Lost Coon Lake
Encyclopedia
Lost Coon Lake, is a fishing lake south of Whitefish, Flathead County
in the state of Montana, USA.
Lost Coon Lake was originally known as "Nigger Lake". It was named in the late 1800's or early 1900's. The name allegedly came about from the fact that an African American woman named Mrs. Randals ran a rooming house for lumberjacks near the lake. As offensive as the name was, it was not even accurate apparently as many later claimed Mrs. Randals was of Spanish descent.
The name began to come into controversy in the mid 20th century when Washington bureaus began to refuse ice harvest contracts with the name on them. They began to reference the lake as "Lodgepole Lake", while locals continued to call it "Nigger Lake" or alternatively "One Nigger Lake".
By the 1980's when upscale developments were being targeted for the area, perhaps as a compromise of sorts, the lake was renamed "Lost Coon Lake", which remains to this day.
Flathead County, Montana
-National protected areas:* Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail * Flathead National Forest * Glacier National Park * Kootenai National Forest * Lolo National Forest * Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
in the state of Montana, USA.
Lost Coon Lake was originally known as "Nigger Lake". It was named in the late 1800's or early 1900's. The name allegedly came about from the fact that an African American woman named Mrs. Randals ran a rooming house for lumberjacks near the lake. As offensive as the name was, it was not even accurate apparently as many later claimed Mrs. Randals was of Spanish descent.
The name began to come into controversy in the mid 20th century when Washington bureaus began to refuse ice harvest contracts with the name on them. They began to reference the lake as "Lodgepole Lake", while locals continued to call it "Nigger Lake" or alternatively "One Nigger Lake".
By the 1980's when upscale developments were being targeted for the area, perhaps as a compromise of sorts, the lake was renamed "Lost Coon Lake", which remains to this day.