July 13, 2020 — As monuments and flags come down around the country, people are thinking again about the namesakes of the places they live. Braxton Bragg may never have set foot in Fort Bragg, California, but in Lake County, Andrew Kelsey and Charles Stone committed notorious abuses.
Now, a petition to change the name of Kelseyville, perhaps after Mount Konocti, is getting some traction online, but the local supervisor says he’ll take it seriously if organizers can get it on the ballot. Suzette Slaughter first circulated the Moveon.org petition last month, while sheltering in place in Lakeport, where she’s been living, off and on, since elementary school. The petition has gathered over 1,700 signatures.
But Rob Brown, the supervisor in Lake County’s Fifth District, which includes Kelseyville, is skeptical of social media initiatives. He says changing the name will take a lot of hard work and dedication, and changing the name should be up to the people of Kelseyville.