Mecklenburg Co., VA– It’s been a debate between Southside Virginia and North Carolina for more than 60 years. The question is whether to call a lake that the two states share, Buggs Island Lake or Kerr Reservoir.
Virginians call it Buggs Island but North Carolina will only call it Kerr. A new bill in Virginia could have agencies here calling it Kerr. It’s all about tourism. The name debate can be kind of confusing, especially for out of state visitors. That’s why officials want the bill to clear up the confusion.
“I moved down here because of the lake and it’s really a nice lake.” said William Stiltner, a Virginia resident.
It’s the biggest lake in the state, stretching from Halifax County all the way into North Carolina. While Mecklenburg County officials said it accounts for a big part of their tourism dollars, there’s always been one problem.
“We know it as Kerr Lake and Kerr Reservoir,” said John Thompson and Jamie Smith, both North Carolina residents.
“I’ve always called the lake Buggs Island,” said Stiltner.
So what is it?
“It was known originally as Buggs Island Lake by Corps of Engineers and the contractor. North Carolina got their senators to enact legislation honoring Senator Kerr who was the congressman who got the funding for this project.” said Wayne Carter, a Mecklenburg County Administrator.
To honor him the name was officially changed to John H. Kerr Reservoir.
“Virginia was very upset about that because it had already been named Buggs Island,” Carter said.
So much so that in 1952, Virginia legislators passed a resolution saying the lake can only be marketed as Buggs Island Lake. But now, at the request of tourism officials, state Senator Frank Ruff has introduced a bill that would allow Virginia to market the lake as Kerr Reservoir.
County officials said it’s for reasons you can imagine.
“If you’re coming from North Carolina, no one knows where Buggs Island Lake is because they don’t refer to that,” Carter said.
Also, the name Buggs…
“When people hear it, they think of it having lots of mosquitoes. From a tourism standpoint and a marketing standpoint that’s not exactly what we’re looking for.” Carter added.
Officials said that the name ‘Buggs’ has nothing to do with insects. It’s the last name of a well respected family in the county who also had an island at the lake.
Locals said however the lake is marketed, they’ll always call it Buggs Island.
Virginia State Senator Frank Ruff won unanimous committee approval Thursday for his bill.
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