Laa Point ~ Lyre River Origin Washington Geographical Names

Laa Point, see Nisqually Head.

La Camas, see Camas.

La Camas Creek, two streams bear this name. One flows into the Cowlitz River near Vader, Lewis County. The other flows into Muck Creek near Roy, Pierce County. Both get their name from the edible bulb which the Indians called "camas."

La Camas Lake, near Camas in Clarke County. For a discussion of the name, see Camas.

Laconia, a station in Kittitas County at Snoqualmie Pass used before the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway tunnel was completed through the Cascade Range. It was named on the supposition that there was a town of that name in the Swiss Alps, but later Mr. Williams was unable to find it on the map of Switzerland. (H. R. Williams, Vice President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, in Names MSS., Letter 589.)

La Conner, a town in the western part of Skagit County and formerly the county seat. The site was first settled in May, 1867, by Alonzo Low and the post office there was called Swinomish. In 1869, J. S. Conner bought the trading post and the next year had the name changed to honor his wife, Mrs. Louisa Ann (Siegfried) Conner. The French-looking "La" was obtained by joining her initials. {History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, pages 201-202.)

Ladd, a town in the north central part of Lewis County, named in honor of W. M. Ladd, one of the principal owners of the coal mine there. (Postmaster, Ladd, in Names MSS., Letter 396.)

La gran Montana del Carmelo, see Mount Baker.
Laguna del Garzon, see Lake Terrell.
Lahtoo, see Latah Creek.

Lake Ballinger, in the southern part of Snohomish County. "The lake and creek that flows from it into Lake Washington were called McAleer after the patentee of the surrounding lands, Hugh McAleer. Some fourteen or fifteen years ago I bought all the McAleer lands and from that time on the lake has been called Lake Ballinger after my father, Colonel R. H. Ballinger, who resided there until his death in 1905. The creek still retains the name of McAleer." (R. A. Ballinger, in Names MSS., Letter 131, dated November 30, 1915.)

Lake Bay, a town and bay on the western shore of Carr Inlet, Pierce County. It was named after Bay Lake through which a mill race empties into the bay. (Postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 186.)

Lake Blackman, in Snohomish County. The Blackman Brothers of Snohomish had a logging camp on the lake in the eighties. (History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington, Volume EL, page 647.)

Lake Bonaparte, see Bonaparte.

Lake Chelan, extending from near the Columbia River northwestward into the Cascade Mountains. Captain (later General) George B. McClellan was at the lake on September 25, 1853, and refers to it as Lake Chelann. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume I., pages 377-389.) For a discussion of the name, see Chelan.

Lake Crescent, in the northern part of Clallam County. Up to 1890, the lake was variously known as Lake Everett, Big Lake and Lake Crescent. In that year the Port Crescent Improvement Company was booming its townsite, which was but seven miles from the lake. M. J. Carrigan started the Port Crescent Leader and agitated the beauties and name of the lake. The name is now well established. The lake has become a great resort, reached mostly by way of Port Angeles. (D. A. Christopher, Piedmont, in Names MSS., Letter 252.)

Lake Curlew, see Curlew.

Lake Cushman, in the Olympic Mountains, west of Hood Canal, Mason County. It was named in honor of Orvington Cushman, packer and interpreter with Governor Isaac I. Stevens when the treaties with the Indians were being made. Cushman advocated putting all the Indians on one big reservation on Hood Canal. He was known as "Devil Cush." A post office at the lake was established on June 6, 1893. The lake has long been famous as a resort. (W. Putnam, in Names MSS., Letter 75.)

Lake De Nee, see Blake's Lake.
Lake Erie, a small body of water west of Mount Erie. As to the origin of the name, see Fidalgo Island.
Lake Everett, see Lake Crescent. Lake Green, see Green Lake.

Lake Hooker, in the east central part of Jefferson County, at Leland. It was named in 1870 after Otis Hooker one of the oldest pioneers of the locality, who later moved, to the State of Maine. (Robert E. Ryan, Sr., in Names MSS., Letter 172.)

Lake Isabella, see Isabella Lake. Lake Kahchess, see Kachess Lake.

Lake Kitsap, a small body of water about one mile southwest of Dyes Inlet, Kitsap County. It is probably an honor for Chief Kitsap but who conferred it, or when, is not certain. (Captain W. B. Seymore, in Names MSS., Letter 3.) In the Duwamish language the name was "K'l-loot." (J. A. Costello, The Siwash.) Lake Kleallum, see Cle Elum.

Lake McAleer, see Lake Ballinger.

Lake McMurray, a small body of water in the southwestern part of Skagit County. It was named for a pioneer settler on its shores.

Lake Merrill, in the southeastern part of Cowlitz County. Old settlers claim that it was named in 1890 by James McBride and Frank Vandever in honor of Judge McBride's father-in-law. (John Beavers, Cougar, in Names MSS., Letter 201.)

Lake Mountains, on Cypress Island in the northwestern part of Skagit County. They have an elevation of 1525 feet. They were named by the United States Coast Survey in 1854, "among whose peaks we found two large sheets of fresh water. (George Davidson, in the Pacific Coast Pilot, page 565.)

Lake Nawatzel, in the southwestern part of Mason County. Midshipman Henry Eld, of the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, (see Narrative, Volume V., page 127) while exploring the "Sachap," which we know as the Satsop River, describes "Lake Nauvitz." It seems likely that it is the Lake Nawatzel of the present day maps.

Lake Nicheless, see Keechelus.
Lake of the Sun, see Ozette.

Lake Pierre, in the northwestern part of Stevens County. It was named for Peter Pierre, a man of French and Indian extraction who settled there in early days. (Richard Nagle, Marcus, in Names MSS., Letter 129.)

Lake Pillwattas, see Little Kachess Lake.
Lake Plehnam, see Bumping Lake.

Lake River, along the Columbia River at Bachelor's Island, Clarke County. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, shows it as "Calipaya Inlet."

Lake Samish, see Samish Lake. Lake Samamish, see Sammamish Lake.
Lakeside, a town on the south shore of Lake Chelan, one mile west of its outlet, Chelan County.

Lakeside, a station on the electric railway three miles north of Cheney, Spokane County. It was named about 1906. (C. Selvidge, Four Lakes, in Names MSS., Letter 168.)

Lake Sil-kat-kwu, see Colville Lake.

Lake Sutherland, east of Lake Crescent in the western part of Clallam County. It was named for John J. Sutherland, who camped there in 1856 and a little later built a cabin on its shores. It was first placed on the map by Shuecraft, surveyor, in 1886. (D. A. Christopher, Piedmont, in Names MSS., Letter 252.) Another says that Sutherland's name was Robert and that he was a hunter and trapper who is supposed to have discovered the lake. (H. B. Herrick, Elwha, in Names MSS., Letter 267.)

Lake Terrell, a body of water lying west of Ferndale, Whatcom County, and named for an early settler. Eliza's Spanish chart of 1791 shows it as "Laguna del Garzon." (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 1557, Chart K.)

Lake Tolmie, see American Lake.

Lake Tucker, on San Juan Island, about half way between Friday Harbor and Roche Harbor, San Juan County. It was named in honor of J. E. Tucker, an early settler, who served as probate judge and later as a representative in the first State legislature.

Lake Union, a small body of water, now surrounded by the City of Seattle, King County. The Indian name is said to have been Kah-chung meaning "small lake." (J. A. Costello, The Siwash.) At a pioneer picnic in 1854, Thomas Mercer proposed that the lake be called Union because it would one day connect the larger adjacent lake with Puget Sound. (Edmond S. Meany, History of the State of Washington, page 307.) For further discussion, see Lake Washington. Lake Vancouver, see Vancouver Lake.

Lake View, a town in Pierce County, named by Mr. Prosch in 1876 on account of a small lake being near the station. (G. M. Gunderson, in Names MSS., Letter 185.)

Lake Washington, a large body of water lying east of Seattle, King County. Isaac N. Ebey visited the lake in the spring of 1851 and named it "Lake Geneva," after the beautiful lake of Switzerland. (Victor J. Farrar, The Ebey Diary, Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume VII., pages 240-241.) That name did not endure. The railroad surveys under Governor Isaac I. Stevens, beginning in 1853, produced a map showing "Lake Dwamish." In the lower left hand corner of the same, map is a supplementary sketch by A. W. Tinkham of a route through Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle. It is dated January, 1854, and the lake is shown as "Atsar-kal- Lake." (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XL, Part II, Chart No. 3.) Those two names gave an honor for the Duwamish tribe and also sought to record the Indian name for the lake. In that same year, 1854, the pioneers of Seattle held a picnic, at which Thomas Mercer suggested that the large lake be given the name of Washington, after the father of his country, and the smaller one Union because by it the waters of the large lake would one day be united with those of Puget Sound. One year before (March 2, 1853.) Congress had established and named Washington Territory. The suggested name for the lake was approved at the picnic but the pioneers published no map. Preston's Map of Oregon and Washington West of the Cascade Mountains, dated 1856, shows "Dwamish Lake." The same name appears on the Map by the Surveyor General of Washington Territory, dated 1857. (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 877) in 1858, George Davidson, of the United States Coast Survey, in his Directory for the Pacific Coast of the United States, mentions Lake Washington. (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 1005, page 446.) After that the name soon found its way on all maps and charts. Another Duwamish Indian name, "It-how-chug," said to mean "large lake," was published in 1895. (J. A. Costello, The Siwash.)

Lake Washington Canal, connecting the waters of Lakes Washington and Union with Puget Sound and making a fresh water harbor for Seattle. It was suggested by the pioneers as early as 1854. In 1860, Harvey Pike began to dig it with pick and shovel. The next year, the Lake Washington Canal Company was incorporated and about fifteen years later a small canal was completed so that logs could be floated from one lake to the other. After years of agitation, surveys and legislation, the Federal Government undertook the work. Its completion was celebrated on July 4, 1917.

Lake Whatcom, near the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County. The first settlement on Bellingham Bay began in 1852 and the name of Whatcom for the creek and the lake it drained developed at once. The railroad surveys of 1853 show Lake Whatcom. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XL, Part II, Chart No. 3.) James Tilton's Map of a Part of Washington Territory, dated September 1, 1859, shows it as Whatcom Lake. (United States Public Documents, Serial No. 1026.)

Lalu Islets, a name used by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, to designate several small islands in the Columbia River, opposite Sandy Island near Kalama. They are not shown on recent charts.

Lamoine, a townsite and former post office about six miles northwest of Withrow, Douglas County. It was originally called "Arupp." When a post office was being secured, a permanent name was under discussion in a small store. A man named Bragg reached to the shelf and took down a can of sardines labelled "Lamoine," asking: "What is the matter with that as a name for the town?" The suggestion was approved. In 1909 or 1910, on the completion of the Great Northern branch line across the Douglas County plateau, Lamoine was missed by about six miles and Withrow supplanted it. The old post office was discontinued. There remain two or three residences, a schoolhouse and a large public hall belonging to the Farmer's Educational and Cooperative Union.

Aside from these Lamoine is a memory. (W. H. Murray, publisher of the Withrow Banner, in Names MSS., Letter 104.)

Lamona, a town in the southern part of Lincoln County, named for J. H. Lamona, the first merchant there, in the winter of 1892-1893. (Postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 250,)

Lamont, a town in the northwestern part of Whitman County, named for Daniel Lamont, Vice President of the Northern Pacific Railway Company. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS., Letter 590.)

La Monte, see Almota.
Lampoile River, see Sanpoil River.

Lange, a post office near Spirit Lake, north of Mount St. Helens, Skamania County. The name was changed from "Spirit Lake" on October 27, 1910. It is an honor for R. C. Lange who was appointed postmaster there on October 28, 1908. (Postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 561.)

Langley, a town on the southeastern shore of Whidbey Island, Island County. Jacob Anthes, after nine years of logging and other enterprises in the vicinity platted a townsite in 1890 and organized a company which acquired title to the surrounding acreage. It was named in honor of Judge J .W. Langley, of Seattle, one of the members of the company. (The Islander, in Names MSS., Letter 344.)

Langley Point, at the entrance of a bay bearing the same name on the southwestern shore of Fidalgo Island, Skagit County. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, charted it "Point Sares," an honor for Henry Sares, captain of the Top, during the cruise. The present name is probably for a pioneer settler on the bay.

Lantz, a post office in the eastern part of Adams County. John O. Robinson was commissioned postmaster on May 28, 1904. The office, kept in his house, he had named for his son, Lantz Robinson. When the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad was built a siding was given the same name of Lantz. (Postmaster, in Names MSS. f Letter 16.)

La Push, a town at the mouth of the Quillayute River, in the southwestern part of Clallam County. It is a Chinook Jargon word meaning "mouth," and originated in the French la boos. (Rev. Myron Eells, in American Anthropologist, January, 1892.)

La Rivierre Maudite enrage Emager, see Snake River.
La Sierra Santa Rosalia, see Mount Olympus.

Latah, a town in the southeastern corner of Spokane and a creek flowing northwesterly to the Spokane River near the City of Spokane. The railroad surveyors called it "Camas Prairie Creek" in 1853. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XL, Part II., Chart No. 3; Volume XII., Book I., map.) In 1858, Colonel George Wright, while punishing the Indians for their defeat of Colonel Steptoe, killed about 800 Indian horses and hanged a number of Indians. The creek flowing near received the name of "Hangman Creek." Colonel Wright dated his dispatches "Camp on the Nedwhauld River." Others of his party wrote it "Neduald," "Nedwhuald" and some wrote it "Lahtoo." Father Eels said one Indian name was "sin-too-too-ooley" or "place where little fish are caught." Objecting to the gruesome word "Hangman," the legislature changed it to Latah, "a clumsy corruption of the more euphonious Indian word Lahtoo.' "(N. W. Durham, Spokane and the Inland Empire, page 254.) Major R. H. Wimpy settled near the present town of Latah in the early seventies and the post office was named "Alpha" in 1875 but soon afterwards it was changed to Latah. Other early settlers were Benjamin F. Coplen and Lewis Coplen. The town was platted in 1886. (History of Spokane County, page 277.)

La Tete, an eminence said to be 2798 feet high between Fort Nisqually and the Cascade Range received that name from Lieutenant Robert E. Johnson of the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Narrative, Volume IV., page 422.) Theodore Winthrop applied the same name in that vicinity but probably not to the same peak. (J. H. Williams, edition of The Canoe and the Saddle, page 99, wrote.) Recent charts do not identify the peak.

Latona, a former village on the north shore of Lake Union now included within the city limits of Seattle. The name for the place is said to be "Squaltz-quilth" in the Duwamish language. (J. A. Costello, The Siwash.)

Laurier, a town on the Columbia River, in the northeastern corner of Ferry County near the Canadian boundary. It was named by the Great Northern Railroad Company in 1902 for Sir Wilfred Laurier, Premier of Canada. (C. H. Didwell, in Names MSS. Letter 203.)

Lavender, a railroad station near Easton in the western part of Kittitas County. The name was "a chance selection." (H. R. Williams, Vice President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, in Names MSS., Letter 589.)

Lawrence, a town near Sumas in the north central part of Whatcom County, named for Laura Blankenship, daughter of a mill owner there at that time. (Postmaster at Lawrence, in Names MSS., Letter 272.)

Lawson, the British Admiralty Chart 2689, Richards, 1858.

Lawrence Island, see Guemes Island. Lawrence Point, see Point Lawrence.

Lawson (Listing missing)
1859, shows Lawson Bluff at the west cape of Sucia Island and Lawson Rock off the southeast cape of Blakely Island both in San Juan County. The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6300, corrected to August 27, 1904, does not carry either of those names. It shows a small light at the location of Lawson Rock. However, it shows Lawson Reef just west of Deception Pass. It is likely that all three names were intended as honors for Lieutenant Lawson of the United States Coast Survey who was working in those waters as early as 1852.

Leadbetter Point, the south point at the entrance to Willapa Harbor, Pacific County. It was named "Low Point" by the British explorer John Meares in 1788. Lieutenant James Alden, of the United States Coast Survey in 1852, changed the name to Leadbetter Point in honor of Lieutenant Danville Leadbetter, an associate in the survey. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XII, Part I., Chapter XV.) The Indian name for the place was "Chick-lisilkh." (George Davidson, Directory for Pacific Coast of the United States, page 402.)

Lebam, a town on the Willapa River, Pacific County. It was named by J. W. Goodell for his daughter Mabel, by simply spelling her name backwards. (George W. Adams, in Names MSS., Letter 96.)

Leber, a town in the southwestern part of Pierce County, named for the first postmaster there, Peter Leber. (Mrs. Isabel Carlson Benson, in Names MSS., Letter 135.)

Le Clare, a creek and town in the central part of Pend Oreille County, "probably named in honor of the Le Clerc brothers, early settlers." (Mrs. N. H. Emery, Crescent, in Names MSS., Letter 66.) Leland, a town in the northeastern part of Jefferson County. The first woman to settle in the valley was Mrs. Laura E. Andrews, in 1874. An honor was sought for her in naming the post office by using her initials but the post office department spelled the name Leland instead of "Lealand." (Robert E. Ryan, Sr., in Names MSS. Letter 172.)

Lella, see Delrio.

Lenora, a town in the central part of Pend Orelille County named in 1902 or 1903 by Lucas & Sutton, sawmill men for the daughter of Mr. Lucas. (Postmaster at Usk, in Names MSS., Letter 78.

Levant Passage, the waterway between the southeast shore of Guemes Island and Saddlebag, Dot and Hat Islands, in the western part of Skagit County. The name was given by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, as an added honor for the American navy. He had called Guemes Island "Lawrence," and Fidalgo, "Perry," naming the waterways after ships commanded or captured. The British ship Levant was captured by the Constitution in the War of 1812. Present charts do not carry a name for Levant Passage. Levey, a station east of Pasco in Franklin County, named for C. M. Levey, Third Vice President of the Northern Pacific Railway Company. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS., Letter 590.)

Lewis, a town on the Cowlitz River, in the west central part of Lewis County. A post office was secured in August, 1896, and named Sulphur Springs for a small spring nearby. After being moved to the present site the name was changed on June 1, 1911, to Lewis for John Lewis, a member of the Mitchell, Lewis & Staver Company, of Portland, Ore., and also president of the Valley Development Company then doing much development work on the Packwood power project. (Walter Combs, Lewis, in Names MSS., Letter 150.)

Lewis County, the second unit of government established north of the Columbia River by the Provisional Government of Oregon, December 21, 1845. It embraced the land west of the Cowlitz River and northward to "fifty-four forty" until the treaty of 1846 limited it to the forty-ninth parallel. The name was an honor for Captain Meriwether Lewis. See Clarke County for further information. (Edmond S. Meany, History of the State of Washington, Appendix I.)

Lewis River, the Lewis and Clark expedition, 1803-1806, gave this name to what is known as Snake River. (Elliott Coues, History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Map.) David Thompson, 1811-1812, shows "Lewis's River" as a branch of the "Komoenim River," his name for Snake River. (David Thompson's Narrative, The Champlain Society edition, Map.) The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, shows the main river as "Saptin or Lewis River," one branch of which is called "North Branch or Salmon River" and another, "South Branch or Snake River." (United States Exploring Expedition, Hydrography, or Volume XXIII, Atlas, Map 67.) This honor for the explorer has disappeared from the recent maps. One recent author (1918) says the name Lewis ought to at least be retained for the name of Salmon River in Idaho. (John E. Rees, Idaho, Chronology, Nomenclature, Bibliography, page 88.)

Lewis River, a stream rising in the northern part of Skamania County and flowing southwestward into the Columbia River, serving as the boundary between Clarke and Cowlitz Counties. It was named for A. Lee Lewis whose land claim was about seven miles from its mouth. (H. H. Bancroft, Works, Volume XXXI., page 10, note 23.) A former name was "Cathlapootle." The two main branches are now called North Fork Lewis River and South Fork Lewis River. The railroad surveyors, 1853, called the north fork "Cath-la-pootle River." (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XL, Part II, Map 3.)

Lewiston Rapids, in Snake River, Asotin County. See Clarkston for an association of two names there.
Liars' Creek, see Thompson Creek.

Liberty, a town in the north central part of Kittitas County, named by Gus Nelson in 1892. (E. G. Powers, in Names MSS., Letter 295.) -

Liberty Bay, an extension of Port Orchard Inlet, in Kitsap County. The former name, "Dog Fish Bay" was evidently distasteful to the people living there. In 1893, Representative C. H. Scott introduced a bill to change the name to Liberty Bay. The bill was referred to the committee on education, in whose possession it died. In 1899 Representative F. E. Patterson, of Kitsap County, introduced a bill to change the name from Dog Fish to Paulsbo Bay. On February 16, 1899, the House, in playful mood, refused to adopt the committee's report to indefinitely postpone the bill. Instead, it was amended by the substitution of "Patterson" for "Paulsbo" and then the bill was passed by a vote of 58 to 12. Mr. Patterson himself voted in the negative. In the Senate it was referred to the Committee on State, Granted, School and Tide Lands in whose possession it died. {House Journal, State of Washington, 1899, pages 340, 453-454, 464; Senate Journal, 1899, pages 447, 469.) No subsequent action was taken by the Legislature and the name Liberty Bay seems to be growing by usage.

Liberty Lake, in the central part of Spokane County. It is said to have been named for Louis La Liberte, a foreman of Mr. Shaw, Hudson's Bay Company agent. (N. W. Durham, Spokane and the Inland Empire, page 53.)

Lilliwaup, a river, and bay on the west of Hood Canal, Mason County. The word is from the Skokomish or Twana Indian language meaning "inlet." (Rev. Myron Eells in American Anthropologist, January, 1892.)

Lime Lake, a small lake north, of Metaline Falls in Pend Oreille County. It was named because of a deposit of lime on the entire bottom of the clear-watered lake. (E. O. Dressel, in Names MSS., Letter 51.)

Linananimis, see Duwamish River.

Lincoln County, established by the Legislature of Washington Territory on November 24, 1883, and named in honor of Abraham Lincoln. See also Douglas County.

Lincoln Creek, a small tributary of Chehalis River near Centralia. The Indian name was "Natchel" meaning a place where camas grows. Frank M. Rhodes took up a homestead on the creek. He was a staunch Republican and, Lincoln being President at the time, he declared the change of the creek's name in the presence of the following pioneers: George Gibson, Samuel Taylor, J. W. Ingalls and W. W. Ingalls. (Henry A. Dunckley, in Names MSS., Letter 54.)

Lind, a town in Adams County, named by the Northern Pacific Railroad Company thirty years ago. (H. R. Williams, Vice President of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, in Names MSS., Letter 530.)

Lindberg, a town in Lewis County, named for Gustaf Lindberg, of Tacoma, who owned the sawmill and logging camps which made up the town. (Hugo Lindberg, assistant postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 20.)

Lion Gulch, north of Liberty, in the north central part of Kittitas County. It was named by Pat Lions, a prospector about thirty years ago. (E. J. Powers, Liberty, in Names MSS., Letter 295.) "

Liplip Point, the southeastern point of Marrowstone Island, in the northeastern corner of Jefferson County. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, (United States Exploring Expedition, Hydrography or Volume XXIII., page 314 and Atlas, Maps 77 and 78.) The word in the Chinook Jargon means "boiling."

Lisabeula, a town on the west shore of Vashon Island, King County. The first postmaster at the settlement, a man named Butts, combined the names of two daughters, Elisa and Beulah, and, dropping the first and last and letters, formed a name which was accepted. (J. W. A. Myers, in Names MSS., Letter 227.) Little Baldy, see Mount Spokane.

Little Belt Passage, the waterway between the southern ends of San Juan and Lopez Islands. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, as part of the scheme to honor the American Navy. He had called San Juan Island "Rodgers Island" after Commodore John Rodgers and the northern channel he called "President's Passage" and the southern one 'Little Belt Passage" because Commodore Rodgers, while in command of the flagship President had an encounter with the British ship Little Belt on May 16, 1811, which was one of the preliminaries of the War of 1812. (Edmond S. Meany, Origin of Geographical Names in the San Juan Archipelago in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 6, 1915.) The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6380, corrected to August 8, 1914, gives the name of "Little Belt Passage" as Middle Channel.

Little Dalles, rapids in the Columbia River, about sixteen miles below the international boundary, Stevens County. A village nearby bears the same name.

Little Falls, see Vader, Lewis County.

Little Kachess Lake, a small lake about a mile above Kachess Lake, Kittitas County. The railroad surveyors, 1853, sought to retain a separate Indian name, Pilwaltas, for the smaller lake. {Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume L, page 210.)

Little Mountain, on San Juan Island, southwest of Friday Harbor. The British Admiralty Chart 2840, Richards, 1858-1861, indicated Mount Little and Little Mountain, within a few miles of each other. The Mount Little has become Little Mountain on the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6380 and the other is omitted as to name.

Little Rock, a town in the southwestern part of Thurston County, named by a Mr. Shumach for a stone "which is shaped by nature for a perfect mounting stone." (Postmaster, Little Rock, in Names MSS., Letter 541.)

Little Salmon River, see Wehaha River, Asotin County. Little Spokane River, see Spokane River.

Loa Point, the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, gave this name to what is now charted as Nisqually Head at the southwest entrance to Nisqually River. (Volume XXIII, Hydrography, page 321, and atlas, chart 79.) In the biography of Wilkes, in Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, an incident is given of his making investigations on the summit of "Manna Loa, which is probably the origin of the word he sought to use at Nisqually Head.

Locke, a town in the central part of Pend Oreille County. It was named for the man who owned the land there. (Postmaster, in Names MSS. Letter 188.)

Lodge Creek, a small stream flowing from Lodge Lake. Both names were suggested by The Mountaineers in 1916 who maintain a lodge near the summit of the Cascades near Snoqualmie Pass. (Report to the United States Geographic Board, see Names MSS. Letter 580.)

Lofall, a post office on Hood Canal, in the northwestern part of Kitsap County, named in honor of H. Lofall who owned the land at the time when the post office was established. (W. Witherford, postmaster, in Names MSS. Letter 9.)

Lone Tree, a village on the sand point at the north entrance to Gray's Harbor. Attention was called to the lone tree by Captain Robert Gray when he discovered the harbor in May, 1792. The Daughters of the American Revolution have put at the base of the historic tree a boulder bearing a bronze inscription. The tree may be seen for miles out at sea. (Harriet M. Carpenter of Aberdeen in Names MSS., Letter 491.)

Long Bay, a former name of Kilisut Harbor in the eastern part of Jefferson County. (See biography of Albert Briggs in H. K. Hines: History of Washington, page 862.)

Long Beach, a town in the western part of Pacific County. Professor W. D. Lyman says : "Between the head of the bay and its mouth is a strip of beach a mile or two wide and twenty miles long, which, commonly called Long Beach, is one of the most superb places of the kind in the country. There is an unbroken carriage drive on the hard beach of twenty miles." {History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington, Volume II., page 104.)

Longbranch, a town on Dayton Passage in the western part of Pierce County. It was named for the town in New Jersey. (E. Shellgun, postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 103.)

Long Island, in Willapa Harbor in the western part of Pacific County. It is mentioned by that name by James G. Swan in 1857 {Northwest Coast, page 98) and by the United States Coast Survey in 1858 {United States Public Documents, Serial Number 1005, page 404.) The waterway between the island and the mainland is called Long Island Slough.

Long Island, southwest of Lopez Island in San Juan County. It was one of the Geese Islets on the chart on the Wilkes Expedition. 1841. The name Long Island first appeared on the British Admiralty Chart, 2689, Richards, 1858-1859.

Long Lake, in Kitsap County, about two miles west of Fragaria. It was so named because of its long narrow form. (M. B. Fountain, of Fragaria, in Names MSS., Letter 547.)

Long Lake, in Thurston County. It was named by Tilden Sheats, a contract government surveyor, in 1853. (J. W. Mayes, of Union Mills, in Names MSS., Letter 133.)

Longs, a railroad station in Columbia County, midway between Dayton and Huntsville. It was an important place in the early days, the first flouring mill in the county being located there in 1866, when it was known as Milton Mills. {History of Southeastern Washington, page 379.)

Longview, a town in Benton County on the north bank of the Columbia River. It was first named Gravel on account of the prevailing material there. It was changed to Francis and again to Tuton. This was thought to conflict with the name of another station, Luzon, and was again changed to Longview, on account of the long view of the Columbia River. (L. C. Gilman, in Names MSS., Letter, 590.)

Loomis, a town in the northern part of Okanogan County named in honor of J. A. Loomis, the first merchant there. (William J. Ford, postmaster, in Names MSS., Letter 264.)

Loon Lake, a lake and town of the same name in the southeastern part of Stevens County. "It was named on account of the large number of loons. Many come here now after the camping season is over.' (Evan Morgan, in Names MSS., Letter 109.)

Loonwit Letka see Mount St. Helens.

Lopez Island, in San Juan County. The Spaniards in 1791 included this island in their Isla y Archipelago de San Juan. (See pages 120-121.) The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, charted it as "Chauncys Island." (Volume XXIII, Hydrography, chart 77.) This was an honor for Captain Isaac Chauncy, a hero of the United States Navy. Captain Henry Kellett, of the British Navy restored a Spanish name in 1847 using part of the name of Lopez Gonzales de Haro, reputed to have been the first discoverer of the archipelago. (J. G. Kohl in Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume XII., Part I., page 298.) The name Lopez has since been attached to a number of other geographic features.

Lopez Sound, southeast of Lopez Island. Among the names given by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, and spared by Captain Henry Kellet in 1847, was that of Decatur Island. (See pages 64-65.) In the War of 1812, Captain Decatur after a terrific fight captured the British frigate Macedonian. To intensify the honor for Captain Decatur, the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, named the water nearly surrounding Decatur Island "Macedonian Crescent." (Volume XXIII, Hydrography, chart 77.) This name was changed to Lopez Sound by the United States Coast Survey in 1854. (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 562, note.) The outlet north of the island is called Thatcher Pass and that to the south, Lopez Pass.

Lost Creek, a small stream and town of the same name in the central part of Pend Oreille County. Two origins for the name are given. One states that a Hudson's Bay Company trapper was lost there and never found. Another states that the creek loses itself in part of its course. (Postmaster at Lost Creek, in Names MSS., Letter 422.) There are nine other creeks so named in Washington.

Louse Rocks, see Mis Chin Rocks.
Louwala-clough, see Mount St. Helens.

Lowgap, a town in the southwestern part of Grant County. It was named for the gap in Frenchman Hill by G. Grant in 1905. (Postmaster at Lowgap, in Names MSS., Letter 217.)

Low Island, one of the seven Wasp Islands northwest of Shaw Island in San Juan County. It first appears in the British Admiralty Chart 2689, Richards, 1858-1859.

Low Point, on the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the mouth of Lyre River in the northern part of Challam County. The name first appears on the British Admiralty Chart 1911, Kellett, 1847.

Lowe Lake, see Hewitt Lake.

Lowell, a suburb of Everett, in Snohomish County. The site was first occupied in September, 1863, by Eugene D. Smith and Otis Wilson, loggers. When a post office was obtained in 1871 it was named by Reuben Lowe, a native of Lowell, Massachusetts. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, pages 358-359.)

Lowhum, said to be an Indian name for Deschutes River.

Lucas, a town in the north central part of Klickitat County. It was named in November, 1900, after Samuel Lucas, pioneer settler and first postmaster. (G. C. Jacroux, in Names MSS., Letter 62.)

Lucerne, a town on the shore of Lake Chelan in Chelan County. It was named by a lady from Switzerland in June, 1903, because she thought it resembled the lake of that name at her home. (Postmaster at Lucerne, in Names MSS., Letter 539.)

Lucky Rock, in the southern part of Kittitas County near the Yakima County boundary. It is granite about seven feet long and three feet wide. If an Indian should fall in sliding down the rock it was counted bad luck. If an Indian boy when being taught to slide should fall and cry his father thought him to be no account. This tradition was obtained from Mr. Houser. (Seventh Grade in the Ellensburg State Normal School: History of Kittitas Valley, page 4.)

Lummi, the name of a tribe of Indians in Whatcom County, which has been applied to a bay, Indian reservation, Island, point, river and rocks, all in the vicinity of Bellingham Bay. The Spanish chart of 1792 by Galliano and Valdes show Lummi Bay, northwest of Lummi Island as "Ensenada de Locra." (United States Public Documents, Serial Number 1557, chart L.) Lummi Island was given the Spanish name of "Isla de Pacheco," which was part of the long name of the Viceroy of Mexico. (See Guemes, pages 105-106) The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, changed the name to "Mc-Laughlin's Island," an honor intended for Dr. John McLaughlin, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. The name was again changed in 1853 by the United States Coast Survey to Lummi Island "because inhabited by that tribe." (Pacific Coast Pilot, page 567, note.) That name has been used on all subsequent charts and has been applied to several other geographic features in the neighborhood. The Bureau of American Ethnology says the Lummi tribe was quite distinct from the Nooksak tribe neighboring on the north. (Handbook of American Indians, Part I., page 778.)

Luzon, the former name of a railroad station on the north bank of the Columbia River, in Benton County, now changed to Whitcomb.

Lyle, a town on the north bank of the Columbia River in the southwestern part of Klickitat County. The steamboat landing has borne that name for more than forty years. It was in honor of John O. Lyle, original owner of the townsite, who died there on October 21, 1909.

Lyman, a town in the western part of Skagit County. It was named for B. L. Lyman, the first postmaster, in 1880. The townsite was platted in 1884 by Otto Klement. (Postmaster in Names MSS., Letter 34 and History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 246.)

Lynch Cove, the Tower extremity of Hood Canal, in the eastern part of Mason County. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Volume XXIII, Hydrography, atlas, chart 78.) The honor was undoubtedly intended for Lieutenant William Francis Lynch, of the United States Navy, who explored the Jordan and the Dead Sea.

Lynden, a town in the northern part of Whatcom County. It was named in 1870 by Mrs. Phoebe N. Judson, the first white woman living in Whatcom County north of Bellingham. She liked the name in the old poem "On Linden when the sun was low" and changed the "i" to "y" as she thought it made a prettier name. (Phoebe Newton Judson, in Names MSS., Letter 187.)

Lyre River, flowing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the northern part of Clallam County. Captain Eliza's Spanish chart of 1791 shows it as "Rio Cuesta." (United States Public Documents, Serial Number 1557, chart K.) Captain Kellett changed it in 1847 to River Lyre on the British Admiralty chart 1911. It appears as Lyre River on all present day charts.

Washington AHGP | Geographic Names

Source: Washington Historical Quarterly, Volume 8 - 14