 |
| Authors of "Oh, you must live
in Columbia," from left, Robin Emrich, Missy
Burke and Barbra Kellner at a book club discussion in Harper's
Choice. |
Learn
the origins of your street's name
| Upcoming events
Columbia Archives Open House & Book
Talk. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at Columbia
Archives in American City Building in Town Center.
Open House from noon to 5pm with programs each
hour. Book talk at 7pm.
What's In a Name? Learn the stories
of Columbia's street names. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at
7pm at Linden Hall in Dorsey's Search.
|
| Fun facts
• Streets
named in the
book: 1,099
• Author from which the
most
written works used:
Robinson Jeffers
(70 poems)
• Longest
street name:
Governor Warfield
Parkway (23 letters)
• Shortest
street names:
Tie including Book Row,
Deep Cup,
Log Raft,
Open Sky, Red Keel,
Red Lake and The
Bowl (seven letters)
• Most words in a street
name:
Four — Cradle
Rock Farm Court,
Fleets of Time
Court,
Leaves of Grass Court
and West Running
Brook
Road
• Fewest words
in a
street name: One —
Campfire, Dragonclaw,
and Rivendell |
|
Researching Columbia's unique street names was an undertaking
that would last more than five years for Columbia Archives
manager Barbara Kellner, archivist Robin Emrich and resident
Missy Burke. After countless hours combing through records
and databases, conducting interviews and reading poetry, they
have developed a comprehensive book — although a few mysteries
remain.
"Oh, you must live in Columbia! The origins of place
names in Columbia, Maryland" was released this summer.
In addition to the origins of street and place names in Columbia,
it contains historical facts, photos, stories and excerpts
from poems and literature from which the names were chosen.
It is available for purchase at Columbia Archives for $25.
Copies are also available at Howard County library branches
and school media centers.
The project started in 2002 when Burke visited the archives
to research Columbia's street names for a book. Intrigued
with the idea, Kellner asked Burke to join forces. Research
started with a card file that had been donated by a Rouse Company
employee whose job it was to suggest street names. But some
of the information in the card file didn't match memos
and other documents, which led to more questions and intensive
research.
"We had to ask, 'How?' and 'Why?' [the
names were chosen]," Emrich said.
Those questions led to a lot of reading and interesting conversations
with many people involved in the naming process, including
employees of the Rouse Company and Howard County, Kellner said.
"The process increased our interest in the writers,
poets and artists whose works inspired the names, and we hope
those who read the book will also delve deeper into those works,"
Emrich added.
An enhanced bibliography will help readers do just that. Sources
and local library information, when available, are listed.
 'I'm not sure anyone thought that 40 years later
we would be discussing how and why the names were picked,"
Kellner said, "but here we are."
The book lists the origin of almost every name with certainty.
However, in some cases, the authors cannot be absolutely sure
and have included a rating system to show how much evidence
supports the listing.
You can learn even more of the stories behind the book at
two upcoming events where the authors will discuss their research
and the interesting things they learned along the way. To learn
more about the book, call 410-715-3103, e-mail Columbia.Archives@ColumbiaAssociation.com or
print out an order
form here and mail it in.
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