2009 Charleston, SC

Touring the Historic District

Charleston is oftentimes best experienced on foot. the Downtown Historic District is three square miles. Around each corner, and down every alley awaits a new detail, a new creative furbelow waiting to be discovered.

Note: By clicking on the underlined text you will be able to download PDF file of the presentation or discussion

6:00–8:00 Reception (drinks and light refreshments). Welcome by Cynthia Jenkins, Executive Secretary of the Preservation Society of Charleston (the oldest historic preservation organization in the country) (Gold Ballroom)

9:00–10:00 Keynote Address: South Carolina Past and Present, Rodger Stroup, Director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History Emeritus.

10:30–noon Monthly meeting of the Domestic Names Committee of the U. S. Board on Geographic Names (USBGN/DNC), Curt Loy, Chair

10:30–noon State/Federal Roundtable. Moderated by Tim Norton
The State/Federal Roundtable is the name that has evolved for this very important session. It represents the reason that the first Inter-Mountain States Geographic Names Conference was held, which at that time was specifically to discuss problems of procedure, policy, and application between the various State Names Authorities in the Rocky Mountain region and the United States Board on Geographic Names. Over the years with the expansion of COGNA and the nature of toponymic problems relating to applied topoymy, this session still includes topics related to the original concept, but has expanded to include any geographic names problem related to matters of procedure, policy, and application. Thirty-two years later this session should be considered the most important session of the conference. Topics are often linked to the Principles, Policies, and Procedures but consideration should be much broader with subjects for GNIS and other matters of applied toponymy that delegates and attendees would deem of interest or useful to conference attendees.

1:30–3:00 COGNA Business Meeting. Open to all, but only one representative from each state may vote.

3:30–5:00 The Doctor is In: an opportunity for State Names Authorities to discuss issues individually with BGN staff members

8:30–9:15 Celebrating 125 Years of Topographic Maps, Mark Demulder, U.S. Geological Survey

9:15-10:00 Virtual Globes: Google Earth vs. ArcGIS Explorer, Doug Vandegraft, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Abstract: Virtual globes provide the professional Geographer or Cartographer, as well as the public, a quick and easy way to view and map our planet. In this presentation, the Chief Cartographer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service analyzes and compares two of the most popular virtual globes available.

10:30–11:15 Digitizing the Board on Geographic Names Records for Online Access, Greg Allord

11:15–Noon    Enhancing Louisiana’s GNIS, an Outreach Effort Between USGS and the Louisiana Geographic Information Center, Craig Johnson
    Over the last two years, Craig Johnson, Director of the Louisiana Geographic Information Center, has promoted the use of the GNIS in Louisiana with assistance from Chris Cretini, the USGS Liaison in Louisiana, by providing 12 GNIS workshops throughout the State.
    The plan was simple; enlist the help of local governments in maintaining the Geographic Names Layer by “deputizing” locals after they have attended a three hour training workshop and hands on exercises using the GNIS. Local government employees, primarily Communication District and Emergency Preparedness officials, were sent a spreadsheet containing a list of all the Geographic Names, listed in the GNIS, within their jurisdiction. They had two weeks to look over the list before the workshop began and note any incorrect names, misspellings, missing information etc. They brought the corrected lists with them to the class and these examples were used to demonstrate how to edit and add new data to the GNIS.
    One unexpected benefit of the workshops was the discovery of GNIS by the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), which realized that the GNIS was an ideal tool for preserving historic French names in Louisiana. USGS and LAGIC, are now working with CODOFIL to document French place names throughout the French speaking areas of Louisiana.

1:30–2:00 The Study of Names in South Carolina, Thomas J. Gasque, University of South Dakota Emeritus
From an early time, South Carolina’s names have interested those who have lived here. A 19^th-century effort to explain river name origins shows the limited understanding of Native languages. Like many states, South Carolina issued (in 1941) a compilation of names and their origins as a WPA project. But the major effort, unique to the country, was an annual journal, Names in South Carolina (1954-1984), devoted entirely to the study of place names in the state. In the 1990s Phase II of GNIS collected names from many sources.

2:00–2:45 Native American Place Names in South Carolina, Christopher Judge and Stephen Criswell, Native American Studies Program, University of South Carolina Lancaster
Coosa Island, Santee Delta, Pee Dee Swamp, Congaree Creek, Saluda Shoals, Savannah Highway, Jocassee Lake, Ashepoo River and Oconee County depict locales across the cultural landscape of South Carolina. But where do the names originate? Obviously they are of Native American origin but what cultural/linguistic groups are they associated with? This presentation will discuss the various Native American entities then and now whose legacy is tied to these lasting geographical names.

3:15–4:00 “All Good-bye Ain’ Gone”: Names and Naming in Gullah Country USA, Professor Veronica Gerald, Coastal Carolina University
The Gullah people and their culture along the North and South Carolina coast have been responsible for many names of communities, places, and events along the North and South Carolina coast, an area that used to be called the Rice Coast. Many of these names do not appear on official maps but are still widely used today.

4:00–4:45 Port Royal and Other Huguenot Names in South Carolina, André Lapierre, University of Ottawa, Canada
This paper examines some examples of the Huguenot toponymic legacy of the 16th century. The nomenclature of maps drawn by Barré, LeMoyne, and Bellin will be compared to that which appears in the journals left by the leaders of the failed 1562 Huguenot expedition to North America, Jean Ribault and René de Laudonnière. Of all the names given to coastal features, Port Royal is the only one that has survived until this day. Or is it?

7:00–9:00 Annual Banquet. Guest Speaker: Robert Rosen, Charleston Historian