RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> Alameda County >> Drawbridge >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

The Commemorative Quarter for California





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Drawbridge. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Drawbridge to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Drawbridge, please Contact Us.

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 Drawbridge (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 Drawbridge. 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 Drawbridge ...

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.

Prior to its current name of Drawbridge, it was known as Saline City.

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.

A Few Details for Drawbridge ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Drawbridge was established in 1876.

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 hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Drawbridge is historic, it would have been located within present day Alameda County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Alameda County: Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara & Stanislaus.

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

  • Alameda County     (The home county of Drawbridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drawbridge, with the one closest to Drawbridge listed first.
    • Albrae ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albrae have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albrae
      • Albrae is located in Alameda County
    • Larkins Landing ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Larkins Landing. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larkins Landing
      • Larkins Landing is located in Alameda County
    • Fremont
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
      • Fremont is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234,569 people
      • Former names for Fremont:
      • Centerville
      • Irvington
      • Mission San Jose
      • Niles
      • Warm Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fremont <4>
    • Newark
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Union City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
      • Union City is located in Alameda County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
      • Former name for Union City:
      • Decoto
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <4>
    • Scotts Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Corner
      • Scotts Corner is located in Alameda County
    • Sunol
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alvarado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
    • Pleasanton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Mount Eden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairview
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Alameda County
    • Hayward
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Russell City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell City
      • Russell City is located in Alameda County
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drawbridge, with the one closest to Drawbridge listed first.
    • San Ramon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Tassajara
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tassajara
      • Tassajara is located in Contra Costa County
    • Blackhawk - Camino Tassajara
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Blackhawk
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
      • Blackhawk is located in Contra Costa County
    • Danville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
      • Danville is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
      • Former name for Danville:
      • Inmanville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <4>
    • Diablo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Alamo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Moraga
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moraga
      • Moraga is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,967 people
      • Former name for Moraga:
      • Willow Springs
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moraga <4>
    • Rock City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Contra Costa County
    • Lafayette
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Marsh Creek Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Creek Springs
      • Marsh Creek Springs is located in Contra Costa County
    • Orinda
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orinda
      • Orinda is located in Contra Costa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orinda <4>
  • San Joaquin County
    • Carnegie ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carnegie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
      • Carnegie is located in San Joaquin County
  • San Mateo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drawbridge, with the one closest to Drawbridge listed first.
    • East Palo Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • The Willows
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in San Mateo County
    • Menlo Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Atherton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • North Fair Oaks
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Fair Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fair Oaks
      • North Fair Oaks is located in San Mateo County
    • West Menlo Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Ladera
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladera
      • Ladera is located in San Mateo County
    • Redwood City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Portola Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • San Carlos
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Searsville ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsville
      • Searsville is located in San Mateo County
    • Woodside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Adobe Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adobe Corner
      • Adobe Corner is located in San Mateo County
  • Santa Clara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drawbridge, with the one closest to Drawbridge listed first.
    • Alviso
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Agnew
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
      • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
    • Milpitas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Santa Clara
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sunnyvale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Castro City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castro City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castro City
      • Castro City is located in Santa Clara County
    • Mountain View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Los Altos
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Palo Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ventura
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Santa Clara County
    • Buena Vista
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Santa Clara County
    • Burbank
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
      • Burbank is located in Santa Clara County
    • Alum Rock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Rock
      • Alum Rock is located in Santa Clara County
  • Santa Cruz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Drawbridge, with the one closest to Drawbridge listed first.
    • Alma ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
      • Alma is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Summit
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Santa Cruz County
      • Summit has also been known as:
      • Loma Prieta
    • Boulder Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Glenwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
      • Glenwood is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Laurel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Brookdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lompico
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lompico
      • Lompico is located in Santa Cruz County
    • The Willows
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Willows
      • The Willows is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Ben Lomond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Eccles ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eccles. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eccles
      • Eccles is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Zayante
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zayante
      • Zayante is located in Santa Cruz County
    • Mount Hermon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Scotts Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Drawbridge ...

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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Drawbridge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Drawbridge, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Drawbridge.

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 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 Drawbridge:

Cemeteries Near Drawbridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Drawbridge.

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

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

  • Cedar Lawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Irvington Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Holy Ghost Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Ghost Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Ghost Cemetery
  • Mission San Jose Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission San Jose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission San Jose Cemetery
  • Ohlone Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Ohlones Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ohlones Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ohlones Cemetery
  • Presbyterian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Presbyterian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Presbyterian Cemetery
  • St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Catholic Cemetery
  • Santa Clara Mission Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Alta Mesa Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Mission City Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mission City Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mission City Memorial Park
  • Continue List   (57 more) ...
    • Gates of Heaven Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gates of Heaven Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gates of Heaven Cemetery
    • Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes Memorial Park
    • Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel of the Chimes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel of the Chimes 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.

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

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

  • Alviso
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Agnew
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agnew
    • Agnew is located in Santa Clara County
  • Milpitas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Newark
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawrence
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrence
    • Lawrence is located in Santa Clara County
  • Santa Clara
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Mountain View
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Berryessa
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berryessa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryessa
    • Berryessa is located in Santa Clara County
  • Mayfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mayfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Mayfield is located in Santa Clara County
  • College Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for College Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Park
    • College Park is located in Santa Clara County
  • Palo Alto
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • San Jose
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Jose
    • San Jose is located in Santa Clara County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013,616 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Jose <4>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Alvarado ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alvarado. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Alameda County
    • Sunol
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Menlo Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)

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

The official website for Alameda County: www.acgov.org/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Drawbridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Drawbridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Drawbridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.4653, Longitude: -121.9742    
<6>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.




 

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