The Plymouth City Council has selected a new name for County Road 47 – the roadway will officially change to Chankahda Trail, effective Saturday, Oct. 1.

Chankahda (Chan-KAH-da), a Dakota word that loosely translates to “near the woods,” was selected in honor of past land and the people of Plymouth who first inhabited the area.

The need for a new name followed the jurisdictional transfer of the road from Hennepin County to city ownership, coinciding with a major city-led reconstruction project that is currently underway along the corridor. For details about the project, visit plymouthmn.gov/cr47. 

Road Renaming Background, Historical Research

To involve the community in the rare task of renaming a roadway, the city had initially sought name suggestions from the public. When the process garnered more than 1,200 names – and included a strong desire from the community to select a name that honors the Dakota – City Council directed staff to form a working group to more thoroughly research the area and develop recommendations for a name that reflects the community’s history.

The workgroup was comprised of Dakota elder, educator, film producer, writer and Plymouth resident Sydney Beane; former Plymouth Historical Society manager Rebekah Coffman; educator, historian and storyteller Bob Gasch; and Plymouth Historical Society member Ted Hoshal. 

The workgroup’s goal was to find an appropriate Dakota name that was relevant, pronounceable, honorable and memorable. The group researched the area’s history, went through the entire list of submissions provided by the public, translated over 100 potential names submitted by the public and completed additional research to find other appropriate names.

For context, the workgroup described the Dakota language as “a language of pictures.” The workgroup noted that Dakota names can be quite complex, as they may describe a series of pictures, and names proposed in English do not always translate well.

Chankahda – Honoring Past Land, People of Plymouth

According to the workgroup’s findings: “We think this is a fitting name for old County Road 47. It turns out that the roadway spans a transitional area of two pre-settlement Minnesota forest types: oak openings and barrens, and the big woods. Fragments of this landscape remain along and near this portion of Plymouth. The name Chankahda respectfully honors the past land and people of Plymouth who first traversed our forest and prairie."