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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 Old Bretz Mill (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 Old Bretz Mill. 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 Old Bretz Mill ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Old Bretz Mill: Old Bretz Ml. (or less commonly used: Old Bretz Mll.)

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 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 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.

Old Bretz Mill is located in Fresno 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 Fresno County: Inyo, Kings, Madera, Merced, Mono, San Benito & Tulare.

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

  • Fresno County     (The home county of Old Bretz Mill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Bretz Mill, with the one closest to Old Bretz Mill listed first.
    • Shaver Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Dora Belle
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora Belle
      • Dora Belle is located in Fresno County
    • Pineridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
      • Pineridge is located in Fresno County
    • Bretz Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bretz Mill
      • Bretz Mill is located in Fresno County
    • Tollhouse
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadow Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lakes
      • Meadow Lakes is located in Fresno County
    • Big Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
      • Big Creek is located in Fresno County
      • Former names for Big Creek:
      • Big Creek Flats
      • Cascada
      • Manzanita Park
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Creek <1>
    • Huntington Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Auberry
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Prather
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lakeshore
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sentinel ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sentinel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
      • Sentinel is located in Fresno County
    • Piedra
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Madera County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Bretz Mill, with the one closest to Old Bretz Mill listed first.
    • North Fork
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wishon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishon
      • Wishon is located in Madera County
    • Millerton ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Madera County
    • The Pines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Pines
      • The Pines is located in Madera County
    • Bass Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • O'Neals
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Coarsegold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Oakhurst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yosemite Forks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Forks
      • Yosemite Forks is located in Madera County
    • Yosemite Lakes Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yosemite Lakes Park
      • Yosemite Lakes Park is located in Madera County
      • Yosemite Lakes Park has also been known as:
      • Yosemite Lakes
    • Ahwahnee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Nevada County
    • Cedar Crest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
      • Cedar Crest is located in Nevada County
  • Tulare County
    • Grant Grove Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant Grove Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Grove Village
      • Grant Grove Village is located in Tulare County

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

Cemeteries Near Old Bretz Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Bretz Mill.

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 Old Bretz Mill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Tollhouse Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Big Sandy Rancheria Tribal Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Watts Valley Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watts Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watts Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Fork Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Fork Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Fork Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Auberry Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Hughes Creek Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hughes Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hughes Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Academy Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Walker Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Winchell Cove Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winchell Cove Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Winchell Cove Cemetery is located outside and to the east of Friant.
  • Fine Gold Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fine Gold Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fine Gold Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7970 <4>
  • Winchell Cove Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Hazelton Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hazelton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hazelton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Picayune Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Picayune Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Picayune Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Redbank Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Redbank Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Redbank Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Squaw Valley Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Squaw Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Squaw Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

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

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

  • Tollhouse
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Auberry
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sentinel ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sentinel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sentinel
    • Sentinel is located in Fresno County
  • Letcher ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Letcher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letcher
    • Letcher is located in Fresno County
  • Yokuts
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Dunlap
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Sanger
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Old Bretz Mill ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Bretz Mill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Bretz Mill, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Bretz Mill.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Old Bretz Mill:

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

The official website for Fresno County: www.co.fresno.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>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>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>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 Old Bretz Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Old Bretz Mill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Bretz Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0816, Longitude: -119.2987       In this case, the coordinates for Old Bretz Mill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025