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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 The Forks (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 The Forks. 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 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.

The Forks is located in Mendocino 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 Mendocino County: Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Sonoma, Tehama & Trinity.

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

  • Mendocino County     (The home county of The Forks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Forks, with the one closest to The Forks listed first.
    • Calpella
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ukiah
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ukiah
      • Ukiah is located in Mendocino County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,883 people
      • Ukiah has also been known as:
      • Ukiah City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ukiah <1>
    • Talmage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Redwood Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hemlock Ranch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hemlock Ranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ranch
      • Hemlock Ranch is located in Mendocino County
      • Hemlock Ranch has also been known as:
      • Hemlock
    • Orrs Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs Springs
      • Orrs Springs is located in Mendocino County
    • Potter Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Largo ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Largo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Largo
      • Largo is located in Mendocino County
    • Hopland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Boonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Philo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Willits
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Forks, with the one closest to The Forks listed first.
    • Witter Springs ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Witter Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witter Springs
      • Witter Springs is located in Lake County
    • Saratoga Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saratoga Springs
      • Saratoga Springs is located in Lake County
    • Upper Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Robinson Rancheria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Rancheria
      • Robinson Rancheria is located in Lake County
    • North Lakeport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeport
      • North Lakeport is located in Lake County
    • Lakeport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Nice
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Finley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lucerne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kelseyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Soda Bay
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bartlett Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bartlett Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett Springs
      • Bartlett Springs is located in Lake County
  • Sonoma County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Forks, with the one closest to The Forks listed first.
    • Preston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Sonoma County
    • Cloverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in The Forks ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Forks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of The Forks, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for The Forks.

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 either 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 The Forks:

Cemeteries Near The Forks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Forks.

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

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

  • Pinoleville Rancheria Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Ukiah Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ukiah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ukiah Cemetery
  • Indian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Cemetery
  • Potter Valley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potter Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potter Valley Cemetery
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Shields Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shields Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shields Cemetery
  • Upper Lake Rancheria Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Little Lake Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Lake Cemetery
  • Hopland Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopland Cemetery
  • Robinson Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Upper Lake Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Hartley Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Willits Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willits Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willits Cemetery
    • Ornbaun Springs Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ornbaun Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ornbaun Springs Cemetery
    • Kelsay Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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 The Forks in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of The Forks.

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

  • Ukiah
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ukiah
    • Ukiah is located in Mendocino County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,883 people
    • Ukiah has also been known as:
    • Ukiah City
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ukiah <1>
  • Calpella
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Talmage
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hemlock Ranch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hemlock Ranch. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ranch
    • Hemlock Ranch is located in Mendocino County
    • Hemlock Ranch has also been known as:
    • Hemlock
  • Pomo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pomo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomo
    • Pomo is located in Mendocino County
  • Potter Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Largo ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Largo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Largo
    • Largo is located in Mendocino County
  • Philo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Boonville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hopland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Upper Lake
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Willits
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lakeport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Navarro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Hermitage ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hermitage. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
      • Hermitage is located in Mendocino County

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

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

The official website for Mendocino County: www.co.mendocino.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>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.
<3>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.
<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- The Forks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1912, Longitude: -123.2070    
<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 The Forks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024