Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-06-13

w The development of Greater
Washington, according to plans
and purposes of the executive and
legislative branches of the federal gov
eminent; a.d this is supplementary to
that statement of current history.
The citizens who have opportunity
to visit the capital city of this repub-
lie take occasion always to express
their pride in its beauty, but they do
not realize the fact that its grandeur
is due primarily to the genius of Len
FAINT, the man whose brain conceived
and whose skilled fingers drafted the
plan upon which it has been builded.
AS a matter of fact, this city has
been a gradual growth, from decade to
decade. and but for the commands of
Washington, requiring that every de-
velopment should be in accordance
with the original designs of L'Enfant,
this city would be as zig-zag and un-
symmetrical as cow-paths could have
made It. But every city government
has carefully adhered to the original
plans, so hat out of domestic condi-
tions symmetry has resulted. Within
the memory of the writer, farm lands
AdfC OCCA 4AfadSd II
builded upon, by street and n ex-
tension of the plans made SO many,
many years ago.
Now that the congress has author
lied a complete system of extension
of the highways, in accordance with
L'Enfant's plan, the gentlemen in
charge in the work, which will stand
for a century of city development, are
bothered by street and locality no.
menclature. The people have hereto
fore paid little attention to this sub
ject, but it is very interesting.
In its beginning every town is more
or less crude and uncouth. Only as it
grows into ~pretentious proportions
the civic pride of its people develops.
Early conditions and vents have a
way of leaving their traces in names;
thiA being, apparently the principal
means of linking past with present
conditions and environments. His
tory shows US hat many secrets are
unraveled in names of locations and
individuals.
There is no other way probably in
which people put themselves on rec
ord in a more spontaneous manner
than the names they give to things
about them. So it happens hat the
residents of new towns sum up many
OF the picturesque, unhappy, ludicrous
or grotesque incidents and conditions
of the early days by the names which
they give their cities, streets, build
ings and environs.
AS a town grows older its early
names are replaced by new ones, fire.
quently much more euphonious and
conventional, but seldom as full of
meaning. Thus it seems that people
who have been content to have their
mail addressed Dead Mans Gulch,
Snakeville, Cowtown or Windy Gap,
eventually begin to feel an aesthetic
. longing in their souls which leads them
to have the names of their post of
fees changed to Buena Vista, Lake
side, Glendower or Idlewild. This is
usually accomplished against the
! wishes of the "old-timers," who feel it
a sacrilege to dishonor local tradi-
tons.
But although the name of a town be
changed, and it's streets rechristened,
the old traditions will be kept up in the
names of its alleys, and of particular
localities of doubtful d~esirability.
The reason for this is because the
progress which sweeps the old things
away elsewhere doesn't penetrate
these places. Hence in every large
city, where the landmarks of its found
ing are annually disappearing, many
of the old traditions win be found