Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

• That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
• We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
• On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Lake Fork (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Lake Fork. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Name Variations for Lake Fork ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Fork: Lk. Fork

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Lake Fork is located in Valley County.

To see how the shape of Idaho's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Valley County: Adams, Boise, Custer, Gem & Idaho.

Below are the counties that are near Lake Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Fork:

• Valley County     (The home county of Lake Fork)
  • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Fork, with the one closest to Lake Fork listed first.
  • Lardo ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lardo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lardo
    • Lardo is located in Valley County
  • McCall
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCall
    • McCall is located in Valley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,755 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCall <3>
  • Donnelly
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
    • Donnelly is located in Valley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donnelly <3>
  • Roseberry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseberry
    • Roseberry is located in Valley County
  • Cascade
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
    • Cascade is located in Valley County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,053 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cascade <3>
  • Warm Lake
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Lake
    • Warm Lake is located in Valley County
  • Belvidere
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvidere
    • Belvidere is located in Valley County
  • Abstein Place
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abstein Place
    • Abstein Place is located in Valley County
  • Yellow Pine
    (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
    • Yellow Pine is located in Valley County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yellow Pine <3>
• Adams County
  • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Fork, with the one closest to Lake Fork listed first.
  • Meadows
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Meadows is located in Adams County
  • New Meadows
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Meadows
    • New Meadows is located in Adams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Meadows <3>
  • Rubicon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubicon
    • Rubicon is located in Adams County
  • Tamarack
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
    • Tamarack is located in Adams County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamarack <3>
  • Fruitvale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitvale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
    • Fruitvale is located in Adams County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitvale <3>
  • Council
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
    • Council is located in Adams County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 924 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Council <3>
  • Mesa
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mesa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mesa
    • Mesa is located in Adams County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mesa <3>
  • Indian Valley
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
    • Indian Valley is located in Adams County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Valley <3>

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Fork.

Newspapers Published in Lake Fork ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 10 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Fork.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Fork, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Fork.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Lake Fork:

• Websites specific to Idaho
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails
  • Website for the //history.idaho.gov/idaho-state-archives

• Pages specific to Valley County
  • Jump to Cyndi's List
  • Jump to Family Search
  • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Genealogy information for nearby counties
  • Adams County
    • Jump to Cyndi's List
    • Jump to Family Search
    • Jump to Genealogy Trails

• Cemetery Information and Directories for Idaho
  • Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Idaho
  • Cyndi's List
  • Cemeteries of Idaho
  • Cemeteries of Valley County
  • FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Idaho
  • Find-A-Grave: Home Page
  • Interment.net
  • Cemeteries of Idaho

Cemeteries Near Lake Fork ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Fork.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Fork, with the one closest to Lake Fork listed first.

• Finn Cemetery
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finn Cemetery
• Spink Cemetery
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spink Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spink Cemetery
• Homes Cemetery
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Homes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Homes Cemetery
• Meadows Valley Cemetery
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • The Meadows Valley Cemetery has also been known as:
  • New Meadows Valley Cemetery
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadows Valley Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80558 <5>
• Winkler Cemetery
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winkler Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80681 <5>
• Kessler Cemetery
  (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kessler Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80528 <5>
• IOOF Cemetery
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
• Odd Fellows Cemetery
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Odd Fellows Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80518 <5>
• Cottonwood Cemetery
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottonwood Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80442 <5>
• Klines Grave
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Klines Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Klines Grave
• Hornet Creek Cemetery
  (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hornet Creek Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2150531 <5>
• Indian Valley Cemetery
  (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Valley Cemetery
  • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80516 <5>
• Alpha Cemetery
  (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alpha Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alpha Cemetery
• Pioneer Cemetery
  (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

While we didn't find Lake Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Fork.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Fork, with the one closest to Lake Fork listed first.

• Lardo ‑ Historic
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lardo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lardo
  • Lardo is located in Valley County
• Meadows
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
  • Meadows is located in Adams County

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Fork.

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lake Fork. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Idaho: www.state.id.us/