March 5, 2022 — Goat Island is getting its name back.

The Lane County Board of Commissioners forwarded the recommended name change for the Siltcoos Lake island on Tuesday to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for a final decision.

The property owners, Henry and Sherry Wells, submitted the proposal along with a petition to restore the island’s name signed by 73 people. The island was named Jernigan when it was acquired by a family with that name.

Local sources report that a family once grazed goats on the island located east of Dunes City.

The 3,000-acre lake is the largest on the Oregon Coast and is promoted as “one of the prime large-mouth bass lakes in the Pacific Northwest.”

The commissioners approved the decision through the consent calendar in the board’s March 1 meeting through Order 22-03-01-01: “In the Matter of Commenting on Proposed Name Changes for a Natural Feature Located in Lane County to the Oregon Geographic Names Board.”

Dean Rea writes for the Highway 58 Herald, a community service journalism for the Highway 58 region of Oregon. For more information, visit www.highway58herald.org.