Balch Creek renaming rejected by state board

Effort to replace it with an indigenous name fails

Nancy Helmsworth moves overgrowth to reveal the historic marker in Lower Macleay Park recording the history of first settler and convicted murderer Danford Balch.

An application to rename Balch Creek to remove association with the first person legally executed in Oregon was rejected by the Oregon Geographic Names Board on June 27.

Northwest Portland resid…