As a writer, I care about the written word. I care about proper grammar. While I have been known to dangle a preposition at the end of my sentences, I usually try to do what’s proper, especially in my writing for hire.
I had an instance this week where I wanted to confirm the name of a bay in the Duluth-Superior Harbor. Someone who works for an agency in another state asked me to review a web site about this bay, which is the subject of a federal cleanup project because it’s contaminated. My office coworker is also helping with the project by providing engineering advice.
The title of the web page was first thing I noticed. It was called “Howards Bay,” which just screams out for a possessive apostrophe, doesn’t it? (Howard’s Bay.) Unless, of course, the bay was named after someone with the last name of Howards vs. the first name of Howard.
I’ve run across instances before where proper grammar for place names flies out the window because some mapmaker hundreds of years ago labelled places incorrectly on local maps. As such, writers like myself are required to grit our teeth and perpetuate the mistake because what’s on the map has become the actual factual name for those places. One example is the St. Marys River, which empties out of Lake Superior and into Lake Huron. It makes me cringe every time I write it, but there’s no possessive apostrophe in that name due to a mapmaker’s error.
Hoping against hope that wasn’t the case for Howards Bay, I investigated. I looked on the internet. I found that newspaper stories about the bay gave Howards an apostrophe. I found that many government documents (but not all) did not. I asked friends if they knew which form was correct, and received helpful suggestions about where else to check. I looked it up on the U.S. Board of Geographic Names website. It had “no data available” about this name.
Along the way, I discovered that that state of Wisconsin (where Howards Bay is located) has a state Geographic Names Council. Who better to ask? So I sent them an email. While I was awaiting their reply, I learned more about the organization. They seem mainly formed to approve new names for lakes and other geographic features.
They have a list of rules for new names. Among them is one that says, “newly acquired proper names for geographic features shall not be designated with ” ‘s ” or “s”, indicating possession, following the name. For example: Mott Lake, rather than Mott’s Lake or Motts Lake.”
Geez, I wish they would have had that rule in place when Howards Bay was being named!
The next day, I received the geographic names councilperson’s reply to my apostrophe question. Here’s what he said: All of our records that I have been able to find have no apostrophe for Howards Bay. I’ve attached a state sediment sampling document as evidence. I cannot give a more definite answer to the “official” name but I would say that the consistency in our records would point to this being the correct spelling.
In the meantime, with my dogged grammatical passion, I had asked the state cleanup project manager for Howards Bay the same question. He said: The apostrophe question has come up before. I have not been able to determine which version is correct and occasionally catch myself using both. For consistency, the project team chose to perpetuate the mistake and go with the original name shown on maps, i.e. “Howards.”
Aaargh! Why are we at the grammatical mercy of ancient map makers? I say that modern writers should rise up and free themselves from this typographical tyranny! Add the apostrophe “s” and may the mapmakers be dammed!
Who’s with me?
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**Update** August 9, 2017
A friend of mine asked a research librarian with the Superior Public Library the origin of the name of Howards Bay (also called Howards Pocket). She said it’s named for John D. Howard who held an interest in a sawmill on Connors Point. He died in 1891.
So there really should be an apostrophe because it is Howard’s Bay. Darn those mapmakers! And there should be an apostrophe in Connors Point, too, but I’m not even going to go there. 🙂
Marie's Meanderings 
I’m not a rocket surgeon but I think this should work. If you feel compelled to use the possessive apostrophe do so. The proper way is to strike the apostrophe key a sharp blow, followed by a smile of satisfaction.
If you don’t feel like using it simply omit it and finish the paragraph you were writing. Go outside and take a long walk which will give you time to justify the decision you just made. I never thought that singular possessive nouns and plural possesive nouns were much fun anyway.
Thanks Duane! I will totally follow your sage advice.
English is a strange language indeed. I have, over the course of living in different industries, learnt that advertisers, teachers, HR practitioners etc all write differently to suit the industry they are in. Some one just bashed a pre kindergarten for having a brand name as ” My First Skool” – educationists cited that this was a poor way of starting the learning process for school goers! Others say…look at the lighter side of life. It is a brand name. To each their own I guess. These days I write to suit the audience and be strict if it was a journal publication or if it is to the Prime Minister LOL! Thanks for the share. Sorry for being wordy.
No apology necessary! I enjoy hearing readers’ thoughts. Yes, it’s funny how different professions have different writing standards. A plus with the school name is that the children probably can’t read yet, anyway, so they won’t know it’s misspelled! 🙂
And that’s why English majors are not hired to draw nautical charts. Try to find any punctuation on a nautical chart, especially over any water areas, ie, is that a rock or a period?
Yes, sailors would hate me if I were a mapmaker — I’d put apostrophe rocks all over the map!