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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Fairbanks (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 Fairbanks. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Fairbanks is located in El Dorado County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of El Dorado County: Alpine, Amador, Placer, Sacramento & Douglas (NV).

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

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Fairbanks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Quintette
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Quintette is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quintette
    • Camino
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
    • Pollock Pines
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Motor City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Motor City is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor City
    • Kelsey
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
    • Garden Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Georgetown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Fresh Pond
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Fornis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Fornis is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fornis
    • Newtown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Pacific
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Placerville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • River Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Fiddletown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Plymouth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Volcano
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Drytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pioneer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Lake of the Pines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Lake of the Pines is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake of the Pines
    • Chicago Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • You Bet ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • You Bet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for You Bet
    • Alta Sierra
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Alta Sierra is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Sierra
    • Cedar Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Kres
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Kres is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kres
    • Union Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Michigan Bluff
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
    • Foresthill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Greekstore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Greekstore is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
    • Yankee Jims
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Last Chance ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Last Chance is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
    • Applegate
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Iowa Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Weimar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bowman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Clipper Gap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Clipper Gap is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper Gap
    • Meadow Vista
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Auburn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Chicago Park ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Chicago Park is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Park
  • Sacramento County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Mormon Island ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mormon Island is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Island
    • Folsom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Folsom is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82,726 people
      • Folsom has also been known as:
      • Folsom City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Folsom <1>
    • Represa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Represa is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Represa
    • Folsom Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Folsom Junction is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom Junction
    • Prairie City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Prairie City is located in Sacramento County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley

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

Cemeteries Near Fairbanks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairbanks.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Fairbanks - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pioneer Graves Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pioneer Grave
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Georgetown Pioneer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Smith Flat Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Josephine Mine Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Bennett Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Placerville Union Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Placerville Union Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Placerville Union Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Placerville.
    • The Placerville Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Union Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1812538 <2>
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • James Marshall Gravesite
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (37 more) ...
    • Middletown Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Deadwood Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Foresthill Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Kelsey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
  • Georgetown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Garden Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Placerville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pacific
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
  • Coloma
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Michigan Bluff
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
  • Pleasant Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
  • Lotus
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Bryants
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryants is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants
  • El Dorado
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Yankee Jims
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fair Play
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Cool
      (18 miles [29 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 Fairbanks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairbanks.

Newspapers Published in Fairbanks ...

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 70 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairbanks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairbanks, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairbanks.

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 Fairbanks:

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 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.
<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- Fairbanks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Fairbanks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.