GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

Montana Geographic Names Advisor

Geographic Name Change Request

Mooney Mountain
Beaverhead County, Montana

Status = Approved

Description summit, elevation 2,010 m (6,593 ft), located on the N side of Bill Hill Creek, 1.6 km (1 mi) E of Interstate 15, 16 km (10 mi) SW of Dillon; named for Edward and Catherine Mooney and their children Daniel and Lucy Mooney, two generations of a family that ranched in the vicinity of the summit
Location 45º05’28”N, 112º45’25”W
PLSS Location Sec 31, T8S, R9W
Proposal to make official a commemorative name in local use
Proponent Ed Mooney; Bozeman, MT
Administrative area None
Previous BGN Action None
See also
GNIS ID 2582470
Local Usage Mooney Mountain (local residents)
Published None found
The name Mooney Mountain is proposed to be made official for a 2,010 m (6,593 ft) summit in Beaverhead County, approximately 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Dillon. The proponent, a member of the Mooney family, reports that the name has been in local use for at least 50 years. His ancestors Edward Mooney (1855-1935) and his wife Catherine (1852-1930) acquired a homestead in the area in 1905, and ranched there for the next 30 years. After the death of his parents, the property was inherited by Daniel Mooney (1889-1962) and his wife Lucy (1892-1983). The Mooney Ranch, on the west slope of the summit, and a triangulation station named “Mooney” at its peak are both shown on USGS topographic maps. According to the proponent, “Dan and Edward Mooney built the road around the mountain and grazed sheep on it.”

The Beaverhead County Commissioners and the Montana State Names Authority are both in support of this proposal. A copy of the proposal was sent to the Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley Paiute Shoshone Indians, the Bishop Paiute Tribe, the Death Valley Timbi-sha Shoshone Band of California, the Duckwater Tribal Council, the Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, the Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Lone Pine Community, the Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallon Reservation, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River Reservation, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada, and the Yomba Shoshone Tribe of the Yomba Reservation. No response was received, which is presumed to indicate no opinion on the issue.

Comments Received by the Montana Geographic Names Advisor
Montana Geographic Names Advisor Recommendation - Support (Friday, January 15, 2010)
Domestic Names Committee Decision Date - Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Domestic Names Committee Discussion - A motion was made and seconded to approve this new name.

Vote: 9 in favor
0 against
0 abstentions

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