Stevens Point News

Main Menu

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times

logo

Stevens Point News

  • Covid 19
  • Sports
    • Sports News
    • High School Sports Scores
    • Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
  • Crime
  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Opinion
  • Obits
  • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Classifieds
    • View Ads
    • Place Ads
  • Legal Ads
    • Our Legals
    • Statewide
  • E-Edition
    • Stevens Point City Times
Commentary
Home›Commentary›Place names can add confusion to travelers

Place names can add confusion to travelers

By STEVENS POINT NEWS
May 16, 2019
970
0
Share:

By Gene Kemmeter

What’s in a name? Many times we ask, ‘How did someone come up with that moniker?’ Some places have puzzling names, or even two different names. There are strange names like Nothing, Ariz.; Why, Ariz.; Nowhere, Ariz.; Why Not, N.C.; and Boring, Ore.

Portage County is the home of one of those places with two names. A Wisconsin Department of Transportation official working on a construction project for Highway 10 in eastern Portage County several years ago admitted he was puzzled. A sign in Portage County identified the Tomorrow River, but when the water got to Waupaca County, the river was called the Waupaca River.

The explanation is simple, but the confusion remains. The Native Americans called the river “Waupaca,” a name that means “tomorrow,” and early settlers in the Waupaca area adopted that name, which was also the name of a chief. Settlers in the Amherst area and eastern Portage County, many of them Yankees from the Northeastern states, used the English translation and called the body of water, the Tomorrow River.

So the river is called the Tomorrow from its start between Polonia and Rosholt in Portage County through Nelsonville and Amherst until it reaches the Waupaca County line. That segment of the river is 22.1 miles. The Waupaca River stretch is longer, 44.8 miles, as it flows through Waupaca and Weyauwega before joining the Wolf River in eastern Waupaca County.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has avoided stepping into the fray about the names, referring to the river as the Tomorrow/Waupaca River.

The story about the selection of the name is Native Americans needed 24 hours to travel its full length so they could not reach the end until the next day, hence the journey would end “tomorrow.”

Motorists traveling on Patch Street in Stevens Point also find themselves ending up on Industrial Park Road after crossing the Plover River Bridge. This road’s double name has a more modern explanation for its confusion.

Patch Street was named after the Rev. Jacob Patch, a Presbyterian minister in Stevens Point who lived nearby. The street ended on the west bank of the Plover River, but after the minister moved away and Stevens Point became a railroad hub, soiled doves inhabited the area, selling their wares to railroad workers and passengers.

When the bridge over the river was constructed in the 1980s, making Patch a through-street to the east bank, business owners on Industrial Park Road lobbied the Stevens Point Common Council to allow them to retain the road’s name, saying they didn’t want the expense of an address change and confessing they didn’t want their businesses on the same street associated with the houses of ill-repute.

Most place names in Portage County come from famous individuals, surrounding characteristics or other cities, but three have variations of famous names.

The town of Buena (Bew-nah) Vista is a mispronunciation of Buena (Bwe-nha) Vista, the site of an American victory in the Mexican-American War in 1847. A tavern-house in the town’s main community was named after the battle and was a popular gathering spot.

The town of Linwood west of the Wisconsin River was originally named Linden after the linden or basswood trees in the area, but residents petitioned the County Board in 1857 to change the name to Linwood.

Mispronunciation also plays a role in the small community of Peru in the town of New Hope. The name of the community continues to be pronounced “pee roo” by residents instead of the more common pronunciation given to the South American country.

Whatever the name, or the pronunciation, it stands for something, and it’s always interesting to hear someone question it or mispronounce it. You know they’re either a newer resident or a visitor.

Previous Article

VIDEO: SPASH Boys Track

Next Article

Metal Mania: Mid-State offers free summer classes

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Related articles More from author

  • Commentary

    How much influence do campaign contributions have?

    October 7, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Manliness and manly smells could be pain suppressant

    October 7, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Quiet moments of focus many times are richest and most rewarding

    October 28, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Traveling is good for mind and soul, recommended for all

    October 28, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Eating while traveling isn’t always perfect, but a valuable experience

    November 4, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS
  • Commentary

    Don’t be a tough guy, better safe than sorry

    November 4, 2015
    By STEVENS POINT NEWS

Leave a reply Cancel reply

High School Sports

Go to High School Sports

Free SP Newsletter

  • Sports

  • Commentary

  • Amherst hands Warhawks first loss

    By Jacob Heid
    October 2, 2023
  • Backfield carries SPASH to a victorious Homecoming

    By Jacob Heid
    October 2, 2023
  • Nicolet National Bank senior spotlight: Alex Martin, Amherst soccer

    By Jacob Heid
    September 27, 2023
  • SPASH finishes second as team in mid-season race

    By Jacob Heid
    September 27, 2023
  • Lamb, Klismith thrash Newman Catholic with monster performance

    By Jacob Heid
    September 25, 2023
  • Pat Wood

    From the publisher: Christmas and Hanukkah

    By Kris Leonhardt
    December 24, 2022
  • Ice fishing contest Reels in $1,500 for Portage County Literacy Council

    By Taylor Hale
    March 17, 2022
  • Kemmeter Column: County celebrates year after quarantine

    By Taylor Hale
    July 12, 2021
  • Isherwood Column: Great engineering projects two

    By Taylor Hale
    July 11, 2021
  • Shoes News Graphic

    Show Column: Odd Jobs

    By Taylor Hale
    July 9, 2021

About Us


The Portage County Gazette is published every Friday by Multi Media Channels. It is locally-owned, locally-operated and locally-written. Subscriptions are $64 annually, delivered via the U.S. Postal Service.


To subscribe, go www.shopmmclocal.com/product/portage-county-gazette or call 715-258-4360

  • PO Box 408, Waupaca WI 54981
  • (715) 343-8045
  • News editor: [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Multi Media Channels LLC.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted without the prior written consent of Multi Media Channels LLC.
×