RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Thurston County >> Rochester >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Washington

The Commemorative Quarter for Washington





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 Rochester (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 Rochester. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 west contained birth and death records; the county to the south 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.

Rochester is located in Thurston County.

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 Rochester. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rochester:

  • Thurston County     (The home county of Rochester)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • Grand Mound
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
    • Independence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
    • Littlerock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucoda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Tenino
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • McIntosh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • East Olympia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Tumwater
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Olympia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kellys Korner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chehalis Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Oakville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cedarville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Porter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone - Porter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Elma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satsop have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satsop
      • Satsop is located in Grays Harbor County
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • Galvin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Fords Prairie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fords Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
    • Centralia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fayette
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Chehalis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Adna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Claquato
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Newaukum
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Curtis
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Doty
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Napavine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Pe Ell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • New Kamilche
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Shelton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Bayshore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
  • Pacific County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • Lebam
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Menlo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
      • Menlo is located in Pacific County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rochester, with the one closest to Rochester listed first.
    • McKenna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Mock City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mock City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
    • DuPont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Roy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Anderson Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
    • Fort Lewis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.<3>
      • 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>
    • Longbranch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Rochester ...

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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rochester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rochester, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rochester.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Rochester:

Cemeteries Near Rochester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rochester.

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

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

  • Grand Mound Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Mound Cemetery
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Cemetery
  • Greenwood Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Oakville Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakville Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakville Pioneer Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington Lawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Lawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Lawn Cemetery
  • Forest Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Cemetery
  • Claquato Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Union Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
  • Sharon Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sharon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sharon Cemetery
  • Continue List   (30 more) ...
    • Fern Hill Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fern Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fern Hill Cemetery
    • Sylvan Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • McLane Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • 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.<3>
      • The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Mud Bay Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLane 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rochester had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Grand Mound
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Littlerock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Centralia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Bucoda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Tenino
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Cedarville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
  • Fayette
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Fayette is located in Lewis County
  • Chehalis
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Plumb
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
    • Plumb is located in Thurston County
  • Belmore
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
    • Belmore is located in Thurston County
  • Claquato
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
    • Claquato is located in Lewis County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Porter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Newaukum
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • McIntosh
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County

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

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

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rochester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rochester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8292, Longitude: -123.0706    
<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 Rochester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024