Donoho Peak

USGS Listed Name: Donoho Peak

The name Donoho Peak was reported by the USGS in 1931, but the origins of the name remain cloudy. Colonial naming practices often reflect “significant” people, on personal, local, or national levels. The individuals for whom geographic features are named frequently fall out of prominence, leaving the next generation with little context or connection. Donoho Peak is one such example. According to “Selected Residents of and Visitors to the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountain Region, 1796-1950,” the region’s most notable “Donohoe” in the early 20th century was Dennis Donohoe, a New York born miner. Along with F.F. Burgin and James Philipps, Donohoe formed the Donohoe Mining Company in early 1905, then went on to mine in the Nizina district between 1909-1911. Around the same time, another Donohoe - Thomas Donahoe, a lawyer from Juneau Alaska - rose in political prominence as a Democratic committee chairman. Both Donohoes have been suggested to be the namesake of Donoho Peak and have ephemeral connections to the area, though neither are spelled consistently with the USGS listed name.

Donoho Peak lies in Ahtna Land, though I’ve yet to identify any traditional names associated with the mountain.

Let the naming inquiry continue!