FAQ: Deaf Place Names

The following places were named for deaf people:

UNITED STATES

ALABAMA:

• Talladega
  • Alabama School for the Deaf
    • Baynes Library
      Named for Harry L. Baynes, an ASD teacher, coach, athletic director, counselor, and deaf community leader.

ARKANSAS:

• Harriet
  Originally nameless when it got its first post office, this small town is said to have been named for its first postmistress, a deaf woman named Harriet Esther Anderson.

CALIFORNIA:

• Fremont
  • California School for the Deaf, Fremont
    • Birck Residence Hall
      Honors Vernon S. and Ruth Birck, long-time members of the CSD staff.
    • Crandall Hall
      Named for the California School's first deaf teacher.
    • D'Estrella Auditorium
      Theophilus Hope d'Estrella was an early CSD pupil and also taught there for 53 years; he was a noted professional photographer.
    • Grady Hall
      This high school boys' residence is named for Theodore Grady, first deaf person to earn a degree at the University of California, and who later became one of the first deaf lawyers.
    • Howsom Gymnasium
      Commemorates James W. Howsom (?-1941), another CSD graduate and teacher and long-time deaf community leader.
    • Lindstrom Hall
      Honors Annie Lindstrom, another CSD graduate.
    • Norton Hall
      Frances Norton was the wife of Winfield S. Runde and also a long-time CSD teacher. This building is an elementary girls' residence.
    • Runde Hall
      Winfield S. Runde was the first CSD graduate to enroll at Gallaudet College, and taught at CSD for 25 years.
    • Tilden Hall
      A vocational building, named after CSD graduate Douglas Tilden (1860-1935), a noted sculptor.

   

• Los Angeles
  • John Tracy Clinic Founded in 1942 by the wife of actor Spencer Tracy and named for their deaf son John Tracy (1924- ). It is primarily an oral national and international correspondence school for hearing parents of deaf children, but does have its own building of the same name for local courses.

CONNECTICUT:

• Hartford
  • Cogswell Street
    Named for Alice Cogswell (1805-1831), the first deaf pupil of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, who founded what is now the American School for the Deaf. This street is very close to the School's original location in downtown Hartford and near Asylum Street, which refers to the school's original name.

• West Hartford
  • American School for the Deaf
    • Brewster Gymnasium
      Honors John Brewster, Jr. (1776-1854) who was a self-taught portrait painter in the early United States. When what is now the American School opened in 1817, Brewster was one of its students, and by far the oldest one at age 51. His portraits are greatly prized possessions in American art museums and collections.

DELAWARE:

• Wilmington
  • Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children
    Alfred I. duPont (1864-1935), deafened by a swimming accident in adolescence, was a member of the famous duPont industrial family. After a split with the rest of the family, he built up an independent fortune in Florida real estate and other ventures, and used his new money in various philanthropic efforts, including the founding of this children's hospital which opened in 1941, 6 years after his death.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:

• Gallaudet University
  The University itself is named for a hearing person, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of the first permanent school for the deaf in America (1817, in Hartford, CT). However, several buildings, facilities, and roads on the University campus are named for deaf persons. They include:
  • Ballard House
    (House # 2 on Faculty Row). Named in memory of Melville Ballard (1839-1910), Gallaudet's first graduate and later a teacher here.
  • Ballard Residential Complex
    Also honors Melville Ballard. Named in 2001, it consists of two adjacent dormitory buildings that were formerly named Cogswell Hall and Krug Hall.
  • Carlin Hall
    (dormitory). Named for John Carlin (1813-1891), a deaf artist, writer, poet, and leader.
  • Clerc Hall
    (dormitory) is named for Laurent Clerc (1785-1869), deaf Frenchman who became the first deaf teacher of the deaf in America.
  • Cogswell Hall
    (dormitory) honored Alice Cogswell (1805-1831), the first deaf pupil of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. In 2001, it was renamed as part of the Ballard Residential Complex.
  • Craig Street
    Memorializes Douglas Craig (?-1932), a homeless deaf Black orphan child who was found alone on the streets of Washington, was taken in by Gallaudet, and grew up to become the College's "master mechanic" for many years.
  • Denison House
    (House # 4 on Faculty Row), named in honor of James Denison (1837-1910), who taught at the Kendall School 1856-1909 and also served as its principal from 1869 to 1909.
  • Drake House
    (House #7 and #8) was named for Hartley D. Drake (1882-1962), Gallaudet graduate who managed the farm on the Gallaudet campus and taught agriculture courses here from 1911 until retirement in 1949. Drake and his family lived in this house for 24 years. Constructed in 1870 and razed in 1984, it stood just to the south of Washburn Arts Building. At some point a renovation divided the original single house into a "duplex", two houses sharing a single building, hence its later dual designation as House #7 and #8.
  • Draper Drive
    Named for Amos G. Draper (1845-1917), Gallaudet class of 1872, who then served on the faculty 1872-1917.
  • Fowler Hall
    (formerly a women's dormitory, now an office and class building; the second building of that name on the same site) commemorates Sophia Fowler (1798-1877), a deaf pupil and then wife of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and mother of Edward Miner Gallaudet, Gallaudet University's founder and first president.
  • Hanson Plaza
    recalls Agatha Tiegel Hanson (1878-1959), Gallaudet class of 1893. She was a published poet and taught at the Minnesota School for the Deaf for 6 years before marrying deaf architect Olof Hanson, another Gallaudet graduate.
  • Hotchkiss Field
    (the football field) honors John B. Hotchkiss (1845-1922), Gallaudet class of 1869 and faculty member 1869-1922; he introduced football to Gallaudet College.
  • Hoy Field,
    officially the William "Dummy" Hoy Field, is Gallaudet's baseball field, was named in 2001 in honor of the deaf professional baseball player (1862-1961) who is credited with the invention of the baseball hand signals for "strike" and "out".
  • Hughes Memorial Gymnasium
    (completed 1958, razed 1999) was named for Frederick H. Hughes (1892-1956), Class of 1913, professor, dramatics director, and coach 1915-1956. It stood just east of the Merrill Learning Center, where the new Student Academics Building presently stands.
  • Krug Hall (dormitory) memorialized Walter J. Krug (1905-1962), Class of 1927, faculty member, coach, and dean of men for many years. In 2001, it was renamed as part of the Ballard Residential Complex.
  • Lowman Street
    recognizes Alto M. Lowman (1869-1912), Gallaudet's first deaf female graduate (in 1892).
  • Peikoff Alumni House
    (also known to generations of Gallaudet students as "Ole Jim") served for over a century, never formally named, as Gallaudet's first gymnasium and then in various miscellaneous roles before being remodeled as an alumni house during the 1980s. It was named in 1995 in honor of David Peikoff (1900-1995), Class of 1929, a long-time deaf activist, especially in Gallaudet alumni affairs.
  • Peter J. Fine Infirmary
    honors an M.D. who became deaf later in life, and dedicated the rest of his life to bringing medical services to deaf people. He served as the University's staff physician for several years before his early death.
  • Theatre Malz,
    the auditorium in the Model Secondary School for the Deaf on the Gallaudet campus, was named in 1993 to honor 1943 Gallaudet graduate and long-time MSSD teacher Eric "Malz" Malzkuhn (1922?-), who was a noted amateur actor in his student days and who actively promoted drama while teaching at MSSD.
  • Thornberry Hearing and Speech Center
    (Hearing) Texas Congressman and Judge Homer L. Thornberry was an influential member of the Gallaudet College Board of Trustees, 1949-1969. This building is named in memory of his deaf mother, Mary L. Thornberry, a teacher at the Texas School for the Deaf.
  • Washburn Arts Building
    honors Cadwallader L. Washburn (1866-1965), a deaf artist especially noted for his drypoint etchings. He was also an accomplished entomologist.

  All other Gallaudet University campus buildings and other facilities bearing people's names are in honor of hearing people.

  Gallaudet University's now-closed Northwest Campus (1985-1995), on Kalmia Rd. NW in D.C., had buildings named in honor of deaf people Byron B. Burnes, Frederick C. Schreiber, and Laura Redden Searing. It is not known whether any of those names survive under the campus' new owner, a private elementary school for the hearing.

  Although the Laurent Clerc Center at Gallaudet University is named in honor of Laurent Clerc, the Center does not have a specific physical location. Rather, it is an "umbrella" name covering the University's preschool programs, the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, other pre-college research and teaching units, and all their associated buildings and other facilities.

FLORIDA:

• Ft. Myers
  • Edison College (formerly Edison Junior College)
    Founded in 1962, this college's name commemorates the fact that deaf inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) had his winter home nearby. The house is today preserved as a museum. The college also has branch campuses at LaBelle, Naples, and Punta Gorda, all in Florida.
  • Edison Mall
    A present-day shopping mall also named for Edison's winter residence nearby.

GEORGIA:

• Dade County
  • Lookout Mountain
    • Camp Juliette Low
      In the far northwest corner of the state; founded about 1922 by deafened Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low (1860-1927) and built on a site personally selected by her. In the 1930s, it became independent from the Girl Scouts of America and still is an independent, private, non-profit summer camp for girls aged 7-17.

IDAHO:

• Owyhee County
  • Deaf Jim Creek
    In the southwest corner of the state; a creek arising out of a spring. Possibly named for the same "Deaf Jim" whose name also appears in two Montana sites, though just who "Deaf Jim" was appears to be lost to history. Though the two states are adjacent, the Montana sites are not contiguous with this Idaho creek, and are entirely separate.

ILLINOIS:

• Jacksonville
  • Illinois School for the Deaf
    • Molohon Vocational Building
      Commemorates Henry A. Molohon (?-1957), who was connected with the School for 66 years as student, houseparent, and woodworking instructor.
    • Selah Wait Building
      Honors Selah Wait, one of the founders of the ISD Alumni Association who also taught for 34 years at the School.

INDIANA:

• Gallaudet
  Although not named for a deaf person, and no longer in existence, this short-lived town is worthy of note for being named in honor of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder of the first permanent school for the deaf in America. This tiny town was located on a railroad line about 10 miles southeast of downtown Indianapolis, and had its own post office 1854-1903, but disappeared from maps soon after the post office closed. Today, its anonymous site has been swallowed up by the spreading suburbs of Indianapolis.
• Indianapolis
  • Indiana School for the Deaf
    • Ola Mary Brown Cafeteria
    • Lester C. Stanfill Vocational Building
    • William Willard Unit
      The last is a dormitory honoring the school's deaf founder, first teacher, and principal (1809-1888). No information available on Brown or Stanfill, except that both were deaf.
  • Willard Park
    A City of Indianapolis public park, located on the former site of the Indiana School for the Deaf at State and Washington Streets. Its name commemorates deaf ISD founder William Willard.
• Mississnewa Reservoir and State Park, in Grant and Miami Counties
  • Sheppaconnah Trail
    This state park near Peru, Indiana has a 2.5 mile hiking trail named for a Native American, Shepoconah (?-1833; name also spelled Sheppaconnah, Shepoconnah, Shepahcannah, She-pan-can-ah, She-po-con-ah, She-bak-o-nah, and other variations). He was a chief of the Miami Indians, living near present-day Peru. He is best known for being the husband of Frances Slocum (1773-1847), a white woman who was kidnapped by Delaware Indians at age 5 and spent the rest of her long life living among Indians; her original family spent nearly 60 years searching for her before finally discovering her still alive, though Shepoconah had long since died by that time. When he became late-deafened, Shepoconah resigned as chief, and with his wife he established a trading post that others called "Deaf Man's Village" and which became very important locally. The post's site now lies underneath the artificial Mississinewa Reservoir, which was created in 1964. Shepoconah and Frances Slocum are buried nearby in a graveyard that was relocated above the new water level.

IOWA:

• Council Bluffs
  • Iowa School for the Deaf
    • Dobson Street
      This campus roadway honors the deaf Dobson family of father, mother, and three children, all deaf and all of whom attended ISD, two going on to become teachers there.
    • Long Street
      Another roadway that commemorates J. Schuyler Long (1869-1933), possibly ISD's most famous graduate. He was a teacher, newspaper editor, and author of one of the first sign language dictionaries.

KANSAS:

• Olathe
  • Kansas School for the Deaf
    • Emery Hall
      Honors Philip A. Emery (1830-?), deaf founder of KSD.
    • Hubbard Field
      KSD's athletic field is named for alumnus Paul D. Hubbard, who invented the football huddle while at Gallaudet College and returned to teach at KSD.
    • Marra Museum
      One of the country's best museums relating to the deaf, it honors William J. Marra, KSD alumnus and long-time teacher who founded the school's museum collection. It is located in Roberts Hall.
    • Roberts Hall
      Named for Arthur L. Roberts, a distinguished KSD graduate.
    • Taylor Gymnasium
      Commemorates KSD graduate Luther Haden "Dummy" Taylor (1876-1958), who became a professional baseball player with the New York Giants for 9 years before returning to KSD to teach and coach.

KENTUCKY:

• Danville
  • Clerc Street
    Honors Laurent Clerc (1785-1869), deaf Frenchman who became the first deaf teacher of the deaf in America. It is near Gallaudet Avenue.
  • Kentucky School for the Deaf
    • Argo-McClure Hall
      Named in part to honor George M. McClure, Sr. (1861-1966), a long-time teacher in the school. It serves as the boys' vocational building.
    • Barbee Hall
      Named for Lucy Barbee, the first student enrolled in the Kentucky School.
    • Beauchamp Hall
      Honors James B. Beauchamp, a KSD alumnus who was a teacher and editor of the school newspaper.
    • Clerc Hall
      Built in 1904 and razed sometime before 1981, this was named for Laurent Clerc (1785-1869), deaf Frenchman who became the first deaf teacher of the deaf in America.
    • Fosdick Hall
      Commemorates a graduate of the Kentucky School who went on to become a teacher and supervisor there.
    • Middleton Hall
      Named for both Daniel and Mildred Middleton, KSD graduates employed there as houseparents for a total of 85 years.
    • Thomas Athletic Facility
      Honors Charles A. Thomas, member of the KSD class of 1927, printing instructor and school photographer.

MARYLAND:

• Frederick
  • Maryland School for the Deaf
    • Benson Gymnasium
      Honors Harry Benson, student and then teacher at MSD for 60 years. His two hearing daughters both became prominent educators of the deaf.
    • Creager Athletic Field
      Named for Harry T. Creager, one of MSD's outstanding athletes.
    • Veditz Vocational Building
      MSD graduate and teacher George W. Veditz (1861-1937) was also a prominent leader and activist in the deaf community, and campaigned vigorously for the preservation of sign language during a time when ASL was under severe attack by oralist educators.

MASSACHUSETTS:

• Longmeadow
  • Willie Ross School for the Deaf
    Named for the deaf son of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Ross who, in the mid-1960s, organized a campaign among other western Massachusetts parents of the deaf for a deaf school in their area. It was opened as a private school in June 1967, originally called the Hope School. The following year, the parents group voted to change the name to recognize the deaf boy whose parents had started it all. At first oral, the school now promotes the use of sign language as well as speech.

MICHIGAN:

• Flint
  • Michigan School for the Deaf
    • Roberts Athletic Field
      Named in honor of Earl Roberts, teacher and coach at MSD.
    • Stevens Hall
      Named for O. Clyde Stevens and his wife Ruth. He was a graduate, teacher, houseparent, coach, and scoutmaster at MSD.
    • Stewart Gymnasium
      Recalls James Stewart, MSD graduate who taught there for 46 years.
    • Zieske Vocational Wing
      Honors Paul Zieske, machine shop instructor at MSD for many years. The name was conferred by an act of the state legislature.

MINNESOTA:

• Faribault
  • Minnesota School for the Deaf
    • Lauritsen Gymnasium
      Honors Wesley Lauritsen (1898-1992), teacher and athletic director at MSD for over 40 years and also editor of the school journal.
    • Smith Hall
      Named for MSD graduate James L. Smith, who taught there for 50 years.
• Glyndon
  A town located a few miles east of Moorhead, MN/Fargo, ND. Named for the pseudonym of Laura Redden Searing (1840-1923), a deaf journalist and author who was well-known in her time. Although she wrote under the male pseudonym of "Howard Glyndon", it was no secret that "Glyndon" was a woman.
• St. Paul
  • Charles Thompson Memorial Hall
    Established in 1915 by Charles Thompson's widow as a way of perpetuating her deaf husband's memory, this building functions as a social club for the deaf and also provides space for local deaf organizations to conduct business meetings and other gatherings.

MISSOURI:

• Fulton
  • Missouri School for the Deaf
    • Farquhar Library
      Honors Grover C. Farquhar, teacher, editor, and librarian at MSD for 42 years.
    • Gannon Cottage
      A dormitory building that honors MSD graduate and noted Deaf historian Jack R. Gannon.
    • Gross Hall
      Commemorates Henry Gross, a deaf teacher at MSD and editor of the school newspaper.
    • Redden Cottage
      A dormitory building named in honor of Laura C. Redden Searing, noted deaf author, poet, journalist and war correspondent, who was an 1858 graduate of MSD.
    • Reid Cottage
      A dormitory building honoring Dick and Martha Reid, principal and teacher at MSD for many years; Dick also wrote the school history book.
    • Ripley Outdoor Science Classroom
      Honors Peter Ripley, MSD superintendent 1984-2001.
    • Shipman Field House
      Named for Ernest Shipman, an outstanding athlete during his MSD student days and subsequently a long-time employee of the School.

MONTANA:

• Park County
  • Deaf Jim Creek
  • Deaf Jim Knob
    A "knob" is a mountain summit. Both of these, in the south central part of the state, are possibly named for the same "Deaf Jim" after whom a spring creek in Idaho is also named, although just who "Deaf Jim" was seems to be lost to history. Though the two states are adjacent, these Montana sites are not contiguous to the Idaho creek, which is entirely separate. The elevation of Deaf Jim Knob is 8210 ft.

NATIONWIDE:

• Dozens of public schools all across the United States, elementary through high school, are named for famed deaf inventor Thomas Alva Edison.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:

• Henniker
  • William B. Swett Museum
    The local-history museum of the Henniker [NH] Historical Society is named for William Benjamin Swett (1825-1884), one of Henniker's most distinguished natives. He attended the American School for the Deaf and founded what is now the Beverly School for the Deaf in Massachusetts.

NEW JERSEY:

• Edison
  Located about 25 miles south of Newark, NJ. Named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), famous inventor who was deaf. He established the first of his three "invention factories" near the then-rural community of Menlo Park, NJ, and it was there that he invented the light bulb, the phonograph, an improved telephone transmitter, and many other inventions. Although Edison and his associates moved their laboratories and factories to New York City in 1881, the town that had grown up around Menlo Park was named in honor of Edison. His factory remains, well-preserved and intact, as a museum.
• New Jersey Turnpike, Milepost 92.9 Southbound
  • Thomas Edison Service Center
    This turnpike gas station/rest center, just south of Exit 12, is named for Thomas Alva Edison.
• Trenton
  • Thomas Edison State College
    Named for Thomas Alva Edison and founded ca. 1973.

NEW MEXICO:

• Santa Fe
  • New Mexico School for the Deaf
    
    • Dillon Hall
      Named for Thomas J. Dillon, deaf principal of NMSD for many years.
    • Larson Gymnasium
      Named to commemorate Lars M. Larson (1856-1931), NMSD's deaf founder.

NEW YORK:

• Falconer
  • Karen Lane
    In 1977, this small town named a street in honor of Falconer native Karen Tellinghuisen following her win of a gold medal in the javelin throw at the 1977 World Games for the Deaf.
• Rochester
  • National Technical Institute for the Deaf
    
    • Peter N. Peterson Dormitory
      In 1979, NTID's Dormitory "B" was named in honor of the deaf man who was an early proponent for a national technical college for deaf persons.
    • Robert F. Panara Theater
      Renamed in 2000 in honor of NTID's first deaf faculty member and former Gallaudet College professor (1920-). He is a poet and long-time promoter of deaf drama and literature.

NORTH CAROLINA:

• Morganton
  • North Carolina School for the Deaf
    • Crutchfield Hall
      Commemorates the Crutchfield family of deaf persons, most members of which were very active leaders in the school and the local deaf community.
    • McCord Student Union Building
      Honors William S. McCord, a leader in the deaf community and member of the NCSD advisory board.
    • Underhill Gymnasium
      Named for Odie Underhill, a teacher, coach, and editor of the school publication.

OHIO:

• Piqua
  
  • Edison Community College
    A two-year general and technical college founded in 1973, named for famed deaf inventor Thomas Alva Edison.

OREGON:

• Salem
  • Deaf Creek
    Reportedly, a small stream in Salem, Oregon is named "Deaf Creek" because of its proximity to the Oregon School for the Deaf.
  • Oregon School for the Deaf
    • Lindstrom Dormitory
      Named for Thure A. Lindstrom, deaf teacher and sometimes acting superintendent of OSD.

SOUTH DAKOTA:

• McCook County
  
  • Laurent
    Though this town named in honor of Laurent Clerc (1785-1869) does not yet exist (initial groundbreaking is hoped for 2006), it is an effort to create from scratch a self-governing and self-supporting town consisting entirely of signing persons (not only deaf and hard of hearing persons, but signing hearing persons would be a welcome, large, and integral part of the community too). The would-be founders are taking as a model the old signing community of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, where deafness was once common and nearly everyone, deaf and hearing, signed as a matter of custom. The proposed town site is off Interstate 90 at Exit 368, between Mitchell and Sioux Falls. More information and updates on the plan's progress are at http://www.laurentsd.com.

TENNESSEE:

• Knoxville
  • Tennessee School for the Deaf
    • William Chambers Football Field
      In 2003, this school's football field was named in honor of William Chambers, long-time football coach at TSD.
• Townsend
  • Jimmy Cromwell Road
    This tiny town named a street in honor of Townsend native Jimmy Cromwell, after he won two gold medals for swimming at the 1977 World Games for the Deaf.

TEXAS:

• Austin
  
  • Texas School for the Deaf
    • Lewis Dormitory
      Honors Emily Lewis, the first pupil at the Texas School in 1857 and who subsequently became a teacher there.
• Deaf Smith County
  Located on the western side of the northern panhandle. Named for Erastus "Deaf" Smith (1787-1837), famous Texas scout, spy, and hero. Ironically, "Deaf" Smith never visited that part of Texas that is named in his honor.
• Fort Bend County
  • Deaf Smith School
    A hearing public school named after Erastus "Deaf" Smith. It does not contain any educational program for the deaf.

UTAH:

• Salt Lake City
  • Deaf Smith Canyon
    Located between Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon. Presumably this is named after the same "Deaf Smith" (Erastus Smith) who was a major Texas hero.
  • Jean Massieu School
    A school for the deaf, apparently established about 2000, that offers a bilingual/bicultural curriculum for deaf children in the 3rd through 8th grades. It is named for Jean Massieu (1722-1846), one of the first deaf teachers of the deaf, who was a student at the Bordeaux, France school for the deaf, then taught at the Paris Institute for the Deaf for 32 years. He then taught briefly at the Rhodez school for the deaf before founding another one at Lille, France.
• Taylorsville
  • Robert G. Sanderson Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
    Originally built in 1992 and expanded in 2002, in 2003 the building housing the Utah Community Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing was renamed in honor of Dr. Robert G. Sanderson, a leader in Utah's Deaf community.

VIRGINIA:

• Staunton
  • Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind
    • Bass Hall
      A dormitory named for R. Aumon Bass and his wife Mary Bass, both long-time deaf teachers at VSDB.
    • Lewellyn Gymnasium
      Named about 1954 to commemorate VSDB graduate Thomas C. Lewellyn, who became a coach and teacher there for over 41 years.

WASHINGTON (STATE):

• State Route 299/Hansen Highway
  In 1988, this road was officially named in honor of deaf architect Olof Hansen (1862-1933), who spent the last part of his life in the Seattle area.
• Vancouver
  • Washington State School for the Deaf
    • Deer Hall
      WSSD alumnus Dewey H. Deer was an outstanding athlete, community leader, teacher and coach.
    • Divine Hall
      Houses the junior and senior high school departments, and is named for Louis and Belle Divine, a deaf couple who taught at WSSD for many years.
    • Hunter Gymnasium
      William S. Hunter was a teacher at WSSD for 49 years and its first coach. The school's gym was named for him in 1938.
    • MacDonald Hall
      A residence hall named for Della MacDonald, a houseparent and school employee for nearly 40 years.
    • Northrop Hall
      Honors Dr. Helen Northrop, for many years a teacher and the first principal of the school. This building houses the elementary school department.

WEST VIRGINIA:

• Romney
  • West Virginia School for the Deaf
    • Seaton Hall
      Dormitory-infirmary named in 1955 to honor Charles D. Seaton, deaf teacher at WVSD for 42 years.

WISCONSIN:

• Delavan
  • Wisconsin School for the Deaf
    • Adriana Hall
      A girls' dormitory named for Adriana Chesboros, the young deaf woman who was instrumental in the establishment of the school. It was razed in 1974.
    • Kastner Hall
      Honors August C. Kastner, WSD graduate and boy's supervisor there for almost half a century.
    • Neesam Athletic Field
      Commemorates Frederick J. Neesam, WSD graduate who instituted the School's athletic program and was coach for 41 years.
    • Robinson Hall
      Named for Warren Robinson, WSD graduate who was the School's first gymnastics instructor and national proponent of industrial education for the deaf. Razed in 1972.

OTHER COUNTRIES

CANADA:

• British Columbia
  • Burnaby
    • British Columbia Provincial School for the Deaf
      • Lucy Gosse House
        Named for Lucinda Jane Gosse (Elliott), 1889-1994, co-founder in 1915 of a predecessor school to the British Columbia Provincial School for the Deaf.
• Ontario
  • Kidd Creek
    A small river north of Timmons, Ontario, is named for Dr. Donald J. Kidd (1922-1966), a deaf Canadian geochemist and Gallaudet College professor, in honor of his contributions to the discovery of metal ores and establishment of metal mines in the area.
  • Ottawa
    • McBrien Street
      Named in 2003 for Robert McBrien, founder of the Canadian Association of the Deaf.
    • McPeake Street
      Honors deaf Ottawa community leader Eleanor McPeake; named in 2003.
    • Paul Landry Park/Parc Paul Landry
      Around 1991, the City of Ottawa, Ontario named a small neighborhood park in honor of Paul Landry (1954-), a deaf champion runner. It is in the Hunt Club area of Ottawa, on Uplands Drive.
    • Peikoff Crescent
      A street named in 2003 honor of Canadian natives David (1900-1995) and Pauline Peikoff (1913-2003), noted Deaf activists.
• Saskatchewan
  • R.J.D. Williams School for the Deaf
    Established as the Saskatchewan School for the Deaf in 1931, largely through the efforts of deaf man Rupert Jabez Duncan Williams (1893-1973). He declined the offer of the school's principalship in favor of becoming senior supervisor of boys, which he did from 1931 to his death. The school was renamed in 1982 in his memory, but unfortunately was closed in 1991 by the provincial government.

FRANCE:

• La Balme les Grottes
  • L'Espace Laurent Clerc
    A small museum occupying the third floor of the town's visitor center. It is about the town's native son, Laurent Clerc (1785-1869), who was a student at the Paris School for the Deaf, became a teacher there, then went to America with Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet to become the first deaf teacher of the deaf in America and co-founder of what is now the American School for the Deaf, at West Hartford, Connecticut. The museum was dedicated in July 2003.
  • Place Laurent Clerc
    A small street square in the town.
  • Champs-sur-Marne
    • École Laurent Clerc
      This town in northeastern France has a school named for Laurent Clerc. It houses a bilingual (French Sign Language and spoken French) education program for deaf children.

GREAT BRITAIN:

• England
  • York
    • Goodricke College of the University of York
      One of the colleges making up the University of York is named for John Goodricke (1764-1786), a deaf Dutch-British astronomer who is best known for having discovered variable stars (Algol variables) and correctly deducing their nature. Goodricke College was founded in 1968.
• Scotland
  • Edinburgh
    • Dumbiedykes
      A district within the Scottish capital that was once home to Britain's first school for the deaf, started by Thomas Braidwood in 1760. The area's name derives from reference to the "deaf and dumb" residents of the school. Though the school has been gone for two centuries, the neighborhood's name persists today.

ITALY:

• Milan
  • Via de Predis
    A street in the northwest quadrant of this city is named Via de Predis, in honor of the de Predis family that contributed at least three artists to the Italian Renaissance. One of them, Cristoforo de Predis (1440?-1486), a well-known miniaturist and illuminator of the time, was deaf.

MARS:

• Crater Heaviside
  Deaf electrical pioneer and inventor Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925) has been honored by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which named in his honor a crater on the planet Mars, 84.7km in diameter at latitude 70.7 S and longitude 95.3 W.

THE MOON (LUNA):

• Crater Cannon
  On the Moon's near side, east of Mare Crisium, at 19.9 N and 81.4 E, 56km in diameter. Named by the IAU in honor of Annie Jump Cannon (1863-1941), who developed the Harvard System of stellar spectral classifcation, proving that the vast majority of stars represent only a few species. She published star catalogs that together covered almost half a million stars, and was the first woman to receive an honorary doctor's degree from Oxford University and the first woman elected an officer of the American Astronomical Society, also an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society, London. In 1929, she was listed as one of 12 "greatest living American women" by the National League of Women Voters.
• Crater Heaviside
  The IAU has also named another crater, 165km in diameter and on the Moon's far side at latitude 10.4 S and longitude 167.1 E, in honor of Oliver Heaviside, the only deaf person to be honored on two astronomical bodies.
• Crater Leavitt
  On the Moon's far side at 44.8 S and 139.3 W, the IAU named this 66km-diameter crater in honor of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868-1921), a deaf astronomer who worked at the Harvard College Observatory, where she undertook major projects and discovered several new astronomical bodies. Her most famous discovery was of the periodic luminosity of certain stars (called Cepheid variables), of which she eventually discovered 2400. A Swedish mathematician nominated her for a Nobel Prize for formulating the law relating the period and luminosity of stars, unaware that she had died of cancer four years before. Unfortunately, Nobel Prize rules do not allow posthumous awards.
• Crater Sherrington
  The IAU has also honored Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952), a late-deafened neurophysiologist who shared the 1932 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the nervous system and the function of neurons. His 18km-diameter crater on the Moon's far side is at latitude 11.1 S and 118.0 E.
• Crater Tsiolkovsky
  A 185km-diameter crater on the Moon's far side, at latitude 21.2 S and longitude 128.9 E, was named in 1959 by the Soviet Union, later confirmed by the International Astronomical Union, in honor of the deaf Russian rocket pioneer Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (1857-1935).