The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was delete. There is a consensus among those participating that this topic does not meet our guidelines for an article on places. Barkeep49 ( talk) 01:07, 30 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Germans Corner, Virginia (  | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – ( View log · Stats)

(Find sources:  Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL)

There is no evidence that this place exists. I tried some WP:BEFORE, but I found nothing. 🌴 Koridas🌴 (Negotiate) 00:44, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Virginia-related deletion discussions. 🌴 Koridas🌴 (Negotiate) 00:44, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Geography-related deletion discussions. North America ¹⁰⁰⁰ 00:52, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply

• Keep as per WP:GEOLAND point 1. The source links to a US Government website and is classified by them as a "Populated Place." AFAIK, this is what is meant by "legally recognized" in the context of WP:GEOLAND. AviationFreak 04:01, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply
• Delete per nom. My search did not return any results, nor did the alternate "Jermans" spelling, and the "unincorporated community" label used in the article is completely unsourced. GNIS does not confer legal recognition; it's merely a catalog of place names and locations, and the "populated place" feature class is reserved for places that do not have legal recognition. This appears to be another case of GNIS mislabeling a local landmark as a "populated place" instead of a "locale" as described at WP:GNIS. – dlthewave ☎ 14:51, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply
• Delete per dlthewave. I was unfamiliar with WP:GNIS when I made my above recommendation. AviationFreak 15:37, 13 June 2020 (UTC) reply
• delete Gets less hits than usual, and the only serious ones are locale references about soil types. Curiously, the name doesn't show up until the 1970s on the topos, and its appearance suggests that it's the name of the house that sits in the bend of the curve. Mangoe ( talk) 02:27, 14 June 2020 (UTC) reply
• Weak delete I found enough to prove it is a real place, but I don't think enough for an article. Appears to be an intersection with a few houses. ~ EDDY ^{( talk/ contribs)}~ 18:28, 15 June 2020 (UTC) reply
• Keep: I know it is a reasonable debate about whether this is notable enough to be kept, but I would lean in favor of keeping. The location as a place name clearly exists. E.g., [1] ("The first tornado hit between 8:45 p.m. to 9:05 p.m. near German's Corner in Richmond County") (2015); [2] ("Junction of VA-639 and VA-624 near Germans Corner") (1982); [3] ("On February 17, the eagle checked in along the Rappahannock on Mulberry Island, a few miles outside of Germans Corner, VA.") (2019). And it appears on USGS topo maps at least as far back to 1968 (bottom left: [4]). This 1968 book about Richmond County has it under the "Jermans Corner" alternate spelling [5], and tells how it got its name: "Jermans Corner. A locality one and one half miles north of Naylors Beach at junction of Routes 636 and 624. Named for Wilbur L . Jerman, who built a large house there is 1923, where he lived until 1946. His wife, Cleva May, had received a deed to 50 acres, extending south and west of the corner, from her father J.H. Balderson in 1920. On some maps, the name is wrongly spelled German." "Germans Corner" also appears on maps on some documents on the Richmond County website. I don't see an advantage to deletion, I am happy to add these sources to the article. Is the world better off not having easy access to knowing why this locale exists (and is misspelled commonly, now)? Btw, Wilber died in 1968, and Cleva in 1974, you can visit them in Arlington, VA [6].-- Milowent • ^{has spoken} 13:05, 17 June 2020 (UTC) reply

  Milowent, I strongly think none of the sources are reliable. The first few are all passing mentions, and Find a Grave is not a reliable source. Koridas ^talk? 03:14, 22 June 2020 (UTC) reply

• Koridas, you don't think a published book on the history of Richmond County, VA is a reliable source? But I am not suggesting we use findagrave as a source, I was just sharing that out of personal interest in what happened to who the locale is named for. As for the passing mentions, they are offered in response to the assertion in your nomination that there is no evidence the place exists. You would concede, would you not, that the original basis for your good faith nomination has been disproven? That's how collaboration works!-- Milowent • ^{has spoken} 15:19, 22 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Regardless of the authority of the source, this is not enough to pass GNG as a location, and neither is it enough to pass GEOLAND as a settlement.---- Pontificalibus 17:39, 23 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Well, that's your opinion, to be sure. I don't intend to peruse the non-online archives of Virginia newspapers. I'm just pleased to know what Germans Corners is, and whether the rest of world can know is not my sole decision.-- Milowent • ^{has spoken} 21:09, 23 June 2020 (UTC) reply

It's not an opinion, it's a matter of fact based on policy. Nowhere does WP:N or any other policy advocate having articles for named locations in the absence of either in-depth coverage, or evidence of a settlement or natural landscape feature with that name.---- Pontificalibus 10:58, 24 June 2020 (UTC) reply

yes, i'm sure we don't have any articles that fail your tests.-- Milowent • ^{has spoken} 19:16, 24 June 2020 (UTC) reply

• Keep Wikipedia is not just an encyclopedia, it is also a gazetteer. See WP:Five pillars Our encyclopedia combines many features of general and specialized encyclopedias, almanacs, and gazetteers. -- Bejnar ( talk) 19:48, 20 June 2020 (UTC) reply

  Bejnar, No, it's not a gazetteer, because Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a dictionary, nor is it a directory. Koridas ^talk? 19:51, 20 June 2020 (UTC) reply

I beg to differ. I agree that Wiipedia is not a dictionary (See WP:NOT) nor a directory (ibid.), but it is a gazetteer, which does not meet the definitions of directory or dictionary. -- Bejnar ( talk) 15:11, 21 June 2020 (UTC) reply

Bejnar While WP:Five pillars states that Wikipedia "combines many features of general and specialized encyclopedias, almanacs, and gazetteers" that does not mean it actually is any of those things. In fact, it lacks features of all of them - it has too much detail on certain topics for a general encyclopedia, is not particularly focused in the manner of a specialized encyclopedia, lacks the lists of future events such as moon phases and tides found in an almanac, and does not feature the comprehensive lists of geographic features found in gazetteers. Our inclusion criteria places are actually quite exclusive, and in the absence of sources discussing them in detail we don't have articles on mere named locations that have never been settlements.---- Pontificalibus 15:50, 23 June 2020 (UTC) reply

• Comment ^[1] from 1982 has it as a place, definatley has a cemetery ^[2], but is just an address in the 1909 postal address. However here ^[3] is using it as a place nearest to their research. Rightmove US does not have it, but an architect firm had plans to build an eco project here ^[4]. Looking on Google maps it looks like what we would call in the UK a hamlet, with about 7 to 8 homes dotted around the said road junctions. User:Davidstewartharvey

• Reply - The Google Books source is a passing mention, Find A Grave is not reliable, the wild life center source is a passing mention, and the last source is also a passing mention. Koridas ^talk? 03:17, 22 June 2020 (UTC) reply

• Delete No evidence it was a settlement, and no other reason to believe this location name is notable.---- Pontificalibus 17:39, 23 June 2020 (UTC) reply

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.