FORT BRAGG, 6/19/20 — Fort Bragg’s first in-person city council meeting of the Covid-19 era will be devoted to changing its name—something very few California cities have managed to do in the past century.
Following a succession of ebullient and peaceful Black Lives Matters protests in Fort Bragg as part of the national movement following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, locals and out-of-towners demanded that the city axe the name of slave-owning Confederate General Braxton Bragg and come up with a new moniker.
Because it’s too late for a public initiative process to put a measure on the November ballot, Fort Bragg Mayor Will Lee agendized an item that would allow the City Council to place a question on the ballot; consideration of the matter will consume most of Monday’s 6pm meeting at Fort Bragg Town Hall.
Although dumping Bragg’s name has come up at least twice in the past, the public reaction this time is off the charts. Multiple petitions have gathered thousands of signatures on both sides, with those opposing the name change taking a huge lead. Governor Gavin Newsom weighed in with a tweet, calling the change “the right thing to do.” Social media groups have been formed and drawn hundreds. Both sides, in the spirit of unity, have offered creative solutions. National and state media, such as KQED, ABC News, the San Jose Mercury News and others have rushed into town to interview residents.
So far, the most successful effort to retain the town’s name has been led by 34-year-old Ryan Bushnell, a newcomer to the political scene but a long-timer in Fort Bragg. A Change.org petition pushed by Bushnell gathered more than 1,600 signatures by Thursday afternoon. The petition asks that voters, not the council, put the name-change on the ballot—meaning it couldn’t happen until 2021.
“Last Saturday morning I saw something about changing the name, and for some reason it just got me this time,” Bushnell said. “This comes up and goes away every five to ten years.” He started a Facebook group and publicized the petition, thinking he might get a hundred people to sign up. Instead, opposition to the name change quickly ran into the hundreds.
Many objected to the idea that history can or should be changed. Others focused on the cost. In the agenda packet, City Manager Tabatha Miller estimated initial costs at more than $270,000 (the agenda packet alone runs to more than 120 pages of comments about the issue). Bushnell pointed to recent layoffs of public works personnel and said there were many better and more crucial ways to spend money.
Here’s a brief breakdown of the costs — story continues below:
What Would It Cost?
Fort Bragg City Manager Tabatha Miller estimated costs of changing the town’s name.
Cost to place measure on ballot, voter pamphlet, attorney fees for measure language and impartial analysis $2,500
Welcome to Fort Bragg sign $20,000
Wayfinding signage, street signs, banners, City buildings and parks signage $75,000
City letterhead, business cards, logos, city seal, PD badges, patches, etc., City Municipal Code $50,000
City website and social media staff time to update $15,000
“Visit Fort Bragg” promotional campaign and website change (includes costs of a Public Relations/Marketing firm to help with messaging to tie the old Fort Bragg to the new city, replace banners, walking map, etc.) $90,000
Reformat City’s Financial and Crime Reporting Software $5,000
City brochures, forms, plaques, pins, etc. $4,000
Process name change with local, state and federal government agencies, on outstanding contracts and on banks and financial accounts, etc. $10,000
Total $271,500
Bushnell, a 2003 Fort Bragg High graduate, volunteer firefighter, youth wrestling coach and county public works employee, looked at the names of people signing his petition and realized this could be a great way to bring the community together. “I saw names of people from all sides of the political realm, including extremes on both sides. It’s cool to see,” Bushnell said.
Most of those people are from longtime Fort Bragg families. One can drive the 100-plus-year-old streets of town and see street names matching the names of people still populating the schools, offices, and businesses of Fort Bragg today. A study by the school district a decade ago showed Fort Bragg boasted one of the state’s highest percentages of people who have been in their homes for decades. A look at Fort Bragg High’s graduating classes going back to the ‘70s shows a very high percentage of people still active in the community.
City Manager Miller said Monday’s meeting will only allow about a dozen people at a time to enter town hall due to social distancing. Because of the tremendous interest in the name change issue, all other issues will be moved to a special meeting on June 29. Monday’s meeting will include the consent agenda and a late addition of an agenda item that would allow the police department to reject applicants based on any prior misconduct.
Miller said the city asks people to watch the meeting live stream, or on channel 3, to avoid a large crowd at Town Hall. The city considered returning to an online meeting for Monday (the town had just returned to in-person meetings). But Miller said, “We didn’t want anyone to think that was done to curb the conversation.” She said e-comments can be submitted during the meeting, and everyone can submit comments ahead of time. People outside will be cycled in and out. Social distancing, with chalk marks, will be practiced outside. Masks are required to be worn at all times in accordance with state guidelines.
The naming of the town began in the pioneer era. Horatio Gates Gibson, a lieutenant serving at the Presidio of San Francisco, established a military post in 1857 to keep control of Natives confined to the newly established Mendocino Indian Reservation. He named the post for his former commanding officer in the Mexican American War, Braxton Bragg. The city was incorporated three decades later, in 1889. Bragg served as a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Ironically, his once admiring subordinate Gibson remained in the US Army and fought for the Union. Bragg was a slave owner of more than a hundred humans, which may have ensured his allegiance to the Confederacy.
The Fort served its ugly purpose rather quickly, surviving only eight years, much to the confusion of tourists who visit today, in search of a fort. “For the next eight years, troops stationed in Fort Bragg subjugated the indigenous population, participating in violent campaigns against Native Americans as far north as Shelter Cove,” wrote Eilas Henderson in comments for the agenda packet. “After many of the remaining Native Americans were forcibly marched to Round Valley in 1865, the military post was abandoned. Thus ended the brief military history of Fort Bragg.”
Sierra Wooten, 33, a leading activist in the Black Lives Matter movement locally, wants to listen to others about their reactions to the name change. She says local indigenous people and tribes should have a chance to weigh in on the new name, if there is to be one. “Maybe we keep the name, and we don’t have to go through the financial burdens so many people are concerned about,” she said. “We paint murals and do more to learn our history, we have more real education everywhere.”
Wooten said local indigenous people plan to attend Monday’s council meeting “We know tensions are high with this name change matter, but we want to take a moment to let the Natives speak at the City Council meeting and we are requesting a Task Force be set up to help with this effort that ensures that the Natives have final input on any name that would profit off tourism,” Wooten said in an email. “They have already been exploited enough. They do not want the city to use any name in their language if they don’t own the land. It’s time for us to start screaming Indigenous Lives Matter! We must listen and consult with the Natives first. I could care less about bottom lines. People Matter!” Wooten wrote.
Wooten understands the pain of those fearing to lose history and hopes those people can also understand how people of color have been excluded from history. Bushnell also hopes there can be some compromise, such as the idea suggested by others on social media of officially naming Fort Bragg for another, more respected and less racist military man named Bragg, or perhaps someone like Dr. Patricia Bragg, health food guru of the Bragg vinegar company. Some have even suggested just Bragg or Bragg About for the name. Most ideas for new names included Noyo or something like Point Pomo.
“I could care less who the town is named after,” Bushnell said. “The history I have is my pride in what I have experienced here, the time we have all had here in our town, which is Fort Bragg.” He hopes that the current conflict over the name change will resolve into the community realizing it can only solve big issues by coming together. “It may be a pipe dream, but I’d like to see our little community stick together, not follow the rest of the world in devaluing everything.”
California cities almost never change their names, other than to add the likes of “Beach.” The only full name change this reporter could find was in 1930 when Wineville changed its name to Mira Loma because of notoriety over the “Chicken Coop Murders.” In 2018, Monterey County Supervisors voted to rename the unincorporated Confederate Corners to Springtown, but news media reports and Google Searches show the name has not yet been changed on most maps. Many persist in using the old name, media reports state. John Steinbeck’s novel The Wayward Bus described the area as part of the fictional town of “Rebel Corners.”
Fort Bragg has discussed a name change at least twice in the 21st century, most recently in 2015 after the South Carolina black church mass killing by white supremacist Dylann Roof. As of Thursday evening, the Native American and Latino communities did not have a big presence among the approximately 120 comments the city had received. Miller contacted a representative of the Sherwood Pomo tribe, and she mentioned that at least one Spanish radio station had been broadcasting about the meeting.
The number of signatures, Miller said, hasn’t set a record. Last year, more than 4,000 signatures were gathered to oppose Georgia Pacific selling more property on the old millsite until cleanup is complete. One comment by Richard and Julie Keaton stated, “The name is our history. It’s our kids’ histories. It’s where we have chosen to live and raise our family. It is what our now-grown children say when asked where they’re from. It is home. Many of the memorabilia and documents that our kids have include the name Fort Bragg (i.e. diplomas, awards, job histories, postcards, photos, trophies from sports teams, uniforms, etc.
Kathy Cervelli-Orsi wrote in the comments that opposing the name change does not equate to support for Bragg himself. “I, as well as everyone I have known over the years, have never related the name of our town to anyone or anything involving the Civil War. The history that we all grew up and respected was that of the hard working men and women that built this small town. When we tell people we are from Fort Bragg, California, we do it with pride. Not honoring a Confederate General, but honoring our ancestors that worked harder than we could ever imagine building this little city. I believe everyone has a right to share their opinions, but I also believe that the people of our city know that in sticking up for Fort Bragg (Ca), we are in no way supporting or endorsing anything other than our admiration toward those who actually made this a place we are happy to call home.”
Another person to file a comment with the city was Robert Bragg, who wrote that he was the descendant of Braxton Bragg and he wants his ancestor’s name removed. “My support for the name change of Fort Bragg comes from an almost lifelong antagonism for the way Europeans came to what is now called the USA and slaughtered the native population, bought and imported Africans to be slaves, and named almost everything after themselves,” Bragg said. “It matters not to me that my surname is Bragg. What matters on me is that a California city is named after a man who not only owned slaves but also was active in killing and with the theft of American Indian homelands.”
Well researched and written Frankie!!!
Thank you, Frank, for this. It’s opened my eyes to a few things I didn’t know. Still not sure what the right solution is though.
I’ve been here in Fort Bragg for 43 years. My daughter was born here. And my children still live here. This is my home and the home of my family. I am attached to this place. Not the name of this place. I firmly support removing the association with a confederate general who advocated for slavery and by association subjugation of the native people and theft of their land. As the governor has said, “It is the right thing to do.” At this moment in time. Fort Bragg will always be part of our history. But it does not have to be part of our or our children’s future.
Thanks for an excellent and informative article. I appreciated hearing the views of people who have lived and raised their families here.
But…it’s not just that Braxton Bragg was a Confederate general, it’s that he was such a bad general. Contemporary accounts describe him as arrogant, cantankerous, incompetent, and hated by officers and enlisted men alike. His own soldiers twice tried to have him assassinated.
At this point I would normally burst into song, but not wanting to aerosolize respiratory droplets at you all, I can only commend to your attention this neo-traditional folksong:
BRAXTON BRAGG
Words: me
Tune: Cotton-Eyed Joe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6XM2jaKKzI
Sometimes, folks, the truth is a drag
Our town’s named for Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg, Braxton Bragg
Rebel General Braxton Bragg.
He fought for the bonnie blue flag
But he lost every battle, Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg, Braxton Bragg
Arrogant, quarrelsome Braxton Bragg.
Battle of Perryville almost won
Told his troops to turn and run
Braxton Bragg, Braxton Bragg
Lousy strategist Braxton Bragg.
He and his wife had a hundred slaves
Worked them into early graves
Braxton Bragg, Braxton Bragg
Black Lives Matter was not his bag.
Don’t know about you, but it makes me gag
Our town’s named for Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg, Braxton Bragg
Everyone hated Braxton Bragg.
Very cool!
For me it will always be Fort Bragg just because that’s what it’s been all my life. I don’t equate that with a long deceased general. As for name changes the last significant one I found in California was in 1924 when the town of Sisson changed its name to Mt. Shasta
I could not determine if Mt. Shasta was incorporated as Sisson or not, one of my favorite spots. Ill have to do a bit more research. I read there was a vote on the name in 1922. As I referenced in the article, Wineville was an incorporated city that changed its name, but no such name changes in nearly a century
This was a very well researched article. However it left out some other considerations of this issue. What about the mailing addresses of the newly named town? What about the post office? Are we all going to have to reregister to vote. We will all have to get new driver’s licenses. In my opinion this name change is too expensive and will cause all of us a lot of hassle.
I think it is ridiculous to change the name, on so many levels! Do we have to jump on the bandwagon and be like sheep… just leave well enough alone, don’t open Pandora’s box!
Sheep don’t jump on bandwagons, sheep resist change without any thought. I think it is ridiculous to memorialize and honor a contemptible traitor like Braxton Bragg and the post that was established to slaughter and subjugate the native people. I love the town and live here but am ashamed of it’s name.
Leave the name alone, but if it’s changed perhaps we should destroy every trace of Woodrow Wilson, FDR. LBJ and George Wallace – all well-known racists. Let’s be honest – this so-called cultural cleansing has more to do with erasing the democrats connection to slavery, the origins of the civil war and the KKK – all southern democrat inventions.
key words: southern democrat. even though you’re being obtuse, i’ll say it anyway: southern democrat = present day republican; quit being a disingenuous douche.
“Neil”:
LOL, you really shouldn’t try to play with the adults like this, you embarrass yourself.
Stephen Douglas, Democratic candidate for President, ran against Abraham Lincoln on a platform of literal White Supremacy (unlike the fake “White Supremacy” you people shriek about now). Douglas the Democrat was born in Vermont and lived in Illinois most of this life. NOT “Southern.”
Just accept the fact the “Democratic” (sic) Party then is the same “Democratic” Party now. Open White Supremacy became untenable for political marketing, so the Democratic Plantation Mentality replaced it. After all, let’s remember Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson: “I’ll have those N—–s (sic) voting Democratic for the next 200 years!” (in response to the “Civil Rights” legislation he pushed).
The civilian town of Fort Bragg has never played up being named after General Bragg. It was named after the U.S. (Union) Army fort that was once located here. Most people I know have no idea who General Bragg even was. Our proud history is of the hard working people who later settled and built this community. For their sake and memory, it’s name should stay as they built it.
What about the history of the men and women that built this town? The town was named after the fort, not the man. How about the descendants of the people that built this town, do we throw that away as well? The name change will never change the history of this man but we wiulkl lose the history of all those that worked hard to build a community of perople that helped each other to survive. .
Native Americans such as Kato/Cahto, Usal, Pomo, Coast Yuki and the list goes on of those “Indians” that were rounded up and incarcerated at Ft.Mendocino. What about the others who were sent off as slaves on board Russian and other Country ships or used as domestic servants and sex slaves, cast aside with their mixed raced children when they brought their foreign born wives here. Others were murdered by various means and soldiers under his command destroyed entire Indian communities. Those who were fortunate to survive by hiding in the mountains and brush were captured again and sent to Round Valley… His name, his command, his soldiers are handed down in name thru the generations. Ask the living relatives of those who survived but hear the stories their ancestors Of what they encountered under his leadership. Ask yourselves if it was your mother, father, grandparent or even considering how society hadn’t learned from past hatred if it was your daughter, son, grandchildren, spouse etc… who would endure these atrocities if the name doesn’t matter… how much is a name worth to address the inconvenience of changing a driver’s license, tourism Brochures, addresses, etc… what else is Ft. Bragg in California famous for besides the massacres? How about the people who give the community a welcome to visitors or the vast beautiful scenery, the botanical gardens, the wonderful fishing and hospitality of our coastal lodges…. the coastal communities have a lot to offer regardless of the name to help heal the wounds of the past.
Are there not more important things to worry about? How about covid 19 !
It is a sad state of affairs when people have nothing more to complain about.
This is a well-researched and written article about a controversial subject close to home. However, we don’t have to look beyond our own county to find several examples of cities and towns that changed their names.
The town of Mendocino has been called Buldam (by the native people), Big River, Meiggsville and ultimately Mendocino City. (I refuse to call it Mendocino Village, an affectation placed on it by tourism marketers.)
Then there’s the town of Elk, originally named Greenwood, located on Greenwood Creek, and still called the town with two names. The town of Navarro moved from the mouth of the Navarro River to what was then known as Wendling, bringing its name along with it, and leaving it’s old location with the moniker of Navarro By The Sea.
That’s only a partial list of examples from Mendocino County alone. But let’s not forget that San Francisco’s original name was Buena Vista, and there must be hundreds if not thousands of other examples in the state of California, which once was known as Alta California.
My own favorite new name for FB would be Noyo. But in the interest of economy we could just drop the last letter and call it Fort Brag. Then we only need to retouch existing signs to cover that pesky g.
I’ve been coming here for 30 years and living here for 20. As far as the name change goes, I find myself somewhat ambivalent – the name doesn’t inspire me exactly, but I am empathetic to all those who spent many formative years here, and understand fully the nostalgic view. Though I do think with a failing economy in our only remaining sector – tourism is our only tool in the hopper presently and it is now lying limp on the floor, courtesy COVID – that a name change might liven things up a bit, which would be beneficial. Long-run view, it would far offset the costs associated with the change. I will be curious to see how this goes. Great article, Frank – thanks –
Just like in the Soviet Union and East Germany. St. Petersburg to Leningrad, and Chemnitz to Karl Marx Stadt. Thankfully, when both freedom and rationality returned, the original names were restored.
Over here, in the New Amerika, the lunacy is building, metastasizing.
“California” is named for a fantastic place in the book of someone who supported Spain and her imperial conquests. The novel from which the name comes was one of Hernando Cortez’s favorites, compelling him to search for “California.” “America” is named for Amerigo Vespucci, who participated in the exploration and conquest of the western hemisphere.
See where this nut-fest goes?
As a historian, I can understand people’s desire to change the names of cities and military bases named after Confederate generals. They were traitors and do not deserve to be honored. However, we must recognize that changing the name of city involves a great deal of expense for everyone doing business there. Paperwork has to be changed, new letterhead and invoices have to be ordered, and vendors must be notified. We have to ask if now is the right time to force a new expense on businesses that have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case of Fort Bragg, there is another solution.
The City Council could pass a resolution proclaiming that their city is no longer named after Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg but is now named after a famous actor, Bernard Bragg. He was an actor, producer, director, playwright artist, author, and the first deaf professional performer in the United States. He also taught at the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley for 15 years. He died in Los Angeles in 2018 at the age of 90. What a wonderful example for people with disabilities that they do not have to be defined by their disabilities.
BTW, do you love Coca Cola? If so, you better stop right now, because otherwise you’re a Confederacy-loving racist. Coca Cola was invented by Lt. Col. John Stith Pemberton, CSA (that’s Confederate States Army).
false equivalence; but good try…
“Neil”:
You poor thing! Did I demonstrate the stupidity of the “everything Confederate is ‘evil'” insanity?
Fort Bragg is our town’s name. I have never associated the name with anything other than the wonderful people of the town of Fort Bragg CA. This is the town that I grew up in. It is where my father built many of the homes. It’s where we built and owned two lodges. My friends were of all races and genders. Our home is named Fort Bragg which has a history of great men and women. Leave the name alone!
How about “Coho, California?” Fun to market, fun to say! Also tells a story of our fellow species, that spawned on the creekbeds and died there, helping the redwoods to grow 🙂
We live part time in the town down the road, Mendocino. But that’s only for the last eight years. So we hardly have Ft. Bragg as the name of your historic, wonderful town embedded in our heads, unlike most of the fine people of the area.
So, neutral as I am, and appalled as I am at the idea of keeping a slave-owning never-resident as namesake, I suggest the city council consider another deeply-embedded but historically neutral (I think) name to post at the city limit: Noyo Harbor. Or, Noyo River. Either has a nice ring to it, and everybody likes a salmon festival and fishing boats. The name, says Prince Google, derives from a Pomo village that was near Pudding Creek north of town, so its history is legitimate and deep. And tagging on either Harbor or River anchors it distinctly to a still thriving place and time.
How bout Fort Arnold ? Fort Trump ? Fort Quisling ?
I can’t believe this, how can people think it’s going to make it all better if the name is changed? My family, 4 generation are born natives of Fort Bragg.
Of course no body
likes to hear, about the terrible things that happened to another human being. But that was a part of history. I know we don’t like it. If you lived in those times, you could have been as ignorant as most of the people were for those times. Now we live in today, not yesterday. You learn from yesterday and we have, we should be thankful and proud. Even though some people want to drag the ugly out. Instead of being proud of how far we have come.
You people that want to change history, amaze me. Take the money and energy that this will take and has already taken, and put into today world. STOP the child trafficking of our own children, the child pornography, or what about the kids that meet up with someone bad they met on the computer. Change what’s happening today. I don’t know, but it’s sad to me, that some people still live here, as it sounds like they can’t sleep at night because of the name of our town. You want to change something? Find away to get kids out of these gangs. These are issues of the present, but someday will be a part of history. Not pretty.