Editorial: Pinkston Slough honors important figure in Marin history the right way

A marsh-lined waterway through the northeast side of Novato is getting a new “old” name.

Since the mid-1800s, it’s been known as Black John Slough, named for John Henry Pinkston, a Marin pioneer and African-Caribbean man who had been a slave in the West Indies before earning his freedom.

The slough is being renamed to Pinkston Slough, a name that recognizes the man’s name, rather than the color of his skin.

Just as Mount Burdell is named for Novato ranchers Galen and Mary Burdell or Rush Creek is named for Novato farmer Carl Peter Rush, the Novato slough will now bear Pinkston’s surname, not his nickname that was attached to the waterway more than 150 years ago.

The change was led by Michael Warner, a former Marin County parks ranger, who petitioned the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to rename the slough. The story behind the slough’s longstanding name piqued Warner’s interest when he was doing research on Mount Burdell.

The Marin Board of Supervisors supported Warner’s petition.

It’s one of several name changes that have taken place in Marin over the last few years. The Dixie School District is now the Miller Creek School District. Sir Francis Drake High School was renamed for the late Archie Williams, a former longtime teacher, a gold-medal runner in the 1936 Olympics and an instructor of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen World War II Army combat corps.

Pinkston deserves to be remembered, not just by his nickname.

He was one of the first people to receive a business license issued in 1850 by the newly formed Marin County. He was well known as a trusted intermediary between the Coast Miwok and Mexican and American settlers and governments.

Pinkston was a friend of Camilo Ynitia, a leader of the Coast Miwok people. In 1843, Ynitia had been given a Mexican land grant while Mexico ruled California. That property was Rancho Olompali – at one time 8,877 acres – part of which is now a state historic park that bears its name.

Pinkston built his home nearby and married Ynitia’s adopted daughter. He died in 1872.

Compared to other name changes that have taken place around here, the change to Pinkston Slough raised little debate. John Henry Pinkston witnessed a lot of history, arriving here before the Gold Rush, living in the days of Coast Miwok settlements, Mexican rancheros, the Bear Flag Revolt and California becoming a state and the beginnings of Marin County.

As one of Marin’s earliest settlers, he deserves to be remembered, by his surname, not his nickname or the colloquial label others put on the area.

Thanks to Michael Warner’s curiosity and initiative that long overdue change is taking place.