Mount Diablo won’t be called Mount Yahweh, Mount Miwok, or Mount Ohlone anytime soon.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names unanimously voted Oct. 12 to reject changing the name of Mount Diablo, said Lou Yost, chief of the geographic names project at the U.S. Geological Society.
Art Mijares, a resident of Oakley, first proposed changing the name to Mount Kawukum, which he said meant, “laughing mountain, everywhere seen.” Mijares, a devout Christian, believes the name Mount Diablo, which means Devil Mountain in Spanish, is “derogatory and profane,” according to the Board’s official docket.
There are several theories on how Mount Diablo got its name. The most commonly accepted is that early in the 19th century a Spanish military expedition was searching for runaway mission American Indians in a willow thicket near Buchanan Field. The soldiers surrounded the American Indians, certain they would capture them. In the morning, however, the American Indians were miraculously gone. The Spanish called this area “Monte del Diablo” or “Thicket of the Devil.” English-speaking settlers later mistranslated the name and thought the “Monte” referred to the mountain’s prominent summit, hence Mount Diablo.
After questions were raised regarding the origin of Kawukum, Mijares changed the proposed name to Mount Yahweh. He contends that a Miwok holy man told him the name means “the Creator” in Miwok, according to the docket.
Mijares’ formal request was followed by two additional name change requests. Sharon Skolnick of San Rafael proposed changing the name to Mount Ohlone, which she said would honor the Ohlone Indians, who once inhabited Mount Diablo.
Bruce Bagnoli, also of San Rafael, proposed changing the name to Mount Miwok. He told the board that the Miwok consider Mount Diablo sacred ground.
Changing the name of Mount Diablo is no easy task. The name has appeared on the U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps since 1896 and it is the namesake for many local organizations. The name also applies to one of the three lines of meridian that pass through California.
The U.S. Board of Geographic names received roughly 70 letters and 70 e-mails, in both support and opposition to the name change. Organizations like Save Mount Diablo, the Mount Diablo Surveyors Historical Society, and the Mount Diablo Interpretive Association wrote letters voicing their opposition to the name change.
At the annual conference of the Council of Geographic Names Authority in Portland, Ore., the U.S. Board of Geographic Names unanimously voted down the name change.
“There was no local support for the change,” said Yost. None of the proponents for the name change made presentations to the board.
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