The controversially named Sambo Creek could be getting a new name soon. How we got here

Municipalities involved in the process of renaming Sambo Creek have a preferred name, Paemasing Creek. This comes 16 years after efforts to rename the controversially named creek began.

Smithfield Township Conservation and Recreation Director Alex Jackson recalled that efforts to rename Sambo Creek began when one resident, Kietryn Zychal, filed a petition to rename the creek to Reservoir Run in January of 2008.

The term "Sambo" is widely seen as a racist slur that refers to Black people, as well as other people with darker skin tones; while some locals have argued that creek's name refers to a local Native American chieftain by that name, others point to the creek's prior name, N-word Run, as proof of the name's racist intent.

“I asked the Brodhead Watershed Association to support the petition soon after, the Brodhead Watershed Association took the lead from that point forward,” recalled Jackson.

A 2012 speech by historian Susan Klepp at Monroe County Historical Association told the story of Johanna Boston’s escape from her slave master near Stroudsburg. Paemasing, a Mahican Native American who took in and aided Boston after she collapsed of hypothermia, was revealed as the preferred name for the municipalities involved with the renaming process at the Feb. 28 Smithfield Township supervisors' meeting.

More: Why Sambo Creek may become Paemasing Creek, and what the name means

The process was stalled in the 2010s as it lacked broad municipal support and was reignited in 2023. The Smithfield Township supervisors are now holding a public comment period on renaming the creek that will last until March 15.

Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Jacob Pride said in an email to the Pocono Record that the creeks' connection to the township go far beyond its physical one. The creek has a tributary called Little Sambo Creek.

“The creeks are enjoyed by folks from across Smithfield as well as our neighbors in East Stroudsburg and Middle Smithfield,” wrote Pride. “Smithfield’s commitment to being a welcoming community is important to the Board of Supervisors.”

At their Feb. 6 meeting, the Stroud Township supervisors approved sending a letter to Deb Haaland, secretary of the Department of the Interior.

“Renaming racially insensitive or otherwise inappropriately named geographic features or land units is not ‘canceling history,’ but is rather an opportunity to provide a more honest accounting of our region’s past and a gesture toward healing historic wounds,” the letter, signed by all three supervisors, read in part.

During the same meeting, Vice Chairman Ed Cramer and Chairwoman Jennifer Shukaitis reflected on the previous attempt to rename the creek, and how a disagreement over what to rename it led to the name sticking around.

“You know what’s going to hold this up is everyone fighting over a new name,” said Cramer, to which Shukaitis agreed.

“That name should have been decided already,” added Shukaitis.

“Because that’s what happened before,” said Cramer. “Everybody, ‘Oh yeah, let’s change it,’ and then — never happened because I think they couldn’t agree on a name.”

The other chairs of the municipalities involved also reflected on previous renaming attempts.

“In comparison to previous attempts, there is clearly a stronger consensus to change the name at present,” said Pride. “Previously, Brodhead Watershed Association spearheaded the change. This time, with Smithfield Township taking lead and working with our neighbors, we have a clearer track to completion.”

“Previous attempt(s) were over a dozen years ago and predate this board, and so, we cannot speak to comparing attempts,” emailed Annette Atkinson, chairwoman of the Middle Smithfield Township Board of Supervisors. “This current effort to rename Sambo creek is a collaborative effort between the four municipalities that the creek runs through.”

“Previously the Borough of East Stroudsburg was wholeheartedly in favor of this change but at the time not everyone was,” wrote East Stroudsburg Borough Council President Sonia Wolbert. “Over time more support has been gained and many of the municipalities are now in favor of this change.”

Jackson wrote that he saw a united consensus on renaming the creek.

“We are confident there is a sense of consensus this time that did not exist at the time of the last submission,” wrote Jackson.

“The process to make these changes is not as easy as it would seem it should be,” wrote Wolbert.

“I personally have nothing but admiration for those who have spearheaded this movement in the past,” wrote Pride. “I am hopeful that standing on their shoulders, the current attempt will be successful.”

Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Sambo Creek renaming efforts date back to 2008