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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 La Sierra Heights (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 La Sierra Heights. 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 La Sierra Heights ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for La Sierra Heights: La Sierra Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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.

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 doctors 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.

La Sierra Heights is located in Riverside 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 Riverside County: La Paz (AZ), Imperial, Orange, San Bernardino & San Diego.

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

  • Riverside County     (The home county of La Sierra Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Sierra Heights, with the one closest to La Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Pedley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
    • Arlington
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
    • Jurupa Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jurupa Valley is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jurupa Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,745 people
    • De Anza Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • De Anza Village is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Anza Village
    • Mira Loma
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Norco
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Norco is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,892 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norco <1>
    • Glen Avon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
    • Rubidoux
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Home Gardens
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Home Gardens is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home Gardens
    • Eastvale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Riverside
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Sunnyslope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunnyslope is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyslope
    • Porphyry ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Porphyry is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porphyry
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Sierra Heights, with the one closest to La Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Claremont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Pomona
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Pomona is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 149,212 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pomona <1>
    • La Verne
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Diamond Bar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Spadra
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
    • San Dimas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Baldy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Walnut
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Walnut is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29,324 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut <1>
    • Charter Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Charter Oak is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
    • Rowland Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • South San Jose Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • South San Jose Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South San Jose Hills
    • Woodside Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Woodside Village is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Village
    • Covina
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Covina is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,259 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covina <1>
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Sierra Heights, with the one closest to La Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Beeks Place ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Beeks Place is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeks Place
    • Silverado Canyon ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Silverado Canyon is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverado Canyon
    • Anaheim Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverado
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Modjeska
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Modjeska is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modjeska
    • Portola Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Portola Hills is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portola Hills
    • Yorba Linda
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Trabuco Canyon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Cowan Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cowan Heights is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Heights
    • Foothill Ranch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Villa Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Atwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • North Tustin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Tustin is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Tustin
  • San Bernardino County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Sierra Heights, with the one closest to La Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Southridge Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Southridge Village is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southridge Village
    • Declez
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
    • Rochester
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
    • Bloomington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Guasti
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Racimo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
    • Fontana
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Fontana is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216,173 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fontana <1>
    • West End
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • West End is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
    • Grand Terrace
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • West Colton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • West Colton is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Colton
    • Etiwanda
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Chino
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
    • Los Serranos
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Los Serranos is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Los Serranos

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

Cemeteries Near La Sierra Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Sierra Heights.

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 La Sierra Heights - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Crestlawn Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Corona Sunnyslope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Sunny Shope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Olivewood Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Green Acres Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Agua Mansa Pioneer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Veterans Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Riverside National Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Hermosa Gardens Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa Gardens Cemetery
    • The Hermosa Gardens Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Colton Cemetery
    • Hermosa Cemetery
    • Hermosa Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8022 <2>
  • Rialto Park Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Montecito Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (41 more) ...

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 La Sierra Heights in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of La Sierra Heights.

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

  • Riverside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Declezville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Declezville is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declezville
  • Declez
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
  • Rochester
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
  • North Cucamonga
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • North Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cucamonga
  • Ontario
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 183,393 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <1>
  • Chino
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Chino is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chino
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 92,290 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chino <1>
  • Etiwanda
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Colton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Colton is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,661 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colton <1>
  • Rialto
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rialto is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rialto
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 104,132 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rialto <1>
  • Mound City ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mound City is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
  • Grapeland ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Grapeland is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • North Ontario
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • North Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ontario
    • Cucamonga
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cucamonga
    • San Bernardino
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in La Sierra Heights ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Sierra Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Sierra Heights, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Sierra Heights.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 La Sierra Heights:

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 'straight-line' (or 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- La Sierra Heights) 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 La Sierra Heights, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.