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The Commemorative Quarter for California





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 Eureka (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 Eureka. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Eureka is located in Humboldt County and is the County Seat.

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 Humboldt County: Del Norte, Mendocino, Siskiyou & Trinity.

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

  • Humboldt County     (The home county of Eureka)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Eureka, with the one closest to Eureka listed first.
    • Samoa
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Pine Hill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill
      • Pine Hill is located in Humboldt County
    • Cutten
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Myrtletown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myrtletown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtletown
      • Myrtletown is located in Humboldt County
    • Freshwater Corners
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freshwater Corners
      • Freshwater Corners is located in Humboldt County
    • Pine Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hills
      • Pine Hills is located in Humboldt County
    • Spruce Point
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Point
      • Spruce Point is located in Humboldt County
    • Humboldt Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Humboldt Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt Hill
      • Humboldt Hill is located in Humboldt County
    • Fields Landing
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • The Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Springs
      • The Springs is located in Humboldt County
    • Arcata
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcata
      • Arcata is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,044 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcata <1>
    • Bayside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Freshwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freshwater
      • Freshwater is located in Humboldt County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Eureka ...

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 100 newspapers that have been published in the area around Eureka.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Eureka. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Eureka and those printed in the larger area surrounding Eureka.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Eureka.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Eureka:

Cemeteries Near Eureka ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Eureka.

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

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

  • Myrtle Grove Memorial
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myrtle Grove Memorial have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myrtle Grove Memorial
  • Oceanview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oceanview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oceanview Cemetery
  • St. Bernard's Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunset Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Park
  • Spear Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Ferndale Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Masons & IOOF Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masons & IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masons & IOOF Cemetery
  • Hydesville Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the IOOF Cemetery is located outside and to the southwest of Hydesville.
    • The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hydesville IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Town Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Town Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Town Cemetery
    • Trinidad Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Atwell Family Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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 Eureka had a population of 4,858 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Eureka had a population of 26,652 people.

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

  • Fields Landing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Freshwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freshwater
    • Freshwater is located in Humboldt County
  • Bayside
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Arcata
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcata
    • Arcata is located in Humboldt County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,044 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arcata <1>
  • Beatrice
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beatrice have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beatrice
    • Beatrice is located in Humboldt County
  • Table Bluff
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Table Bluff
    • Table Bluff is located in Humboldt County
  • Blue Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Korbel
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fortuna
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Port Kenyon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Kenyon
    • Port Kenyon is located in Humboldt County
  • Maple Creek
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Creek
    • Maple Creek is located in Humboldt County
  • Ferndale
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Waddington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waddington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddington
      • Waddington is located in Humboldt County
    • Rohnerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohnerville
      • Rohnerville is located in Humboldt County
    • Alton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Humboldt County

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

The official website for Eureka: www.ci.eureka.ca.gov/

The official website for Humboldt County: www.co.humboldt.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.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>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- Eureka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Eureka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.8018, Longitude: -124.1671    
<4>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.
<5>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Freshwater Corners and Freshwater. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<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 Eureka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024