Burlington and Bristol are petitioning the federal government to change the name of a brook that runs through town.
The two municipalities are asking that the government rename “Negro Hill Brook,” which runs from Gilbert Lane in Burlington southeast into Bristol, to “Pigeon Hill Brook.”
The brook was named decades ago. Burlington First Selectman Theodore Shafer said a resident recently came to him with concerns about the name.
The brook runs near the Pigeon Hill section of the Barnes Nature Center, which was once home to thousands of passenger pigeons. Both the mayor of Bristol and the first selectman of Burlington believe “Pigeon Hill Brook” is an obvious choice.
"We believe Pigeon Hill Brook would be a better name. Pigeon Hill Brook would be complimentary to the adjacent Pigeon Hill. As the stream connects CT DEEP's Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area,
The Barnes Nature Center, Seymour Park, and Water Department Watershed, the name of Pigeon Hill Brook ties all these places to Pigeon Hill," said Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu in a press statement.
"Around the same time we were having this discussion about Open Space, I was approached by a resident who had seen the referenced name and was concerned," First Selectman Shafer added. "We started the process to chart a name change in conjunction with Bristol because the town of Burlington is an inclusive place that welcomes all people and we want that reflected."
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Renaming the brook requires approval from the US Board on Geographic Names, an officer of the US Department of the Interior. The Bristol City Council and the Burlington Board of Selectmen have both already voted in favor of the name change.
