In Cincinnati, Ohio, if you happen to travel down “Fox Street” and then take a sharp turn to the right, a few years ago, you might have found yourself on a short byway named “Coon Street”. Given the proximity to “Fox Street”, it may well be that the intersecting street was simply given a completely tame animal name: Coon as in Raccoon. However, the origin of the mysterious place name might, of course, be completely different. Despite research conducted by the Cincinnati Committee of Names, the source of the toponym remains unclear. The long-standing federal mandate to avoid public derogatory place names is nevertheless quite clear. For this reason, the City Planning Commission has announced that it will take steps to replace this street name with something less offensive. Check out this article at the Enquirer at Cincinnati.com to learn more!
