Editor,
Thanks to The Reflector reporter Cade Barker, who showed us one more facet of life in the creek that peacefully flows through Battle Ground. On maps, old and current, the creek is given two entirely different names. Woodin Creek gives recognition to Joseph Woodin, the pre-statehood mail carrier who was the first to deliver the post from Vancouver to Amboy.
Woodin’s homestead near Battle Ground Lake marks the headwaters of the creek, gushing out of the ground from generous springs.
The other name used is “Weaver Creek.” The mystery is, “Who was Weaver?” If your readers can shed some light on who he was, I ask that they write to me at the address at the end of this letter.
To further muddy the stream’s waters, there is another creek in the county with the Weaver name. It’s near Yacolt. Some maps don’t show a creek but do show a Weaver Creek Road. There must be a creek nearby the road. Again, who can shed some light on this guy, Weaver?
Here’s one mastery-solver with no proof: Perhaps a cartographer was assigned to draw a Battle Ground map and a Yacolt map. Because both Woodin and Weaver start with a W and each has six letters, he could have become confused and inadvertently labeled both the waterways as Weaver Creek.
What’s next? I could find no regulating entity that deals with naming or renaming geographical features. GIS maps aren’t the answer. They also show the inconsistent use of Woodin/Weaver among their maps. It seems that in this techno world of “search and replace,” maps, at least digital ones, could be challenged, reviewed, analyzed for logical and historic correctness and updated as needed.
All suggestions are welcome. Send responses to Louise Tucker, PO Box 1282, Battle Ground, WA 98604.
Louise Tucker
Battle Ground
