{"id":15641,"date":"2015-01-04T08:21:37","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T13:21:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=15641"},"modified":"2022-04-15T06:33:03","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T11:33:03","slug":"high-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/high-level\/","title":{"rendered":"High Level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It began with High Level<\/a>, in Alberta, Canada. I came across the name and wondered what made it so special. It didn’t seem to be all that high level. In fact it appeared to be downright flat at an elevation of 325 metres (1,066 feet) atop the Canadian Prairies. Well, being that far north I suppose it might be more boreal than prairie. Nonetheless commercial grains certainly seemed to be an important part of the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grain<\/a>
As “High Level” as it can get in Alberta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That didn’t answer the question, though. One would expect some kind of summit or promontory in High Level (map<\/a>). However that didn’t seem to exist as I looked around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually the height did<\/em> exist although I wasn’t examining it closely enough. One needed to focus on the change in elevation<\/a> one had at hand. It happened very subtlety way out there on the flat plains: “The name High Level described the height of the land that separates the Peace River and the Hay River<\/em>.” Apparently it didn’t take much of a change to separate the two watersheds although that was enough to establish a good place for a town. That had to wait until 1947 when the Mackenzie Highway ran through the area. Now 3,500 people live at the slightly elevated land between the rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That got me thinking about other places named High Something<\/em>. What made certain locations “high” even if the reasons weren’t obvious? I could have selected plenty of other Canadian examples although I turned my attention south of the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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High Point, North Carolina, USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The occurrence that came to mind most quickly happened at High Point, North Carolina so I decided to check it out. This was a fairly significant place with about a hundred thousand residents. So I supposed the town of High Point would clearly mark and commemorate a significant promontory. Surprisingly, it did not. Historically, the North Carolina Railroad<\/a> ran between between Charlotte and Goldsboro, and intersected here with a plank road called the Fayetteville-Western Road<\/a>. Both were constructed in the 1850’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming High Point<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The intersection became High Point because it was at a relatively higher point of elevation than the surrounding terrain. A town of that same name sprang up around the crossing — a natural place for commerce — starting in 1859. The so-called high point wasn’t marked at all as far as I could determine. However an educated guess might be where Main St. crossed the railroad tracks today (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This commercial hub gained fame for furniture manufacturing. Thus the town called itself the “Furniture Capital of the World.” The local Chamber of Commerce even built the World’s Largest Chest of Drawers<\/a> in the 1920’s to cement its claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Real Estate Opportunity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"World's<\/a>
World’s largest chest of drawers?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I noticed a “for sale” sign on this image taken in August 2006. Google Street View showed it still for sale with a “Huge Price Reduction.” when the cameras passed through in June 2012<\/a>. Some quick searching uncovered a listing<\/a> for a:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Unique and historical 2,245′ office building containing 1,800sf on main level. Partially unfinished basement. Parking in rear and extra lots for expansion!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The total assessed value for the property in 2014 was $140,000. This might be a perfect opportunity to purchase the World’s Largest Chest of Drawers if one were inclined to own such an object. I can’t guarantee how long this offer will last after publication of this article in January 2015 so act quickly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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United Kingdom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

However, when it came to High Something examples, the title had to go to the United Kingdom. I found a huge cluster of examples in the Gazetteer of British Place Names<\/a>. There were well over five hundred occurrences. They were so common that the Gazetteer alphabetized them by the Something rather than by the High, so the entries ran from Ackworth, High to Wycombe, High. That would be like specifying Level, High in Canada and Point, High in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ackworth.<\/a>
A residence in Ackworth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being the lazy creature that I am, I decided to examine that first entry on the list, High Ackworth or perhaps Ackworth, High if one preferred, in West Yorkshire. There was actually a single village of Ackworth<\/a>. It consisted of four distinct parts: High Ackworth; Low Ackworth; Ackworth Moortop and Brackenhill. I’m not sure what Brackenhill did to escape an Ackworth appendage. However the rest of it traced an etymology back to ack (oak) and worth (enclosure), or a place where someone cleared oak trees to form an enclosed open space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n