Montana Geographic Names Advisor
Geographic Name Change Request
Malcolm Creek
Sheridan County, Montana
Status =
Approved
| Description |
stream,
18.5 miles long,
Heads 8 miles south-southeast of Redstone at 48°42’43”N, 104°52’56”W, flows generally east and then south onto the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, to enter Wolf Creek 3 miles West of Rock Springs |
| Location |
48°35’42”N, 104°46’33”W |
| PLSS Location |
Townships 33 and 34 North, Ranges 52 and 53 East |
| Proposal |
to make official a commemorative name in local use |
| Proponent |
Eldon E. Krogstad; Plentywood, MT |
| Administrative area |
Fork Peck Indian Reservation (in part) |
| Previous BGN Action |
None |
| See also |
|
| GNIS ID |
2785693
|
| Local Usage |
Malcolm Creek (over 30 years, proponent and other locals)
|
| Published |
Sheep Creek (General Land Office, 1910)
|
The name Malcolm Creek, reported to be in local usage, is proposed to be made official for an 18.5-mile-long stream in Sheridan County. The stream heads on private land, then flows south to enter the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The proposed name honors William A. Malcolm, who owned land along the stream. In 1906, Mr. Malcolm submitted a Declaration of Occupancy with Valley County, Montana (part of which would later become Sheridan County) for Section 27, near the midpoint of the stream. A 1913 General Land Office (GLO) map labels a residence in this section as “Wm Malcolm.”
A road which runs alongside a part of the stream is named Malcolm Creek Road and is shown as such on county ownership maps. According to the proponent, the road name was decided on by the County Planning Board in the 1980s; the name has been in use for over 30 years; and local residents refer to the stream as Malcolm Creek. An oil well easement agreement between the proponent and Oxy Petroleum, Inc. refers to the area as “Malcum Creek Prospect” [sic], and data about the oilfield site lists the field as “Malcolm Creek.” Water rights claims list the stream as “Unnamed Tributary of Wolf Creek.” The proponent reports that his family has farmed/operated this tract since 1912.
The stream has been unlabeled on all USGS topographic maps; however, a 1910 GLO map covering the mouth of the stream labels it Sheep Creek; this name is not recorded in GNIS (the database records 44 streams in Montana named Sheep Creek, none of which are in Sheridan County). GLO maps of the downstream portion, published in 1913, do not show a name. According to GNIS, only one feature in Montana has a name that contains “Malcolm,” the historical Malcolm Clarks Fort located approximately 40 miles to the southwest.
|
| Montana Geographic Names Advisor Recommendation -
Support
(Thursday, October 13, 2016)
|
| Domestic Names Committee Decision Date -
Thursday, November 10, 2016 |
