HELENA — Three Montana geographic features named after the Confederate president have been renamed.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Board on Geographic Names approved the renaming of three geographic features that had been named after Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Davis was a slaveholder and the only man to serve as the president of the Confederacy after the 11 southern states seceded sparking the U.S. Civil War.
In 2021, several Montana-based groups petitioned the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to rename the geographic features.
Two of the features were given traditional Salish names, the third was named in honor of a Salish chief.
The board renamed Jeff Davis Gulch just outside Helena in Lewis and Clark County to In-qu-qu-leet Gulch, a rough phonetic rendering of the Salish word that means "Place of Lodgepole Pine." Jeff Davis Creek in Beaverhead County has been renamed Doyavinai Baa O’ogwaide which means “water flowing from the mountain creek."
Jeff Davis Peak in Broadwater County will now be called Three Eagles Peak. According to the Char Kooosta News, Three Eagles is named after a Salish chief from the late 1700s.
The board approved renaming the gulch back in April. The peak and the creek renaming were approved in September.
All name changes will be reflected in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the federal database agencies use for publishing maps and other services.
Road names like Davis Gulch Road are under the purview of local governments.
