Everyone calls it Nottingham Lake, so why isn’t that the official name of Avon landmark?
Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board has moved forward with establishing the locally recognized name as official after years of debate
Kathy Heicher/Courtesy image
The lake located in the center of Harry A. Nottingham Park, in the center of the town of Avon, has been known locally as Nottingham Lake since it was created in 1979. However, in 2018, it was brought to the attention of the town of Avon and the United States Board on Geographic Names that on official documents, the lake is identified as Benchmark Lake Reservoir.
According to Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board documents, the name Benchmark Lake Reservoir was first recorded from the 1981 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers list of dams and reservoirs, and on United States Geological Survey maps in 2011. However, the town of Avon and a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood map published in 2007 both use the name Nottingham Lake.
Origins of the renaming process
On July 10, 2018, Grant Wilcox, a GIS analyst for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, submitted a proposal to the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board, suggesting that the name of the lake be changed from Benchmark Lake Reservoir to Nottingham Lake to be consistent with local use.
In September 2018, Avon staff and then-mayor Jennie Fancher responded to the board inquiry with the information that there was already a Nottingham Reservoir in the town of Avon, located north of the Post Boulevard interchange. Also in September, then-town attorney Eric Heil requested information about renaming Nottingham Reservoir, and the Eagle County Board of Commissioners stated they had no opinion on the potential renaming of the lake.
In November 2018, the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board deferred voting on the renaming of Benchmark Lake Reservoir, asking the town of Avon to first rename Nottingham Reservoir to avoid confusion. The board gave the town six months to work on the renaming.
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Other than a letter sent to Colorado Gov. Jared Polis by the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board in May 2019 asking for guidance on multiple renaming proposals, the renaming process was stalled.
The Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board was created through an Executive Order signed by Polis in July 2020. Since then, the board has been working through the list of renaming projects, and the renaming of Benchmark Lake Reservoir was put on its docket on Aug. 17, 2023.
The history of the Nottingham name
The Nottingham family has been intertwined with the history of the land that Avon rests on since long before Avon was incorporated. According to documents held by the Eagle County Historical Society, William and Angeline Nottingham, Harry Nottingham’s parents, first arrived in Eagle County in a covered wagon in 1882 during the silver mining boom.
“The Nottingham family is one of the premier pioneer families of Eagle County. They’re like the perfect example of how the pioneers came in. They came in through Red Cliff in the early 1880s, and then moved on downvalley to mine, and were extremely prominent in the community for reasons good and bad,” said Kathy Heicher, president of the Eagle County Historical Society.
In the relative lawlessness of the time, William Nottingham was serving as an Eagle County commissioner when he was murdered by his business partner after pulling his own gun in a dispute.
“Although they can be kind of notorious, they were also really good community leaders,” Heicher said. “They were community-oriented, and always have been.”
After he was first elected in 1933, Harry Nottingham served as an Eagle County commissioner for 32 years.
“A lot of good work got done under his leadership. A lot of bridge building and road development, and stuff like that, so he should be honored,” Heicher said. It was Harry Nottingham’s idea to name Vail Pass after state highway engineer Charles Vail, and Nottingham cut the ribbon on the new section of the highway in 1941.
Harry Nottingham ran a ranch while serving as county commissioner, continuing his family’s legacy. Members of the Nottingham family continued to ranch until 1972 when the family’s extensive land holdings were sold for development.
The town of Avon was incorporated in August 1978, with Harry’s son, Allan Nottingham, as its first mayor. The early pitch for Nottingham Park was presented to Eagle County Board of Commissioners by Jim Wells, then president of Benchmark Companies, in 1979. This is likely why the lake was named “Benchmark Lake Reservoir” on official documents, though even in the early planning stages Wells himself referred to the lake as “Nottingham Lake.” In November 1979, “The Vail Trail” reported that, in presenting the plan for the park to the commissioners, Wells said, “Nottingham Lake can be used for fishing and small sailing boats.”
Benchmark Companies transferred ownership of the park to the town of Avon in 1980. It is unclear whether the company or town was aware of the two separate names for the lake.
On the road to renaming
On Aug. 17, 2023, the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board again reviewed the case of Benchmark Lake Reservoir, this time looking favorably upon the locally used name.
“Given the city and the county’s input, here, I’m willing to move this forward, and maybe that will spur some action to take care of the other Nottingham Lake,” said Tim Mauck, deputy director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
Without further discussion, the Colorado Naming Advisory Board unanimously moved forward with recommending renaming Benchmark Lake Reservoir to Nottingham Lake. The board’s recommendation will now go to Polis, who will consider the suggestion and provide a recommendation from the state of Colorado to the United States Board of Geographic Names, which will make the final decision on the official renaming.
“The renaming of things is a controversial thing, and as the historical society person, I’m not always a huge believer in that renaming things corrects old wrongs, but I think they’re right on target with this one,” Heicher said. “The Nottinghams were the first people to see the potential of the Avon area for ranching, the family has been there since the 1880s, and they’ve always contributed to the greater good of the community, so it’s a perfect name for it.”
“I’m glad the state’s records will finally align with the manmade reservoir’s real name, Nottingham Lake,” said Tamra Nottingham Underwood, mayor pro tem for the town of Avon and granddaughter of Harry and Marie Nottingham, in an email. “I remember that sunny day in the 1970s when my grammy, Marie Nottingham, ‘cut the ribbon’ dedicating the park to her husband, my granddad, Harry A. Nottingham. It had come a long way from a hay field!”
As for the existing Nottingham Reservoir, Eric Heil, now town manager for the town of Avon, said its name should not be an obstruction to moving forward with the renaming of Benchmark Lake Reservoir.
“We can rename it,” Heil said of Nottingham Reservoir. “I think we just submit a letter and suggest renaming it so it’s not confusing with Nottingham Lake.”
