A federal board changed the name of a pond in a small New Hampshire town from Jew Pond to Carleton Pond.
The name change by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names comes six months after Mont Vernon residents voted for a name change. The new name honors one of the town’s founding families.
Richard Masters, the town’s health officer, had called for the change two years ago, saying the name was disrespectful and offensive. Masters had learned of the official name of the recreational water hole while investigating an algae bloom on the pond.
The body of water had been known as Jew Pond since the 1920s, though there are no signs to that effect. The name, however, does appear on maps.
Dug near a hotel and golf complex, the manmade pond originally was called Spring Pond, but reportedly became known as Jew Pond after two Jewish businessmen bought the hotel and its grounds. They intended to make the pond bigger and call it Lake Serene, according to The Associated Press.
The pond is now located in Carleton Park on land donated by George Carleton.