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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 Olympia (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 Olympia. 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.

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 doctors and 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.

Olympia is located in Thurston County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Thurston County: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pierce.

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

  • Thurston County     (The home county of Olympia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • Tumwater
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Lacey
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
    • Tanglewilde
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • East Olympia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kellys Korner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Puget
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nisqually Indian Community. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisqually Indian Community
      • Nisqually Indian Community is located in Thurston County
    • Littlerock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenino
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • McIntosh
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
    • North Yelm
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Rainier
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • McCleary Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Sine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Garden City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Chehalis Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chehalis Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Oakville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Malone - Porter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Porter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Cedarville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Elma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
      • Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
    • Satsop
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satsop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
      • Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Brady
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Brady is located in Grays Harbor County
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
    • Magnolia Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • Fords Prairie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fords Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
    • Galvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Centralia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Chehalis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Claquato
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Fayette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Newaukum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Adna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • New Kamilche
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Bayshore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • Shelton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Grapeview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Allyn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Skokomish
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
    • Tahuya
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Mohrweis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
    • Potlatch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hoodsport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Matlock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matlock
      • Matlock is located in Mason County
    • Belfair
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Deckerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deckerville
      • Deckerville is located in Mason County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
    • Anderson Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
    • DuPont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Longbranch
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Lewis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
      • Fort Lewis is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Lewis <1>
    • Mock City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
    • Herron Island
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Gertrude
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
    • Lakebay
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Steilacoom
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Roy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • Tillicum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
    • Home
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
      • Home is located in Pierce County
    • McKenna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Olympia ...

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 164 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olympia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Olympia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Olympia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Olympia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Olympia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites 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 Olympia:

Cemeteries Near Olympia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olympia.

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 Olympia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery
  • Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
    • The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <5>
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • McLane Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the McLane Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mud Bay Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLane Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Squaxin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Anderson Island Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Ross Family Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
  • Longbranch Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Cemetery
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Ft. Lewis Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Oakland Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Oakland Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #865976 <5>
    • Hillcrest Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Olympia had a population of 4,698 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Olympia had a population of 53,620 people.

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

  • Tumwater
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Lacey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
    • Lacey is located in Thurston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>
  • Belmore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
    • Belmore is located in Thurston County
  • Plumb
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumb have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
    • Plumb is located in Thurston County
  • Puget
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Puget is located in Thurston County
  • Littlerock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • New Kamilche
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
    • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
  • Kamilche
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kamilche
    • Kamilche is located in Mason County
  • Tenino
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • McIntosh
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
  • Longbranch
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Meridian
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meridian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Meridian is located in Pierce County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Yelm
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <1>
    • Shelton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

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

The official website for Olympia: www.ci.olympia.wa.us/

The official website for Thurston County: www.co.thurston.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Olympia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olympia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.0390, Longitude: -122.9008    
<5>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Olympia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024