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Item T02 *DISCUSSION ITEM. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 11/20/02 Division: Mayor McCoy Bulk Item: Yes_No X Department: BOCC-3 AGENDA ITEM WORDING: Discussion to determine the official position of Monroe County regarding a proposal received by the U. S. Board of Geographic Names to officially change the name of Jewfish Creek in Monroe County to Goliath Grouper Creek. ITEM BACKGROUND: Notification from U. S, Board on Geographic Names dated February 8, 2002. Phone request for official position received by the Mayor 10/28/02. PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION: CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES: STAFF RECOMMENDATION: TOTAL .'oosT: BUDGETED: Yes _No_ COST TO COUNTY: REVENUE PRODUCING: Yes_No_AMOUNT PER Mayor Charles "S ny" McCoy H_YEAR APPROVED BY: County Atty _ OMBIPurchasin DIVISION DIRECTOR APPROVAL: DOCUMENTATION: Included: X To Follow:_Not Required:_ 702- UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES In reply please use this address: U. S. Geological Survey 523 National Center Reston, Virginia 20192-0523 RECEIVED3"19-0~ MAYOR McCOY February 8, 2002 Mr. Charles McCoy Monroe County Board of Commissioners County Administrator's Office 500 Whitehead Street Key West, Florida 33040 Dear Mr. McCoy: This is in reference to a proposal which the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has received, to change officially the name of Jewfish Creek in Monroe County to Goliath Grouper Creek. As you know, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names is responsible by law for standardizing geographic names for use by the Federal Government, and its members must approve new names and name changes before they can be applied to Federal maps and products. Because local acceptance of any proposal is of paramount importance to the Board, we would be interested to know the opinion of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners regarding this proposal. The proposal to change the name of Jewfish Creek was submitted to us by a representative of the American Fisheries Society. The proponent cites the recent decision by the Society's Committee on Names of Fishes to rename thejewfish. As you can see from the enclosed material, the Committee determined that the name violates its principle that "names shall not violate the tenets of good taste", and so the fish was renamed to the "goliath grouper". In recognition of that change, the proponent suggests that the geographic feature should also be renamed. We should note that the proposal did not include any reference to the other five geographic features in Monroe County, nor those elsewhere in the State, that are also named "Jewfish". We have advised the proponent that the U.S. Board will limit its consideration to the name that was submitted. We also forwarded a copy of the proposal to the Florida State Board on Geographic Names for its review. We have since been advised that that organization has no objection to the change provided there is support from local authorities. Once your office has had an opportunity to comment, we shall present the case for Goliath Grouper Creek to the U.S. Board for discussion and a decision, As soon as the Board renders its decision, we shall notify you in writing of the outcome. Thank you for your assistance in this matter, and we look forward to hearing [rom you. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sin/7rs, /~~ c~ Uer L~it / Executi :J;~~~etary U.S. Board on Geographic Names cc: James Anderson Curt Loy 1 } UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES In reply please use this address: U. S. Geological Survey 523 National Center Reston, Virginia 20192-0523 COPy February 7,2002 Mr. Arnold G. Konheim P.O. Box 44060 Washington DC 20026-4060 Dear Mr. Konheim: This will acknowledge receipt of your proposal to change officially the name of Jewfish Creek, a geographic feature in Monroe County, Florida, to Goliath Groul'er Creek. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names is responsible by law for standardizing geographic names for use by the Federal Government, and its members must approve new names and name changes before they can be applied to Federal maps and products. We shall prepare a case brief for your proposal and place it on the Board's next available docket for review by all interested parties. This will include the government of Monroe County, as well as by a copy of this letter, the Florida State Board on Geographic Names. As you may be aware, there are several other geographic features in the State, including five in Monroe County that use the same specific term in the name. Your proposal will not apply to these names. As soon as the County government and the State Board, as well as any other interested parties, have had an opportunity to comment, we shall present the case for Goliath Grouper Creek to the U.S. Board for discussion and a decision. Once the Board's final decision is rendered, we shall notify you in writing of the outcome. Thank: you for your interest in the geographic names of Florida. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. Sin~erely yours, /. .l / / ( ~. I j~ .. / /v ~ -; \ . /1. f!j'- /l~:/~ ~Kog . atrie'/I&Tl Ex utive Secretary U.S. Board on Geographic Names cc: Jim Anderson +-1580 APPENDIX C. u.S. Depanmnentofthelntenor u.s. GeologIcal Survey Domestic Geographic Name Report 1. Use this form to recommend a feature name or to suggest a name change. 2. For features on Federal lands, coordinate requests with the agency (U.S, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management. etc.) for the administrative area in which the feature is located. 3, On the reverse side of this form give information on the local usage and authority for recommended name. . ... For more information about the Geographic Names Information System or the National Gazetteer program, contact the U,S. Board on Geographic Names at 703-648-4544. 5, Retum this form to: Executive Secretary for Domestic Geographic Names U.S. Geological Survey 523 National Center Reston, VA 20192 ActIon Requested: X Proposed New Name Application Change Name Change Other Specific Area Covered: Latitude:.2.5.: .A~' _"@S Latitude:_' _ _" NS Section(s)_ Township{s) Recommended Name Goli Slf'iorida I Co,,,.,.., ...."',... Mnn-rna Administrative Area Entire lenght of creek Longitude: ..so..' 5.{L.' _ "~E Longitude:_' _' _" WE Mouth End Center Heading End Range(s) Meridian Elevation _ ftJm. Type ofFeature (stream, mountain, populated place, etc.): Sal t va t ere r c e k Is the feature identified (including other names) in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)? Yes No Unknown If yes, please indicate how it is listed: Description of Feature (physical shape,length, width, direction of flow, etc.): Th~ IJ!;G!; T~cog:ni7.~R thE! ~xiRt:ing n:!me. having:! Rt:ation named Jewfish Creek. Maps and Other Sources U81ng BKam:.... I1BDIDsI. N_ (incI~ scale and date) scientific to use t e " . Other Mamo (variants) Maps and Other Sources UsIng Other M am. __ AppIIcaIIans (include scale and dale) w required rouper in .\ Name InformatIon (such as origin. meaning of the recommended name, historical significance. biographical data (if commemorative), nature of usage or application, or any other pertinent information): On January 24, 2001, the members of the Committee on Names of Fishes of the American Fisheries Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists voted unanimously to recommend changing the common name for Epinephelius itajara fromjewfish to goliath grouper. The basis of the change is that the name jewfish violates a basic principle of the committee that "names shall not violate the tenets of good taste." The basis for the recommendation that Jewfish Creek be changed to Goliath Grouper Creek is twofold: FiJ:~t, there is no justification for not renaming the creek given that its namesake has been renamed. Second, the word Jew in any form other than a noun is derogatory to the same extent as the racial and etluiic derogatory references contained in the last paragraph of "Policy V: Derogatory Names" of your document, "Principles, Policies. and Procedures: Domestic Gemrranhic Names." Is there local opposition to, or conflict, with the recommended name? Yes No (If yes, explain) Unknown For proposed new name, please provide evidence that feature is unnamed: Additional information: The report of the fisheries committee is enclosed. Copy Submitted By (name): TIlle Telephone (day) Date Arnold G. Konheim January Company or Agency AddAlSS (City, State, and ZlPCode) P.O. Box 44060. Washington. DC 200 Copy Prepared By (if other than above): Title Phone (day) Date Company or Agency AddAlSS (City, State, and ZIPCode) Authortty far Recommended N_ Mailing Addreu and Telephone Occupation -w;e.rs In Ar8II ,l . 16. 2002 26-4060 May 1995 46 ommended Change in the Common ~me for a Marine Fish: uoliath grouper to replace jewfish (Epinephelus itqjara) On 24 January 2001, we, the members of the Committee on Names of Fishes of the American Fisheries Society and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (AFS/ASIH), unani- mously agreed to recommend changing the English common name for Epfnephelus Itajara (Lichtenstein, 1822) from jewflsh (as listed In Robins et al. 1991 and In earlier editions since 1948) to gollath grouper. We will adopt the new name in the next (sixth) edl. tlon of the AFS publication Common and Scient/fic Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico and we recommend immediate adop. tion by aU users. We give here some batkground Information on this proposed change. The stability of the common names of fishes has been considered especially Important by the committee and is expressed in Principle 8 (Robins et ai, 1991 and earlier editions since 1960). This is in contrast to scientific names which are frequently changed, for example, to reflect changes In our understanding of phyloge- netic relationships. Common names are changed only reluctantly. One basis for their change rests with Principle 9, "Names shan not violate the tenets of good taste," and our new wording of this principle for the next edition" Names shall not violate the tenets of good taste (e.g., names shall not contain offensive words).. It was for this reason that the common names for the four species of the cyprlnld genus Ptychochei/us were changed from squawflsh to pikeminnow (Nelson et al. 1998); the term squaw in the name squawflsh was considered offensive by many persons. Submissions to AFS have long advocated we change the name Jewflsh. We are pleased that we do 50 now. The name has had a long and varied his- tory (Gould and Atz 1996) and Is used In numerous publications, including in Rabbi Y. lipschutt. i992, Kashruth, 2nd ed.. Mesorah Pub!., Ltd., Appendix: Properly scaled fishes and non-kosher fishes. by J'w . Atz. In the present case the committee agreed with contentions that, although we found no evidence that the namejewflsh was being used offensively, It was deemed as offensive to many individuals Includ- ing those of a minority group. Therefore, the tlme has come for change. We emphasize In the strongest terms that stability In common names Is fundamental. However, when a name Is shown to us to be oFfensive, the concern over stability must take second place. We do not share the views of some that the door Is now open to freely change common names. We feel all requests for name chan~s based on offense should be dealt with on their Individual merits and we know of no other fish May 2001 I www,flsherles.org I fisheries on our list that could be considered offensive to a mlnortty group. Including those fishes bearing nationalistic names. The common name goliath grouper for Epinephe/us ft4jara Is deemed appropriate In refer- ence to the large size of this fish. The name giant grouper, sometimes applied to this species. Is not recommended as it Is the accepted FAO common name for the Indo.West Pacific E. /anceol8tus (Bloch, 1790), Which may attain a slightly larger size. Other possible names such as ~8ra and gargantuan were also rejected:' Should E. Itajara in the Atlantic and eastem PacifIC be found to represent different specIes we recommend the modiners Atlantic and Pacific be employed to differentiate the two, We thank all Individuals with submissions on this Issue-all were Important-but we especially thank Gary Grossman who brought the Issue clearly to our attention. We appreciate the historical com- ments of James Atz, and we also appreciate and value the comments of those who wished the name jewfJsh to be retained. In the end we felt the wishes of those Individual petitioners for change should have precedence. ~ References Gould, R.G., and J.W. At!. 1996. The trOuble with . "lewllsh" or whlt's In a name? Tropical Fish Hobbyist 44(12) Ifer Aug. 1996):172-182. Nilson, J.S., EJ. Cronmln, H. Esplnosa.P6ru, C.R. GUbln. R.N. Lla, and J.D. WllllamL 1998. Recommended changes In common fish names: plkeminnow to replace squawflsh (Ptychochellus spp.), Fisheries 23(9):37. Robins, C.R. (chairman), R.M. 'alll', C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. le., and W.B. Scott, 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. 5th edition, American Fisheries Society Special Publication 20. Joseph S. Nelson Edwin J. Crossman H~ctor Esplnosa-P~rez Lloyd T. Findley Carter R. Gilbert Robert N, Lea James D. WIlliams Joseph S. Nelson. chair of the Names of' Ashes Committee (ajoint commit. tee of AFSIASIH), is professor of the Deparbnent of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9, 780{492. 4741,Joe,nelsooOualberta.ca. Other members of the committee ere Edwin J. Cressman, H<<;tor Esplnosa~rez, Lloyd T. Findley, Carter R. Gilbert, Robert N. lea, and James D. Williams. if ~i I 31 4f 1580 The Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2641 February 20,2002 Mr. Roger Payne U.S. Board on Geographic Names U.S. Geological Survey 523 National Center Reston, V A 20026-4060 Dear Roger: I have reviewed the material you sent me on the proposed name change of Jewfish Creek to Goliath Grouper Creek. The justification for the name change and the new name seem to be totally appropriate. Assuming there is no objection from the local government authorities, the Florida State Board on Geographic Names has no objection. Sincerely, Nortl). I<;.ey Largo ~ of4 http://www .keyshistory.org/key largo.html HISTORY OF KEY LARGO /. \ .v\, ~ . By Jerry Wilkinson ?iei/4 ~ ~" LMfp (Click on images to enlarge, thenBack.) "Sail in' away to Key Largo" might have been a little more difficult than the popular 1980's song suggested, especially prior to 1870. Throughout this article care must be exercised to differentiate between Key Largo the island and Key Largo the community. The island of Key Largo is about 27 miles long and consists of about 22,000 acres. For a comparison, the next largest island is Big Pine Key consisting of about 5,800 acres. If nor familiar with the general location of Key Largo, click here for a very basic map and then 'back' to return. HERE The 1639 Johannes Vingloons chart labeled the island of Key Largo as "Caio dos 12 Ligues." The Roggeveen chart of 1675 referred to it as "Caio dos Doces Leugnes (Key of 12 leagues)." The 1733 Spanish chart made during the effort to recover the treasure of the New Spain armada after its sinking off of the Upper Keys referred to Key Largo as "Cayo Largo." Another chart made in 1760 by J. Proctor also named it "Cayo Largo." The William De Brahm chart of 1772 shows it as "Peninsular Larga." Bernard Romans published a 1774 chart that used the specific words "Key Largo. " The first hint of a community of Key Largo was an 1870 post office named Cayo Largo in the present day Rock Harbor area. The Cayo Largo post office closed and Menendez Johnson established a post office named Largo in the mile marker 101-102 area in March 1881. According to his postal application form he estimated serving a population of "About Two Hundred" which would have been all or most of the island of Key Largo. The 1870 census population of the island of Key Largo was 60. Of course post offices serves others than permanent residents. This contributes to confusion as Commodore Kirk Munroe writes of sailing into Newport on Key Largo in 1866 which is the name attributed to the same general area. Artifacts of a community exist behind the Newport Village housing area. Until about a decade ago a large bee-hive community oven existed among the water cisterns and coral rock animal pen. It was typical of early Keys communities to use community cooking ovens separate from the living area. Alfred L. Baker established another post office in 1895 (to 1900) named Aiken in the mile marker 106 area to serve a population ; of4 .rgo '. http://www . keyshistory. org/key largo .htrnl "to exceed one hundred." By then the island's census (1885) population had increased to 230. Meanwhile, John W. Johnson at Planter on the southern portion of Key Largo opened a post office in 1891 to serve "One hundred and fifty." The Aiken post office closed in 1900 and transferred its mail responsibility to Planter. For more about Rock Harbor and Planter see pages for Rock Harbor and Tavernier. So we see that a community specifically named "Key Largo" had difficulty coming into existence. Continuing chronologically a 1905 Florida East Coast Railway land survey showed Planter as the only group of buildings on Key Largo Key. In fact, there were more buildings shown on Plantation Key than on Key Largo. A Key West Citizen newspaper article dated May 28, 1907 announced: "When the F.E.C. Railway was first completed to Homestead and later to Jewfish Creek, an occasional passenger train was sent down to accommodate sightseers. Later, it was found necessary to inaugurate a daily passenger train to accommodate the hundreds of settlers arriving in that district. " Scheduled daily train service began in January 1908 from Miami to Marathon. On Key Largo Key the railroad had four stations: Tavernier, Rock Harbor and Key Largo and a small building at Jewfish Creek mainly for the bridge tender. The telegraph station was at the Key Largo depot, located at today's mile marker 105.6 just south of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce. Although there were other small platforms, only four were listed on a 1909 time table as flag-stops. A James Clark was appointed postmaster of the Jewfish post office on May 7, 1908, but the order was rescinded for some reason on August 18, 1908. Planter continued to be the only post office in the Middle and Upper Keys. When the railroad was completed to Key West in 1912, a viable Jewfish, Florida, post office was opened on February 8, 1912. David Sasser was the postmaster. Postal records show its name remained as Jewfish until May 31,1921, when it was renamed Key Largo. Additional records support this timetable. The post office cash book of domestic money orders dated August 4, 1920 is titled "Jewfish." The Register of Money Orders dated August 17, 1925 is labeled Key Largo. National Archive microfilm records also verifies this. A copy of the 1926-27 F.E.C. insured property list shows "Jewfish Station, Bldg. No. 596; insured for $600" and nothing for contents. The next location shows "Key Largo Station, Bldg. No. ( ff J/lO/O? J?'dR PM .go 30f4 http://www .keyshistory .org/key largo.html 1573, insured for $1,600, contents $150 and a Covered Platform insured for $300." Both Jewfish and Key Largo have "agent's cottages" listed and no others are listed until Marathon. Some assume that these were only for the telegraph operators, however, Islamorada had a telegraph operator, believed to have lived in a private home. The name change to Key Largo evidently occurred after appointing Wilbur Lofton as postmaster of Key Largo on April 18, 1921. The same year on November 15, 1921, Mrs. Lillian Sexton was appointed postmaster. Around 1923, Lillian and Charles Sexton traveled from Mississippi to build their "Venice" in Florida on Blackwater Sound, The Sexton's purchased the land just north of the St. Justin Martyr Catholic Church (mile marker 105.5), across the tracks from the Key Largo railroad depot. Today the tracks would have been where the southbound lane of u.S. 1 is now, and the depot in the median strip of Highway U.S. One. The Sextons operated the hotel, store and post office, plus developed their land holdings. In addition, Charles offered land clearing and dredging services. He used this equipment, when not working for others, to develop his "Venice of the Keys" that later became known as Sexton Cove. This complex was advertised as the "Key Largo Plaza" in a 1926 issue of the Key Largo Breeze. We actually possess the microfilm copies of the local newspaper which was published in Homestead. The Shaw family, who worked for Charles Sexton, was an additional source of information. Clifford Shaw, on a 1993 trip to Key Largo, verified the location of the depot at about mile marker 105.6. He produced family photographs of the depot, hotel, hotel annex, store and homes. Additional telephone conversations with his older brother, Everett Jr. and younger sister, Francis, establish a vivid picture of life in the early community of Key Largo. In fact Mrs. Shaw maintained a diary, the only written documentation of life in Key Largo of the era. From Clifford's pictures and memory, we get a better idea of 1926 Key Largo. The Sextons, Shaws and Prues had homes between the hotel annex and Blackwater Sound. There was a road leading from the depot, past the hotel and homes, down to the canals west of where Linda Drive is presently located. The Chapman lime packing house was north of the depot; Mr. Chapman lived on the southside. Okie Hill, from Rock Harbor, operated the dredge for Charles Sexton, whose service was also advertised in the Key Largo Breeze newspaper. KEY LARGO CONTINUED CONTINUED E-Mail to editor J - L~'"~' 1-:; if il~ t('" 1\1~Y 0 ro \."--,J ,J>dRl1,'ll .wil . b 1/30/02 12:48 PM