US Frowns on an Apostrophe in American Place Names

choi

Barry Newman, Theres a Question Mark Hanging Over the Apostrophes Future; 
Its practically against the law to use the mark in a places name; Sorry, Pikes Peak. Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2013 (front page).
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 71252974458308.html

Note:
(1) Thurman, New York
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurman,_New_York
(a town; John Thurman settle[d] in 1790)
(2) United States Board on Geographic Names
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uni ... on_Geographic_Names
(created in 1890; Under the US Department of the Interior)
, which was set up by president Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901; presidency 1889-1893; Republican)

(3) Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry,_West_Virginia
(formerly Harper's Ferry with an apostrophe; best known for John Brown's raid on the Armory in 1859; a town of 286 at the 2010 census; In or about 1750 the English colonist Robert Harper was given a patent on 125-acre (0.5 km2) at the present location of the town. In 1761 Harper established a ferry)

Located at where Shenandoah River (a tributary) emptying into Potomac River--and where the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia meet.
(4) Pikes Peak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikes_Peak
(in Colorado; part of  Rocky Mountains; renamed after Zebulon Pike, Jr [1779-1813], an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806

(5) McDonald's
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s
("began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald * * * Businessman Ray Kroc joined the company as a franchise agent in 1955. He subsequently purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers")
(6) Barclays
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barclays
(Founded 1690 ; Headquarters London; section 1.1 1690 to 1900)

(7) The report says,"And they [apostrophes] sow signage chaos (Employee's Only; Happy Bosses Day; Blue's Band)."

Nobody knows what the three examples allude to.

(8) History. Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve, undated
http://www.bushmanskloof.co.za/about/history
(In 2000 the Bushmans Kloof Lodge [hotel] was opened; in South Africa)
(a) Bushmen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmen
(indigenous people of Southern Africa)
(b) kloof (n; Afrikaans):
"South African   a deep glen : RAVINE"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kloof

(9) Mid Devon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid_Devon
(10) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeur_d%27Alene,_Idaho
(named after the Coeur d'Alene People, a tribe of Native Americans who lived [there]; The name Coeur d'Alene translated into English means Heart of an Awl, a reflection of the perception of the tribe's traders as very tough businessmen)

(11) "the [US] committee has granted only five possessive apostrophes in 113 years: Martha's Vineyard, Mass.; Ike's Point, N.J.; John E's Pond, R.I.; Carlos Elmer's Joshua View, Ariz.; and—in 2002—Clark's Mountain, Ore."
(a) Martha's Vineyard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha%27s_Vineyard
(section 1.1 Exploration)
(b) Ike's Point, New Jersey is just a little headland.
(c) John E's Pond is a lake in Rhode Island

Bennett Hall, The Case of the Missing Apostrophe. Corvallis Gzette-Times (Oregon), Jan 8, 2012
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news ... 4-0019bb2963f4.html
(the last two sections, whose headings are "The fab five" and "On the arbitrary side"--in that order)

(12)
(a) Yonkers, New York
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yonkers,_New_York
(section 1 History)

Early History. Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, undated
http://www.yonkerschamber.com/history.html
("When van der Donck became a landowner, people began to refer to him as the 'Jonker,' a title usually reserved for nobility, although he was not officially a nobleman. Thus his estate became known as 'Jonker's land.' In the English period, this became 'Yonkers'")

(13) I figured this out long ago: many place names with suffix ville can attest to this rule.