Today I go behind the scenes to show what I saw while reviewing the digital map between Defiance, OH and Sturgis, MI.
Screen captures come from Excel 2007. Minor edits made using MS Paint.
Other images are sourced as noted.
TL;DR
- Introduction
- Fun with Maps
8. Waterloo, IN
7. Sedan, IN
6. Crooked Lake, IN
5. Gravel Beach, IN
4. Nevada Mills, IN
3. Panama, IN
2. Angola, IN
1. Mongo, IN - More Fun with Maps
Introduction
David Guardia and the uncanny Manny Rey leave in Defiance, Ohio only to end up in Sturgis, Indiana Before they reach Sturgis (and not STURGIS), they pass through a a few pages of digital map, the first 2 of which are light on interesting place names.
Along the way, he must have been looking at digital (or even paper) maps.
What was he looking at? What caught his eye? What surprises did he find?
While I can't answer those questions for him, I can answer them for myself.
In our physical offline world, the trip to STURGIS would have been shorter and more efficient (not to mention cheaper) had David Guardia used some navigational aid, be it GPS, a Viking Sunstone, or an uncanny co-pilot. It also would have been a much more boring ride for him (and for us as readers).
Maps are a vital part of The GHAWG Universe, both for me as storyteller and for the characters. As much as I want to have scenes take place at certain locations, the ultimate decider is THE MAP: If the location doesn't make sense for the story, then I can't use it for that story. On the other hand, the map may show me a location I hadn't considered before but makes perfect sense both for utility and symbolism.
While reviewing digital maps, there are times I find locations which get me scratching my head and scruff, get me laughing, or even get me wondering "WTF is this??" This post features what I discovered a couple of pages west of Defiance, Ohio.
Fun with Maps
As with earlier editions of Fun With Maps, a few places on the map
… I had known about over the years;
… are better known by their more famous alternatives; and
… I just hadn't expected at all.
As the story unfolds, David Guardia and co-pilot Manny Rey ride together through Ohio, Indiana, michigan, and Illinois.
The first section of digital map after Defiance, Ohio which caught my eye was 2 pages west. Enough interesting names appeared on this section of digital map to qualify for a Fun with Maps post.
Here are the discoveries I made in this section of the ride from Defiance, Ohio to Sturgis, Michigan:
Just to remind myself that this map was part of Indiana, I added the label Indiana. I also added the label MICHIGAN to show how close the ide is to state lines. Then I highlighted 7 locations. This map isn't directly tied to any other map, so I added the label Defiance, OH ▬►► for reference. Here are the 7 locations in reverse order of interest:
8. Waterloo, IN
In Fun with Maps 6 I explained why I chose to write about Waterloo, Pennsylvania. As a novelty, it ranked high on that list. As a repeat item, it dropped for this list.
As with its analog in Pennsylvania, this Waterloo was named after the site of Napoleon's final defeat in battle. The town was laid out in 1856, and it was going to be named Waterman in honor of Miles Waterman. When he rejected the honor of having the town named after him, it was eventually decided to be named Waterloo instead.
7. Sedan, IN
I know of sedan chairs used to transport royalty by means of carriers. I know of sedans as a class of automobile. Sedan as a place name is new to me.
When the post office branch was established in 1854 at the location, the village had been named Lawrence. On 1861-January-5 Lawrence was renamed Sedan; most likely, the village was renamed after Sedan, France.
6. Crooked Lake, IN
Crooked Lake (and the residential area surrounding it) was named as a result of the shape of the lake, "a crooked gourd". This lake occupies 802 acres (324.558 hectares) in Steuben County, north of the city of Angola. A post office was established at Crooked Lake in 1838.
5. Gravel Beach, IN
As with Crooked Lake, Gravel Beach got its name due to its appearance. In this case, it was due to the presence of gravel along its shoreline.
Although this place name appears on the digital map, there is very little information about the origin of the place name or its history.
4. Nevada Mills, IN
This looks like another state-inspired place name, but it's not.
Originally the town had been named Millville due to the number of sawmills it had. One of the leading landowners had lived in Nevada during the 1849 Gold Rush. When the town was being renamed, this land owner suggested the name Nevada. Due to the presence of the town of Nevada in Tipton County, the post office added the modifier "Mills" to the new name. So in 1867 Millville was renamed Nevada Mills.
3. Panama, IN
On hearing this place name, most of us think of the nation of Panama at the south end of Central America. Also related to the nation of Panama is the Panama Canal, one of the leading and most strategic waterways in the world. As a place name, some people would think of Panama City in Florida.
Was Panama, Indiana named for the nation? Actually, it was not.
No one is sure how this town in Indiana acquired the name Panama. However, there are at least 2 theories which explain the origin of this particular Panama:
- It is a word meaning "many butterflies" in one or several Native American languages before the Spanish arrived in the New World;
- It's the name of a species of tree native to the area (sterculia apetala, also known as the Panama tree).
2. Angola, IN
Ask 99.44% out of 100 people, and the Angola which comes to mind first is the nation in Africa.
Angola, Indiana is named in honor of Angola-- the town in New York State. Most of the residents who founded the town hailed from Angola, New York.
1. Mongo, IN
The only Mongo I knew about was the planet ruled by Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon serials and movies. It turns out there are so many reasons the name Mongo is used that Wikipedia has a disambiguation page devoted to it.
Mongo, Indiana was founded in 1840 as Mongoquinong, meaning "Big Squaw Village". Mongoquinong itself a corruption of Native American Miami-Illinois word maankwahkionka, meaning "In the Loon Land".
More Fun with Maps
The next stop of note after Defiance, Ohio is Sturgis, Michigan. While there are multiple places named Sturgis, there is only one which most people think about, and that's the one in South Dakota which has the annual motorcycle rally each August. This town I refer to as STURGIS, and David Guardia is 3 states away from that one.
Where else in Indiana will David Guardia find himself? What other notable people will he find there? How does his ride further unfold?
Let's find out together as I continue my research and we have more fun with maps.
As more posts in this series are published, they will be added to the pinned post "GHAWGnav: Navigating The GHAWG Universe". Thanks for taking time to see how this part of The GHAWG Universe is being built.
This is
[!!]See you next time for another edition of Fun with Maps!
[!!] -- Graphic signature was designed by @ahmadmanga