Illegal apostrophes.

• Position: GRAMMAR - Standard naming of mountains - Brief article

Folks in Thurman, New York-population 1,219-call a local mountain "Jimmy's Peak." But the U.S. government won't let them spell it that way on maps. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which was established in 1890 to standardize map spellings, has a long-standing policy favoring names like "Pikes Peak" over "Pike's Peak" and "Harpers Ferry" over "Harper's Ferry." The reason behind the rule, the board says, is that the apostrophe implies private ownership of a public space. (Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts and Clark's Mountain in Oregon are two...