LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 23 buried next to each other in the local cemetery, and they left descendants who still live in and around the region. The Thomas farm is still in cultivation. Its current owner, Denise Griffin, didn't know the amazing story of her property when she bought it, but the name she gave it was more appropriate than she realized at the time. She called it "Sanctuary Farm." So, what about the brook? Other streams and land- forms nearby bear the names of the Thomas' White neighbors. Lyon Brook. Norman Ridge. Skiff Hill. Even the pseudo-historian Alfred Donaldson has an Adiron- dack peak named after him, while John Thomas and his fellow African American settlers got a derogatory brook name instead. The label was modified to "Negro Brook" several decades ago, but it still identified these Adirondackers not by their names but by the color of their skin. The time had come for a change, but what could I as an individual do to replace both the story and the offi- cial name of a landform? As I soon learned, you don't do it as an individual. You do it as part of a community. More specifically, you need to convince the United States Board on Geographic Names to change it. It's not an easy task, and several friends warned me that it might be impossible. The Board's website explained the lengthy process. Once the story is properly document- ed and a suitable name is chosen, the most important step is to demonstrate local community support for it. As I began to work on the project, I wondered what my own community would think of the idea. We Adiron- dackers can be cantankerous and we're not afraid to argue over things. Some of us even seem to enjoy it. As it turned out, however, I didn't need to worry. Throughout the Fall of 2022, letters of support came in from students, faculty, and staff of the college. Lo- cal museums, historical organizations, and social jus- tice groups joined in, as did town and county officials. And when I presented the story of John Thomas and the brook at a local brew pub, dozens of local residents signed their names to a petition, too. In December of 2022, I sent a formal proposal along with the letters and petition to the Board on Geograph- ic Names, and waited with fingers crossed. Their deci- sion came the following April. "N-word Brook" is now "John Thomas Brook." It's of- ficial, and it's permanent. Look for it on any up-to-date map of the Adirondacks. Well, we cantankerous Adirondackers know how to celebrate together, too. In September of 2023, more than 100 people gathered near the brook in Onchio- ta. David Fadden from the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center and Tiffany Rea-Fisher of the Adirondack Diver- sity Initiative spoke about the importance of the name change and the community support that enabled it. And to help make sure that the story behind the name isn't easily forgotten again, we unveiled a historic road- side marker on the college's property. The sign reads: "John Thomas Brook. John Thomas escaped from slavery in Maryland around 1840 and lived near this brook in Vermontville..." The last words on the marker carry special weight. They're a belated response from this community to the letter John Thomas wrote in 1872. "...as a prosperous farmer and respected citizen." Our little community in the mountains saw the need for a change in the story of this beautiful place we love and rallied to make it happen. I haven't heard a single voice of opposition to it around here, but maybe some folks elsewhere might accuse us of "...erasing history" by changing the name of "N-word Brook." We would disagree. By honoring our fellow Adiron- dacker in this way, we're not erasing history. We're re- covering history that has been erased. So words do matter. The terms we use to describe ourselves and our communities both reflect and shape who we are. The real story of the Adirondacks is not a short, dull monochrome but a deep, rich multi-cultural tapestry of human experience. By uncovering the story of this little brook in the wilderness, we're reconnecting ourselves to a proud chapter of America's story too, when the dream of hu- man equality burned so brightly here in the mountains. That's a heritage we can all take pride in when we say "Welcome to the Adirondacks..." "...The real Adirondacks." t

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