by local residents until the 1990s because a log rafting facility had been there. The tribe began purchasing the land in the late 1990s.
Howard Point is on the East Bay in Olympia. It has been named for Alexander and Rebecca Howard, who moved to the area in 1859 and operated a prominent hotel in Olympia. The Howards, one of the first black families to settle in the area, are buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Olympia. The name “Howard Point” had been used in maps of the area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Some proposed names were approved for final consideration by the committee are opened for more public comment before the next meeting.
• Saddle Gap and Saddle Rock: The proposal would rename a gap above Wenatchee in Chelan County from “Squaw Saddle” to “Saddle Gap,” and name the highest part of the feature, which is currently unnamed.
The name “Saddle Rock” is in common use in the area, and Native Americans consider the current name for the saddle to be derogatory.
• Traitors Islet: The proposal would fix an error in naming of an islet in Grays Harbor County, which was originally named “Traitors Islet” but a naming error in a map has seen it recorded as “Traitors Inlet.”
For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/PDN- geographicnames.
