Whence the Name "KUMIS" ?

[NW Mailing List]

Harry,
 
I've actually been doing a little checking on the Proper name thing. I went through the bio's in the 1933 Pennington's Magazine article on the Virginian. Unfortunately, no one by that name was listed there.
 
I've not checked recently, but I have gone through the Board of Director's names in times past, and I know I would remember if I had seen the name Kumis there. There were others also, like Elmore, for an early Chief Engineer, B.T. Elmore,
 
Also, in the Dec. 1912 Passenger schedule there is "Singer" listed at the same mile post as "Kumis" in a later timetable. So, the name Kumis came to be in the mid teens. The old U.S. Route 460/11 crossed he Virginian at grade at Kumis. Don't guess that had any bearing in some weird way?
 
Still searching,
 
Jeff Sanders

From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: Whence the Name "KUMIS" ?





While making no claim to insights about the name Kumis, I can offer that after forty years of living in Montgomery County, I have never heard  the "locals" use the name, have never seen it in the newspaper, and never seen it on maps or road signs. The community near there is Lafayette. The name Kumis appears a railroad related name only.

>

>    

   Railroads often identified locations by railroad-related names e.g. Page, WV for W.N. Page.
   Or Adsit for VGN's Traffic Manager ?  Plunkett for W. C. Plunkett, a barrister for the VGN ?
    Don't know that VGN ever had an officer named Kumis.  Perhaps he was on VGN's Bored
    of Directors.  Some railroad locations were identified by local industries, e.g. Mabrico on
    the Winston District for MAdison BRIck CO.. The "MI" in Kumis may have reference to a mine.

    Virginian apparently had the foresight not to name it La Fayette (as it appeared in early
     timetables).  In repeating train orders, locations are pronounced then spelled.  Kumis was
     certainly shorter (by four alphas).  On the Southern, think how much time was spent spelling
     Charlottesville.                                                       Harry Bundy 
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