Chris Pugh

Pudding Creek - Fort Bragg, Calif.

Rename. Rebrand. Repeat. The City’s name debate returns.

Ah, here we go again. Just when the city of Fort Bragg thought it could move on from the exhausting debate over whether to rename itself, the federal government had to bring it back into the spotlight. In a move that surprises absolutely no one, the Trump administration reversed the name change of Fort Liberty, restoring its original moniker: Fort Bragg. And just like that, the name-change conversation in our coastal town gets another round in the ring.

But here’s the thing—the city council already decided. After a year of community debate, arguments from every corner of the ideological spectrum, and no shortage of heated public comments, the council ultimately chose not to rename the city. That’s it. Case closed. Done. And yet, national headlines have a way of dredging up local issues, whether we want them back or not.

Let’s be honest: most locals have moved on. The debate over the name was never just about the name—it was about identity, history, politics, and, let’s not forget, the practical nightmare of changing everything from city signage to business branding. And despite the national conversation surrounding the removal of Confederate names from military bases, the city was never that Fort Bragg. Naming the city after Braxton Bragg, a lackluster Confederate general, was more of a historical footnote than a rallying cry.

That said, the debate wasn’t meaningless. It forced an honest look at how history shapes our present, and it gave people a chance to weigh in on whether the name should change for moral reasons, economic reasons, or whether, frankly, it wasn’t worth the headache. In the end, the decision to keep the name wasn’t about honoring a Confederate—it was about acknowledging the sheer exhaustion of the argument itself.

And yet, irony abounds. While the city’s leaders were firm in their decision to keep its name intact, the federal government went ahead and reversed its own decision, renaming Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. So, on one hand, we’re being told by some that history must be reckoned with, that Confederate names should be scrubbed from our institutions. On the other hand, Washington can’t even decide what it wants to do.

So, what now? Do the people who wanted the city renamed feel reinvigorated by the federal flip-flop? Do the people who fought to keep the name feel a little more validated? Or do most folks just want to get back to worrying about more pressing local issues—like housing, jobs, and whether the Skunk Train will ever stop being a source of controversy?

I’m not sure what the correct answer is, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that we’ll probably be having this same argument all over again in another decade.

Chris Pugh serves as the Managing Editor of the Fort Bragg Advocate-News and Mendocino Beacon. Originally published in the Fort Bragg Advocate-News on February 27, 2025.