For this one I'm not interested in the parts of East Asia where just about everyone has a three-syllable or three-ji name. For example, I'd not be interested in a street in Taipei named after me called "La Wei Na Lu" ("La Wei Na" is my Chinese name), nor in a street in the Piedmont name "Rua Ravera" (which, I believe actually exists and is basically a church driveway named after my Great Uncle). No, I'm interested the phenomenon, as my wife and I were discussing this afternoon, of naming a street with the FULL name of the person so honored (or at least the name by which they are usually known) that appears to have started at about the time that my wife was born. So, a street named after me called "Mich Ravera Road" rather than "Michael Angelo Ravera Blvd" is OK.
For instance, Memphis has a street called "Elvis Presley Blvd". This counts. "Presley Blvd" wouldn't count. It doesn't have to be "Elvis Aaron Presley Blvd".
San Francisco has a street that was renamed "Cesar Chavez Street". It previously had a different street named "Chavez Street" that did not.
The US is filled with "Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd"s. Those count.
Let's omit royalty unless their full name is used "Dianne Frances Spencer Windsor Way" counts, but "Lady Diana Way" doesn't.
As usual, the full name designation must appear on at least 36% of all written references (blades, BGSs, distance signs, guide signs, etc) or it doesn't count.
Someone with knowledge can also point up how this phenomenon got started. But, I'm looking for the oldest people so honored.
There's a Peyton Randolph Drive in Northern Virginia. He was born in September 1721.
I assume King David Boulevard (named for the biblical king) doesn't count.
Or do you mean the earliest road to be named using a person's full name?
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 26, 2023, 10:01:24 PM
There's a Peyton Randolph Drive in Northern Virginia. He was born in September 1721.
I assume King David Boulevard (named for the biblical king) doesn't count.
Or do you mean the earliest road to be named using a person's full name?
Yes. He would certainly count as being old. Was this done in Virginia in colonial times, road construction times, or my lifetime?
I don't know when the road was built, but I assume it was after World War II as the suburbs grew. froggie might know.
Atlanta would be Exhibit A for this. They have a huge number of streets that have been renamed with full names, usually of prominent civil rights figures, with no shorter option used. Things like Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, Joseph E. Lowery Blvd, John Wesley Dobbs Ave, Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd, Ralph David Abernathy Blvd...
See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_Atlanta_street_names
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 26, 2023, 10:14:43 PM
I don't know when the road was built, but I assume it was after World War II as the suburbs grew. froggie might know.
1951 aerial shows it. The 1949 aerial shows a field.
Minneapolis:
Theodore Wirth Parkway (guy who spearheaded Minneapolis's world-class park system), designated 1938
Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta (born 15th Century)
A few more that occurred to me, all of which are named after people born later than Peyton Randolph (per my prior example) and omitting any named for Martin Luther King just because there are so many:
- In the same neighborhood as the aforementioned Peyton Randolph Drive, you can also find Patrick Henry Drive (born 1736) and John Marshall Drive (born 1755).
- Nearby, one of Arlington County's major arterials is George Mason Drive (born 1725).
- Also in Arlington is Walter Reed Drive (born 1851). He's better-known for the military hospital named for him in DC.
- VA-53 southeast of Charlottesville is named Thomas Jefferson Parkway (the road runs past Monticello). He was born in 1743.
- James Monroe Parkway splits off Thomas Jefferson Parkway and serves Monroe's residence at Ash Lawn. Monroe was born in 1758. (No doubt it rankles a far more recent former president that the road is not named after him instead, as the road also leads to the Trump Winery.)
- The Charlottesville-area road that was long planned as the "Meadowcreek Parkway" opened as the John W. Warner Parkway, named for the now-deceased US senator from Virginia (born 1927).
- The District of Columbia recently renamed Good Hope Road SE as Marion Barry Avenue SE (born 1936). It's the only road that's all it's cracked up to be.
- There is a residential street in a neighborhood not too far from mine named John Thomas Drive. I suspect it's named for a British politician given that it intersects Royal Patents Lane, but I can't help but snicker when I see the street sign because "John Thomas" is also British slang for "penis" (watch the scene in Monty Python's Meaning of Life where the Protestant man talks about condoms if you want an example of that usage).
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 27, 2023, 09:36:58 AM
A few more that occurred to me, all of which are named after people born later than Peyton Randolph (per my prior example) and omitting any named for Martin Luther King just because there are so many:
- In the same neighborhood as the aforementioned Peyton Randolph Drive, you can also find Patrick Henry Drive (born 1736) and John Marshall Drive (born 1755).
- Nearby, one of Arlington County's major arterials is George Mason Drive (born 1725).
- Also in Arlington is Walter Reed Drive (born 1851). He's better-known for the military hospital named for him in DC.
- VA-53 southeast of Charlottesville is named Thomas Jefferson Parkway (the road runs past Monticello). He was born in 1743.
- James Monroe Parkway splits off Thomas Jefferson Parkway and serves Monroe's residence at Ash Lawn. Monroe was born in 1758. (No doubt it rankles a far more recent former president that the road is not named after him instead, as the road also leads to the Trump Winery.)
- The Charlottesville-area road that was long planned as the "Meadowcreek Parkway" opened as the John W. Warner Parkway, named for the now-deceased US senator from Virginia (born 1927).
- The District of Columbia recently renamed Good Hope Road SE as Marion Barry Avenue SE (born 1936). It's the only road that's all it's cracked up to be.
- There is a residential street in a neighborhood not too far from mine named John Thomas Drive. I suspect it's named for a British politician given that it intersects Royal Patents Lane, but I can't help but snicker when I see the street sign because "John Thomas" is also British slang for "penis" (watch the scene in Monty Python's Meaning of Life where the Protestant man talks about condoms if you want an example of that usage).
VA 5 outside of Henrico County is John Tyler (Memorial) Highway (born 1790).
Pocahontas has a number of streets and roads named after her, though Pocahontas wasn't even her birth name - her birth name was Amonute or Matoaka. There are some streets named Matoaka or alternative spellings (such as in the area of Chesterfield County known as Matoa
ca). She was born in 1598.
A number of neighborhoods near Jamestown have VDOT-maintained streets named after Jamestown colonists, using their full names and no suffixes (Robert Hunt, William Bedford, etc). The most notable are Richard Buck, who was a minister in Jamestown who served as the first chaplain of what is now the Virginia General Assembly, born in 1582; and Robert Hunt, another minister who was born in 1568.
Thomas Gates, a former governor of the Virginia Colony, has a street named for him in Williamsburg (called simply "Thomas Gates" with no suffix), but his birth year is unknown. He may have been born before Robert Hunt, but he first appears in the historical record in 1585. This street isn't publicly accessible, though, as it's in the large gated (heh heh) community of Kingsmill just south of VA 199.
In the same neighborhood is a street simply named "John Ratcliffe" - he was born in 1549 and is certainly the oldest person in Virginia to have a street named after them.While I was researching info for this post, I found that Stephen Hopkins was a merchant who lived in Jamestown for a while, then went back to England, and sailed back to North America on the
Mayflower. A number of streets in Rhode Island and Massachusetts are named with his full name, and he was born before 1579.
Quote from: Big John on December 27, 2023, 09:21:23 AM
Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta (born 15th Century)
Be glad you're not on Rothman's list, or else he'd be pointing out that Ponce de Leon is a surname as his full name is Juan Ponce de Leon.
No issues from me, but if I posted that he would be on my post like flies to maple syrup.
Quote from: roadman65 on December 27, 2023, 10:34:34 AM
Quote from: Big John on December 27, 2023, 09:21:23 AM
Ponce de Leon Ave in Atlanta (born 15th Century)
Be glad you're not on Rothman's list, or else he'd be pointing out that Ponce de Leon is a surname as his full name is Juan Ponce de Leon.
No issues from me, but if I posted that he would be on my post like flies to maple syrup.
learned something new today. I thought Ponce was the first name.
Some Googling turned up Leif Erikson Drive (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Leif+Erikson+Dr,+Astoria,+OR+97103/@46.1944406,-123.7895047,18z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x54937b7ad81a9b39:0xcd99e0dde0f2816f!8m2!3d46.1944583!4d-123.7877728!16s%2Fg%2F1vn9nt4n?entry=ttu) in Astoria, Oregon (though all the street signs misspell the first name as "Lief"). Leif Erikson was born around 970.
In rural areas, it's not uncommon to see roads that got their names based off someone who lived along the road. Often, they would go with the person who lived along the road the longest. Growing up in NE Ohio, we had friends who lived on Lastname Road, where the road was named after the guy's father because he had lived on it the longest.
On example that springs to mind with a Firstname Lastname Road is Ralph Livengood Road in Preston County, West Virginia. It was named after Ralph Livengood, who was born in 1904 and died in 1986. He is buried in a cemetery on Bruce Reckart Road, which also contains the grave of Bruce Reckart, born 1905.
Quote from: 1995hoo on December 26, 2023, 10:14:43 PM
I don't know when the road was built, but I assume it was after World War II as the suburbs grew. froggie might know.
Just ran a search through Newspapers.com and its first mention was 1950. I would bet that it was a post-WWII construction (unless it somehow avoided newspaper mention before then).
Do you get bonus points if the person has genuine ties to the state in question? In that case, I suspect the answer to this question would be somewhere that was colonized pretty early on - so either New England or Virginia/North Carolina. You could theoretically create a subdivision in Arizona where the road name theme is "early Americans" but it wouldn't feel as authentic.
There's also:
John Winthrop Street (born 1588) in Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Sir Walter Raleigh St. (born 1552) in Manteo, North Carolina
There is a street in Rome named after Marco Polo (born around 1254), although he was from Venice.
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
A decommissioned state highway, a major park, and other landmarks in San Diego are named for Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa (b. 1475). However, only "Balboa" is used in those place names.
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2023, 05:08:58 PM
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
A decommissioned state highway, a major park, and other landmarks in San Diego are named for Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa (b. 1475). However, only "Balboa" is used in those place names.
Most freeways are not of interest, since, first, they don't normally meet the 36% criterion, and, second, I specifically asked for local streets.
I will settle for some representation of the honoree's given names and one or more family names. "Kate Middleton" or "Diana Spencer" would be fine. But, it needs to be "Madonna Ciconne Drive" not just "Madonna Street" or "Ciconne Blvd".
In Kentucky, Tim Couch Pass (named after the UK player who was drafted by the expansion Cleveland Browns) connects to the Hal Rogers Parkway in Couch's home county of Leslie.
In my area, there's a road named Randa Smith Road. I remember Mr. Smith from my youth. We pronounced his name "Randy."
While there's nobody on this list born before 1900, the Palm Springs/Cathedral City/Rancho Mirage area has a number of local arterials named after celebrities who had a major connection to the area.
Fred Waring Drive (Fred was born in 1900)
Bob Hope Drive (1903)
Gene Autry Trail (1907) (yeah, the "Singing Cowboy" gets a "Trail" rather than a "Drive")
Gerald Ford Drive (1913)
Frank Sinatra Drive (1915)
Dinah Shore Drive (1916)
Of course Las Vegas also has quite a few of these (Frank Sinatra Drive, Dean Martin Drive, Jerry Tarkanian Way, Roy Horn Way and others). For "oldest person so honored" you could have a separate category for places like the desert communities.
Charleston, West Virginia has one well-known contender along with some more obscure ones:
- John Wesley (noted Anglican evangelist, born 1703)
- Esther Stone Way (resident, born 1874)
- Camp Virgil Tate Road (Virgil Tate, dairy farmer and local 4-H benefactor, born 1896)
- Emery S. Fisher Lane (resident and tool factory worker, born 1918)
- Leon Sullivan Way (Baptist minister and notable civil rights leader, born 1929)
- Cleon Ferrell Drive (coal miner and WWII Navy gunner at Normandy Beach, born 1925)
- Angus E. Peyton Drive (State Commerce Commissioner, born 1927)
- Gus R. Douglass Lane (State Agriculture Commissioner, born 1927)
- John Norman Lane (famed cardiovascular surgeon and pioneer of the artificial heart, born 1929)
- Jim Derrick Lane (welder and Korean War paratrooper, born 1930)
- Danny Ray Lane (personal valet and emcee for James Brown, born 1933)
- Dan Slater Hollow (resident, still living, birthdate redacted)
- John Fouts Drive (local school bus driver and volunteer firefighter, born 1941)
- John Harper Lane (college professor, born 1946)
- Curtis Price Way (youngest college basketball coach at age 21, born about 1950)
- Zach Summers Lane (resident, killed in four wheeler accident at age 15, born 1988)
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2023, 05:08:58 PM
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the his second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
FTFY. Spanish people like me have two surnames :sombrero:. We don't use middle names as a result.
Precisely due to this, in Spain streets named after people usually omit the second surname, unless the first one is too common (like Garcia). More recently, though, some streets use the full name.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on December 28, 2023, 07:30:11 AM
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2023, 05:08:58 PM
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the his second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
FTFY. Spanish people like me have two surnames :sombrero:. We don't use middle names as a result.
Precisely due to this, in Spain streets named after people usually omit the second surname, unless the first one is too common (like Garcia). More recently, though, some streets use the full name.
In Latin America, it's very common for people to have
both a middle name
and two surnames.
I used to have a Mexican roommate named Miguel Ángel Soto González, and a Peruvian roommate named Ronald Darwin Apaza Apaza (his parents had the same paternal surname, even though one was Aymara and the other was Quechua).
Indianapolis has the Sam Jones Expressway.
Jeffersonville has Thomas V Bryant Dr.
Munster has Otis Bowen Dr and Richard S McClaughtry Jr Dr.
Chicago has Ida B Wells Dr and Bessie Coleman Dr
Quote from: kphoger on December 28, 2023, 02:49:51 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on December 28, 2023, 07:30:11 AM
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2023, 05:08:58 PM
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the his second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
FTFY. Spanish people like me have two surnames :sombrero:. We don't use middle names as a result.
Precisely due to this, in Spain streets named after people usually omit the second surname, unless the first one is too common (like Garcia). More recently, though, some streets use the full name.
In Latin America, it's very common for people to have both a middle name and two surnames.
I used to have a Mexican roommate named Miguel Ángel Soto González, and a Peruvian roommate named Ronald Darwin Apaza Apaza (his parents had the same paternal surname, even though one was Aymara and the other was Quechua).
Miranda Veracruz de la Jolla Cardinal!
Ella T. Grasso Blvd. in New Haven CT, named for the former governor (1919-1981). Full name is on I-95 BGS. Renamed from simply "the Boulevard".
Celina, TX is on a kick of naming major arterials after locals. Lynn Stambaugh Blvd., Punk Carter Parkway, G.A. Moore Blvd. are only three of them. (Funny thing is all three are still very much alive.)
Huntington, West Virginia only has a handful:
- John Marshall Drive (Chief Justice SCOTUS and university namesake, born 1755)
- Bradley Foster Drive (original city resident, hardware retailer who funded the local rest home for "aged women", born 1834)
- Fletcher Scaggs Lane (farmer, born 1899)
- Hal Greer Boulevard (local high school and Marshall basketball great and NBA star, born 1936
- Sam Collins Drive (local car salesman, born 1947)
In Italy, most streets named for a person officially have the first and last name of that person, but most (modern) signage will show the first initial and last name, and the street will generally be referred to as "via" (or "viale") and just the last name.
Many of the named freeways in Detroit used the full name, but the locals used the short name (or alt. name) (The Edsel Ford Freeway (Ford), The John C Lodge Freeway (Lodge), the Walter P Chrysler Freeway (Chrysler) The Walter P. Reuther freeway (Reuther/I-696/11 Mile Rd))
Quote from: kphoger on December 28, 2023, 02:49:51 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on December 28, 2023, 07:30:11 AM
Quote from: oscar on December 27, 2023, 05:08:58 PM
In California, the Junipero Serra Freeway (part of I-280). He was born in 1713. But technically not his full name, as the his second part of his surname was "y Ferrer".
FTFY. Spanish people like me have two surnames :sombrero:. We don't use middle names as a result.
Precisely due to this, in Spain streets named after people usually omit the second surname, unless the first one is too common (like Garcia). More recently, though, some streets use the full name.
In Latin America, it's very common for people to have both a middle name and two surnames.
I used to have a Mexican roommate named Miguel Ángel Soto González, and a Peruvian roommate named Ronald Darwin Apaza Apaza (his parents had the same paternal surname, even though one was Aymara and the other was Quechua).
At the first casino I worked at in Oklahoma we had a customer who was married to a Mexican gentleman, and hyphenated her maiden name with
both of her husband's names. So her maiden name was something like Mary Ann Smith, and then after she got married became something like Mary Ann Smith-Hernandez-Rodriguez.
It was a pain writing her name out on all of the forms when she hit a jackpot.
I've noticed that the Magdalen Islands have a lot of street names that come from the family that originally lived there (Chemin Patton, Chemin Chevrier, etc.), and some of them are even named after specific people who have lived there (Chemin John-Aucoin, Chemin Valentin-Cummings). Some alleys are even named after the people that currently live there for some reason. Pretty sure none of the roads there are named after people much older than maybe the early 1900s, though.
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 29, 2023, 12:51:03 AM
At the first casino I worked at in Oklahoma we had a customer who was married to a Mexican gentleman, and hyphenated her maiden name with both of her husband's names. So her maiden name was something like Mary Ann Smith, and then after she got married became something like Mary Ann Smith-Hernandez-Rodriguez.
It was a pain writing her name out on all of the forms when she hit a jackpot.
In Mexico, she would have kept her own surname(s), and then
mayyyyyyybe added "de Hernández" at the end. Their children would have surnames of Hernández Smith.
Quote from: kphoger on December 28, 2023, 02:49:51 PM
In Latin America, it's very common for people to have both a middle name and two surnames.
Technically, I suppose, this was incorrect: In Latin America, it's very common for people to have two first names and two surnames. What appears to us as a middle name isn't considered to be one in Latin America, but rather both of them are one's first names.
Joliet, Illinois, has a ton of streets like these, including the majority of one subdivision.
Mayfair: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gVeiJnKeMy5oyv2CA
Frank Turk Drive, Ruth Fitzgerald Drive, Joe Adler Drive, Walter Adamic Lane, Billie Limacher Lane, John Bourg Drive, Irma Harvey Lane, Paul Briese Court, Art Schultz Drive, Jack Rogers Lane.
Thomas Hickey Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BuZ4dpRd8XzHfzK88
Albert D'Ottavio Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WMpu4uUx32eBHviRA
Quote from: Brandon on December 29, 2023, 02:42:26 PM
Joliet, Illinois, has a ton of streets like these, including the majority of one subdivision.
Mayfair: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gVeiJnKeMy5oyv2CA
Frank Turk Drive, Ruth Fitzgerald Drive, Joe Adler Drive, Walter Adamic Lane, Billie Limacher Lane, John Bourg Drive, Irma Harvey Lane, Paul Briese Court, Art Schultz Drive, Jack Rogers Lane.
Thomas Hickey Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BuZ4dpRd8XzHfzK88
Albert D'Ottavio Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WMpu4uUx32eBHviRA
Picking two names at random . . . Walter Adamic just died this past November. John Bourg was mayor of Joliet when I was born there in 1981. Were the other people honored born a lot earlier than they were?
Quote from: kphoger on December 29, 2023, 02:49:08 PM
Quote from: Brandon on December 29, 2023, 02:42:26 PM
Joliet, Illinois, has a ton of streets like these, including the majority of one subdivision.
Mayfair: https://maps.app.goo.gl/gVeiJnKeMy5oyv2CA
Frank Turk Drive, Ruth Fitzgerald Drive, Joe Adler Drive, Walter Adamic Lane, Billie Limacher Lane, John Bourg Drive, Irma Harvey Lane, Paul Briese Court, Art Schultz Drive, Jack Rogers Lane.
Thomas Hickey Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BuZ4dpRd8XzHfzK88
Albert D'Ottavio Drive: https://maps.app.goo.gl/WMpu4uUx32eBHviRA
Picking two names at random . . . Walter Adamic just died this past November. John Bourg was mayor of Joliet when I was born there in 1981. Were the other people honored born a lot earlier than they were?
I'd have to look each one up to see. What's remarkable is how many of them are named in one subdivision alone.
Homer Street — Waycross, GA
born 8th Century BC -ish
More from West Virginia:
Parkersburg
- Ronald Reagan Drive (born 1911)
Morgantown
- Frederick Ice Circle (original settler, operated a ferry on the Cheat River, born 1690)
- Henry Clay Drive (Speaker of the House and later U.S. Senator from Kentucky, born 1777)
- Emma Kaufman (sic) Camp Road (Emma Kaufmann, Pittsburgh socialite and namesake of Jewish girls camps, born 1857)
- J. D. Anderson Drive (John D. "J. D." Anderson, Jr., childhood resident, WVU graduate and major benefactor, born 1877)
- Elmer Prince Drive (city manager, born 1897)
- Bruce Sliger Road (resident, born 1899)
- Earl L. Core Road (famed Biology professor and namesake of WVU Arboretum, born 1902)
- Paul Wilson Lane (local farmer, born 1903)
- Don Knotts Boulevard (local celebrity and famed comedian, born 1924)
- Frank Burchinal (Frank Burchinal, Jr. WWII fighter pilot and prisoner of war, still living, birthdate redacted)
- Earl C. Atkins Drive (resident, born 1927)
- John Fox Road (John C. Fox, resident, born 1942, may be related to WVU baseball star John Fox on 1942 team)
- John Poole Road (resident and local contractor, Vietnam veteran, born 1942)
- Murl Crawford Avenue (resident, birthdate unknown)
- Jeff Hayden Road (resident, birthdate unknown)
Wheeling
- Betty Zane (youngest sister to the famed Zane brothers, teenage heroine during Siege of Fort Henry, born 1765)
- Sgt. Joe Nurre Lane (California resident, served in West Virginia Army Reserves at Weirton, killed in action Iraqi Freedom, born 1983)
Martinsburg
- Izaak Walton Road (famed English author and draper, born 1593)
- Christian Tabler Road (local farmer, born 1780)
- Jeb Stuart Road (James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, Confederate general, born 1833)
- Hack Wilson Way (Lewis R. "Hack" Wilson, professional baseball player and founder of the Martinsburg Bombers semi-pro team, born 1900)
- Emmett Rousch (sic) Drive (Emmett Roush, Jr., resident, born 1913)
- Edwin Miller Boulevard (former resident of Shepherdstown, Data Processing Director for State of Maryland, Vietnam veteran, born 1940)
- Dale Earnhardt Lane (Dale, Sr., famed NASCAR racecar driver with no connections to West Virginia, born 1951)
- G. W. Orr Drive (George W. Orr, local farmer, still living, birthdate redacted)
- Vicky Bullett Street (local high school basketball star and WNBA player, West Virginia Wesleyan women's head coach, born 1967)
- Anthony Taylor Way (probably related to property developer, birthdate unknown)
Fairmont
- John Deere Drive (famed blacksmith that developed the steel plow, born 1803)
- Pete Johnson Lane (Peter Johnson, early settler and namesake of Peter Johnson Run tributary of Prickett Creek, born about 1752)
- Joe Kincaid Road (Rev. Joseph E. Kincaid, pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, born 1849; or possibly his father also buried there, birthdate unknown)
- Joseph Koon Drive (local farmer, born 1891)
- Robert L. Harr Road (local contractor, WWII Navy Seabee, born 1921)
- Jim Kennedy Lane (James E. "Jim" Kennedy, Jr., Fairmont native and Florida lawyer, WWII Naval officer, born 1923)
- Carl May Way (local farmer, still living, birthdate redacted)
- Mark Linn Street (resident, born 1953)
- David Daniels Drive (famed opera tenor from Spartanburg, South Carolina, born 1966)
- Mary Lou Retton Drive (local Olympic gymnast, born 1968)
Beckley
- Jerome Van Meter Drive (long-time local high school football coach, namesake of State coaching award, born 1900)
- Robert C. Byrd Drive (U.S. Senator who grew up in nearby Stotesbury, born 1917)
Clarksburg
- Henry Ford Avenue (industrialist, pioneer of the automobile assembly line factory, born 1863)
- Gerald L. Bates Drive (local farmer, born 1913)
- Oral Haught Lane (natural gas distribution worker and WWII medic, born 1921)
- Ralph Kidd Road (resident, possibly still living, birthdate redacted)
- Raymond Carter Road (resident, still living, birthdate redacted)
Bolsa Avenue in Westminster, CA has a secondary name named after Tran Hung Dao, born 1231, does that count?
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on December 28, 2023, 02:56:57 PM
Indianapolis has the Sam Jones Expressway.
Jeffersonville has Thomas V Bryant Dr.
Munster has Otis Bowen Dr and Richard S McClaughtry Jr Dr.
Chicago has Ida B Wells Dr and Bessie Coleman Dr
Remember the 36% rule!
What is the basis of this 36% rule? It sounds rather arbitrary to me. Why 36? Why not 32 or 47?
Quote from: GaryV on December 31, 2023, 07:46:44 AM
What is the basis of this 36% rule? It sounds rather arbitrary to me. Why 36? Why not 32 or 47?
Do not question the regime.
*hired goons haul GaryV off to the brig*
In this part of North Carolina, it is way-too-common to name streets and roads with both first name and surname. In many cases, the roads were named after the primary farmer who lived there (and the first names were necessary to distinguish between all of the farmers with the same surname). Many of these folks were poor African Americans that were still alive at the time that the road was named, but were unable to leave a genealogical record when they passed away.
Sorry to bore you to death, but Mebane and surroundings (ergo, the Hawfields region just south of I-85) offers up the following:
Mebane, North Carolina (and the Hawfields)
- William Kidd Lane (famed Scottish privateer Capt. Kidd, born about 1654)
- William Newlin Drive (childhood resident, drillmaster for Hillsborough Academy killed at Sharpsburg/Antietam, born 1844)
- Alexander Cheek Lane (Alexander Mebane "Mabe" Cheek, local farmer, born 1845; or perhaps his namesake grandfather, born 1799)
- Isaac Holt Trail (grandfather of textile tycoon Gov. Thomas Michael Holt, born 1806)
- A. O. Smith Road (Arthur Oliver "A. O." Smith, Sr., magnate from Milwaukee who renamed his father's bicycle parts company after himself, born 1859)
- John Thompson Lane (John C. Thompson, Sr., local farmer, born 1878)
- Walter Andrews Road (local farmer, born 1886)
- Tom Anderson Road (local farmer, born 1893)
- Allen Baynes Road (local farmer, born 1894)
- Walter Hagen Drive (famed professional golfer, born 1892)
- Tula Lambert Road (local farmowner, born 1901)
- Ben Wilson Road (local farmer, born 1902)
- Gene Sarazen Drive (famed professional golfer, born 1902)
- Sen. Ralph Scott Parkway (dairy farmer and State Senator, born 1903)
- Ben Hogan Drive (another famed professional golfer, born 1912)
- Byron Nelson Drive (yet another famed professional golfer, also born 1912)
- Minetree Pynes (sic) Road (James Minetree Pyne, Sr., local historic building preservationist, born 1917)
- Jack Yeatts Road (local farmer, born 1919)
- Jim Lowe Drive (singer-songwriter from Missouri, born 1923)
- Bob Vaughn Lane (Robert R. "Bob" Vaughn, resident of Swepsonville, born about 1924)
- Edward Miles Lane (local farmer and Korean War veteran, born 1929)
- Alice Miller Road (resident and longtime Alamance County elementary teacher, born about 1930)
- Bo Fuller Road (Clyde "Bo" Fuller, local farmer, born 1931)
- Daniel Fuqua Road (local farmer, born about 1936)
- Ervin Newlin Road (local farmer, born about 1938)
- Chuck Garner Trail (local plumber, born about 1939)
- Jenny Dare Drive (comic strip heroine from 1930s)
- Oscar Gammon Road (local taxidermist, born about 1941)
- Darrell Newton Drive (local firechief and fire safety consultant, born 1939)
- Ben Jones Road (local farmer and truck delivery driver, born 1944)
- Mae Douglas Drive (philanthropist, social justice leader and Trustee at UNC-Greensboro, still living, birthdate redacted)
- James Griffin Drive (resident, born 1957)
- Allen Jarrett Road (resident, born 1958)
- Dave Smith Road (local farmer, born 1962)
- Jamie Baker Drive (professional hockey player and color commentator, born 1966)
- Geneva Albright Road (resident, may still be living, birthdate unknown)
- George Bason Road (local farmer, birthdate unknown)
- Jimmie Kerr Road (local farmer, birthdate unknown)
- Solomon Foust Road (local farmer, birthdate unknown)
- Shelly Graham Road (resident, birthdate unknown)
- Virginia Lamm Road (resident, may still be alive, birthdate unknown)
- James Minor Road (local farmer, birthdate unknown)
- John Poteat Road (local farmer, birthdate unknown)
- James Walker Road (resident, birthdate unknown)
On the other side, Hillsborough offers up a more interesting collection of historical figures and others on its streetblades:
Hillsborough, North Carolina
- Alexander Stewart Drive (4th High Steward of Scotland, died 1283)
- Sam Green Trail (Dr. Samuel Green, town commissioner and Alderman of Wilmington, born 1707)
- Daniel Boone Street (famed pioneer and early Kentucky settler, namesake of local theme park, born 1734)
- Patrick Henry Lane (self-taught lawyer, Founding Father and 1st Governor of Virginia, born 1736)
- William Hooper Circle (Founding Father from North Carolina, signer of Declaration of Independence; became resident, born 1742)
- Sam Tucker Lane (possibly Capt. Samuel Tucker, naval officer commanding George Washington's schooner flotilla, born 1747)
- James Madison Place (Founding Father and 4th President of the United States, born 1751)
- Joseph Johnston Court (Mexican-American War hero and Confederate general, born 1807)
- Braxton Bragg Court (another Mexican-American War hero and Confederate general, born 1817)
- Wade Hampton Road (Confederate general, South Carolina governor and U.S. Senator, born 1818)
- John Breckinridge Drive (U.S. Senator from Kentucky, 14th Vice President, and Confederate Secretary of War, born 1821)
- George Anderson Drive (Second lieutenant in Mexican-American War, Confederate general and Atlanta police chief, born 1828)
- Charles Tew Court (Confederate colonel from South Carolina, killed at Sharpsburg/Antietam, born 1827)
- Walter Clark Drive (Confederate lieutenant colonel and Chief Justice of North Carolina, born 1846)
- Isaac Henderson Drive (famed author and New York Evening Post publisher, born 1850)
- Allen Ruffin Avenue (local textile mill owner, born 1857)
- Harold Latta Drive (local dairyman, born 1894)
- Edmund Latta Road (Joseph Edmund Latta, local dairy farmer and renowned Presbyterian lay leader, born 1896)
- Ben Johnston Road (WWI Corps of Engineers, Hillsboro mayor, born 1898)
- Arthur Minnis Road (William Arthur Minnis, local farmer, born 1900)
- James J. Freeland Memorial Drive (local contractor and developer of Daniel Boone theme park, born 1918)
- Lee Fox Lane (Navy ensign killed at Pearl Harbor, namesake of a Navy destroyer escort, born 1920)
- Clarence Walters Road (Clarence Walters, Jr., local farmer and Korean War veteran, born 1924)
- Krishna Goswami Drive (Hindi maharaja, born 1944)
- Mary E. Cook Road (resident, may still be living, birthdate unknown)
- Glen Dodson Road (local farmer, may still be living, birthdate unknown)
- Jack Franklin Road (local farmer, still living, birthdate redacted)
- C. M. Kirk Lane (Cecil Kirk, local farmer, still living, birthdate redacted)
- Frank Perry Road (local farmer, still living, birthdate unknown)
- Emma B. Wright Road (resident, may still be living, birthdate unknown)
- Elizabeth Brady Road (unable to determine, may be related to the original NASCAR Occoneechi Speedway property)
Quote from: GaryV on December 31, 2023, 07:46:44 AM
What is the basis of this 36% rule? It sounds rather arbitrary to me. Why 36? Why not 32 or 47?
I have used it in other "more or less consistently signed" situations. One third (33%) is, to my mind, too little. At 33% I would say that the road "frequently mentions" the name rather than being "consistently signed" (Other names would be twice as common). Requiring more than one-half doesn't allow for alternating names (Like "Cesar Chavez" and "Army" Street). So, 36% is what I've chosen as the dividing line. It permits alternate naming (or signing as I did previously) with a slight, but not overwhelming preference to the other name.