By Greg Carpenter
This summer, I decided to stop by a yard sale taking place around the lake. As I scanned the items for sale, something unusual caught my eye. It was an old barn board framed lake map. The one body of water around our camp surprised me by being labeled Echo Pond- not Echo Lake. Thinking the map was pretty unique, I decided to purchase it and learn just how old the map may be. My journey to find that answer included a visit to the Vermont State Archives and the Vermont State Library.
The mystery tour began with a trip to the State Archives. There I learned about geographic naming Statutes and that the Vermont Board of Libraries is in charge of naming or changing the name of such things as mountains, roads, ponds or lakes, but nothing further. The answer to why Echo Pond is no longer used came from the Vermont State Library. One clue was found from within the United States Board on Geographic Names Domestic Geographic Names application. In the 1982 application, it stated, “All local officials and residents use Echo Lake as an appellation (sic) for this feature. The word “Pond” is no longer used. The document also revealed that three local residents from Charleston supported the name change. Recommending the change included two farmers named Jack Andrews and John Moffit and a merchant, Willard Blackburn. As to “when” the name changed, the U. S. Board on Geographic Names supplied the answer. Echo Pond was officially changed to Echo Lake sometime between October 1982 and June 1983. Oddly enough, though, the U. S. Board, which makes decisions before action is taken to change a name, never formally discussed the change.
In the end, the memo ended up just being reviewed and accepted by a member of the staff. As to the exact date the lake name changed, no one knows for sure. Maps dating from 1924 to 1974 would have been listed the lake as Echo Pond. In the end I guess I can be satisfied with that.
Sources: Shaw, April, Librarian, Vermont Department of Libraries, September 26, 2018
Geographic Naming: Vermont Statutes, Title 10, Chapter 9: Geographic Names
United States Board Geographic Names Domestic Geographic Names Report Vermont Department of Libraries, October 1982