Not that it really matters I guess but it is still Squaw Peak
according to the USGS GNIS database as well. So that might explain why
mapping software still labels it as such?
I believe it might
have to do with the fact that it was never officially renamed (on a federal
level). The renaming was a local thing done in Arizona but not fully
supported or signed off on the federal level. After the local naming was
allowed by the Arizona Board of Geographic and Historic names, the federal
Board on Geographic names was not in agreement..
Ah heck, here is
the June 2007 report on Name submissions that covers all
this...
Officially it is Squaw Peak. So Garmin will name it as
such ..
http://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/dockets/ReviewList395.pdf
Swilling Peak: summit;
elevation 795 m (2,608 ft); in the City of Phoenix, within Phoenix Mountains
Park
and Recreation Area; named for John "Jack"
Swilling (1830-1878), one of the original founders of the city of
Phoenix;
Maricopa County, Arizona; Sec 2, T2N, R3E, Gila and Salt River Mer.;
33°32'50"N, 112°01'15"W;
USGS map - Sunnyslope 1:24,000; Not: Piestewa
Peak, Squaw Peak.
http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=33.54726&lon=-
112.0207&datum=nad83&u=5&layer=DRG&size=l&s=50
Proposal: to eliminate a name considered by some
to be derogatory
Map: USGS
Sunnyslope 1:24,000
Proponent: Al
Bates; Prescott, AZ
Administrative
area: Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Area
Previous BGN Action: None
Names associated with feature:
GNIS: Squaw Peak (FID 11741)
Local Usage: Piestewa Peak (local residents;
Arizona Board on Geographic and Historic Names;
City of Phoenix;
Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation Department), Squaw Peak (local
residents)
Published: Piestewa Peak (City of Phoenix;
Phoenix Mountains Park and Recreation
Department;
local hiking guides; IndianCountry.com; Navajo Times, 2007), Squaw Peak
(USGS
1954, 1978, 1988)
Case Summary: The new name Swilling Peak is
proposed as a replacement name for Squaw Peak, a
prominent summit
within the City of Phoenix. With an elevation of 795 m (2,608 ft), the
summit is the
second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains and
it has been designated a Phoenix Point of Pride. The
current name has
appeared on Federal maps since at least at least the 1950's, but is
considered by many to be
derogatory. There have been several previous
efforts to change the summit's name, but none were successful.
In April 2003,
the Arizona Board on Geographic and Historic Names considered and approved a
request by
the Governor of Arizona to rename it to Piestewa
Peak, in honor of Pfc. Lori Piestewa, a resident of Arizona
and a member of
the Hopi Nation, who had died one month earlier during the conflict in Iraq.
In researching
this proposal, the AZBGHN determined that the
change to Piestewa Peak had the support of the Inter-Tribal
Council of
Arizona. However, the BGN was not permitted to consider the request at the
Federal level, citing
the restrictions of the Commemorative Naming
Policy that does not allow a commemorative name for a
natural feature
until the intended honoree has been deceased at least five years. The
proposal is being held
until March 2008, the five-year anniversary of
Ms. Piestewa's death.
Although the
AZBGHN's renaming of Squaw Peak to Piestewa Peak has the support of many
area residents
and the new name is now shown on many local and
State maps and products, there are a large number of
other residents
of Phoenix who do not endorse it, either because they do not believe the
longstanding name
Squaw Peak is derogatory, or because they object
to the way in which the 2003 proposal was handled by the
State.
Citing these objections, this new proposal, to
rename the summit to Swilling Peak, was submitted by a local
historian. An
online account of Swilling's life, authored by the proponent, provides the
following: "Born in
North Carolina, he moved to the New Mexico and
Arizona Territories around the 1850's, pursuing
prospecting and
mining for newly discovered gold. By 1860, with the onset of the Civil War,
he joined the
Arizona Guards. Rather than report for
disciplinary action, he and several others deserted from the CSA.
He
arrived in Phoenix from Prescott, Arizona, with
friend and colleague Darrell Duppa in 1867. In his travels as
a rider and
scout for the Union, he had been fascinated with the ancient Hohokam ruins
and artifacts,
especially the extensive network of canals the
ancient Indians had dug to irrigate their fields. His concept was
that the old
canals could be re-built for modern farmers, and that the soil of the valley
could support highly
productive farms. Within a very short time, the
Swilling and Duppa team had water flowing in a canal. By
January 1, 1868,
Swilling's home area, where up to fifty more pioneer homes had been built by
this time, was
known as Pumpkinville - so named for the
impressive growth of pumpkins Jack had earlier planted along the
canals. Darrell
Duppa suggested the name Phoenix--for much like the mythical Phoenix rising
from its ashes,
a new civilization would soon rise from the ashes
of an old. Swilling died in jail of natural causes while
awaiting trial
for a stagecoach robbery he did not commit."
There are two other geographic features in
Arizona already named for John Swilling. Swilling Butte in
Coconino County
was the subject of a 1932 BGN decision, while Swilling Gulch in Yavapai
County was a
name found in local use and presumably so named
because of its proximity to Swilling's ranch. The two
features are
located 299 km (186 mi) and 61 km (38 mi), respectively, from the summit in
question.
Basically prepare to climb
Swilling Peak because it looks like that is what the name might
become.
On 8/30/07, Guy
Aldrich <graldrich@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm
surprised Garmin is still calling it Squaw Peak.
____________________________________________________________
Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com
To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit:
http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching
Arizona's Geocaching Resource
http://www.azgeocaching.com