Coon Hunt Court Granted Name Change

The Howard County Planning Board unanimously approved a proposal to change Coon Hunt Court to April Wind Court on Thursday evening.

The change was prompted after lobbying by residents who described the name as racially insensitive.

Residents at the meeting were pleased with the decision, according to Explore Howard. The street sign is not expected to be changed for another month, according to the article.

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, Howard County Council member Calvin Ball, and the Department of Planning and Zoning all supported the name change.

Originally, the residents had proposed a name change to April Wind Circle, but that was altered on Thursday evening to April Wind Court because that's what the fire department preferred, according to Laura Boone, recording secretary of the Planning Board.

Ball, who originated a petition to change the name after several street signs were stolen, was pleased with news of the change.

"As a resident in the Thunder Hill community," said Ball, "I have driven by this street many times and have always thought that it does not reflect the true vision [James] Rouse had for Columbia."

Many of the street names in the Thunder Hill area are derived from Andrew Wyeth paintings. For example, Sleeping Dog Court was named after Wyeth's "Sleeping Dog on Bed."

A Patch commenter the name Coon Hunt Court may have been the result of a transcriber's error and that the name could have been derived from Wyeth's "The Coot Hunter." That painting depicts a hunter carrying a coot, a medium-sized bird.

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