Release date is 2026-03-14

Bob Taylor, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

The changing of historic place names by Donehoo and Shoemaker is a historical monograph with an introduction and glossary written in the early 20th century. Focused on toponymy, it critiques the alteration and misspelling of historic place names—especially in Pennsylvania—and argues for preserving traditional, often Indigenous, names as vital links to the past.

The book opens with a prefatory note framing the project as a warning against the “evil” of renaming. The introduction laments how continual shifts make it hard to trace history and language, even as many Indian names endure. The main essay contends that place names are historical landmarks; it illustrates how clerical errors and deliberate rebrandings erase meaning (e.g., Tioga to Athens, Shamokin to Sunbury, Vance Fort to Coraopolis), criticizes fashionable generic substitutions, and urges map reviews by local historical societies alongside state-level control of naming. A substantial compiled list documents dozens of old names replaced or misspelled, with notes on the heritage each loss obscures. A newspaper snippet about Muckelrat becoming Woodland Hills exemplifies vanity-driven change. Extending the theme, a section decries modern Civil War monuments that inaccurately depict soldiers, calling for historical fidelity in public art. The closing creed of the Pennsylvania Alpine Club endorses protecting place names, folklore, and mountain heritage, reinforcing the book’s preservationist call. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Altoona: Tribune Press, 1921