RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of California >> San Bernardino County >> Fontana >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
California

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 Fontana (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 Fontana. 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 hospitals and 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.

Fontana is located in San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County: La Paz (AZ), Mohave (AZ), Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside & Clark (NV).

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

  • San Bernardino County     (The home county of Fontana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Rialto
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rialto
      • Rialto is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104,132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rialto <1>
    • Bloomington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • West End
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
      • West End is located in San Bernardino County
    • West Colton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Colton
      • West Colton is located in San Bernardino County
    • Southridge Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southridge Village
      • Southridge Village is located in San Bernardino County
    • Etiwanda
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Muscoy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muscoy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoy
      • Muscoy is located in San Bernardino County
    • Colton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
      • Colton is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,661 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colton <1>
    • San Bernardino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Serrano Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Serrano Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serrano Village
      • Serrano Village is located in San Bernardino County
    • Grand Terrace
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Guasti
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Mount Baldy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Claremont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • La Verne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pomona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
      • Pomona is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149,212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pomona <1>
    • San Dimas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Spadra
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spadra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
      • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
    • Diamond Bar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Big Pines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Pines
      • Big Pines is located in Los Angeles County
    • Charter Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charter Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
      • Charter Oak is located in Los Angeles County
    • Glendora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Covina
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covina
      • Covina is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covina <1>
    • Gladstone ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gladstone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
      • Gladstone is located in Los Angeles County
    • Walnut
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
      • Walnut is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut <1>
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Beeks Place ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beeks Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeks Place
      • Beeks Place is located in Orange County
    • Anaheim Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorba Linda
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Atwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverado Canyon ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silverado Canyon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverado Canyon
      • Silverado Canyon is located in Orange County
    • Silverado
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Modjeska
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Modjeska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modjeska
      • Modjeska is located in Orange County
    • Brea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brea
      • Brea is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brea <1>
    • Cowan Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Heights
      • Cowan Heights is located in Orange County
    • Placentia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Villa Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Panorama Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Heights
      • Panorama Heights is located in Orange County
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Sunnyslope
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyslope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyslope
      • Sunnyslope is located in Riverside County
    • Jurupa Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jurupa Valley
      • Jurupa Valley is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,745 people
    • Rubidoux
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Glen Avon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
    • De Anza Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Anza Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Anza Village
      • De Anza Village is located in Riverside County
    • Highgrove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highgrove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove
      • Highgrove is located in Riverside County
    • Pedley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pedley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
    • Mira Loma
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverside
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Bannockburn Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bannockburn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannockburn Village
      • Bannockburn Village is located in Riverside County
    • Arlington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
    • Eastvale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Norco
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fontana ...

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 167 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fontana.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fontana. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fontana and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fontana.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Fontana.

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 Fontana:

Cemeteries Near Fontana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fontana.

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

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

  • Veterans Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Veterans Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Veterans Memorial Park
  • Rialto Park Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Green Acres Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hermosa Gardens Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Home of Eternity Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Home of Eternity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Home of Eternity Cemetery
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
  • Campo Santo Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campo Santo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campo Santo Cemetery
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Montecito Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (29 more) ...
    • Crestlawn Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Olivewood Memorial Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Indian Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian 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>

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

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

  • Declez
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Declez have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
    • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
  • Grapeland ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grapeland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
    • Grapeland is located in San Bernardino County
  • Rialto
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rialto
    • Rialto is located in San Bernardino County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 104,132 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rialto <1>
  • Declezville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Declezville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declezville
    • Declezville is located in San Bernardino County
  • Etiwanda
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Rochester
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rochester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
    • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
  • Colton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
    • Colton is located in San Bernardino County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,661 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colton <1>
  • San Bernardino
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • North Cucamonga
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Cucamonga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cucamonga
    • North Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
  • Riverside
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Mound City ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
    • Mound City is located in San Bernardino County
  • Victoria
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victoria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • Victoria is located in San Bernardino County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Arrowhead Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Springs
      • Arrowhead Springs is located in San Bernardino County
    • Cucamonga
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cucamonga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cucamonga
      • Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Ontario
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>

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

The official website for Fontana: www.fontana.org/

The official website for San Bernardino County: www.sbcounty.gov/

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>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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fontana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fontana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1067, Longitude: -117.4362    
<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 Fontana, 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