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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 Riverton (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 Riverton. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Riverton 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 Riverton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Riverton:

  • El Dorado County     (The home county of Riverton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • White Hall
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • White Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • Pacific
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
    • Fresh Pond
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Fresh Pond is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fresh Pond
    • Pollock Pines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Kyburz
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Grizzly Flatx
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sportsman Hall ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Sportsman Hall is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sportsman Hall
    • Pleasant Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Camino
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Newtown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Newtown is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
    • Somerset
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Motor City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Motor City is located in El Dorado County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motor City
    • Fair Play
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Alpine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Sorensens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Sorensens is located in Alpine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sorensens
    • Bear Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Amador County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Kit Carson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Kirkwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • River Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pioneer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Fiddletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Volcano
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Plymouth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Calaveras County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Bummerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Bummerville is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bummerville
    • West Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Sandy Gulch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Sandy Gulch is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Gulch
    • Wilseyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Glencoe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Rail Road Flat
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Big Meadow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Meadow is located in Calaveras County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Meadow
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Greekstore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Greekstore is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greekstore
    • Michigan Bluff
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Michigan Bluff is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Michigan Bluff
    • Last Chance ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Last Chance is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Last Chance
    • Tahoma Meadows
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tahoma Meadows is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahoma Meadows
    • Homewood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Foresthill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tahoe Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Tahoe Pines is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahoe Pines
    • Yankee Jims
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Yankee Jims is located in Placer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Jims
    • Tahoe City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Douglas County (NV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverton, with the one closest to Riverton listed first.
    • Edgewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Edgewood is located in Douglas County (NV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewood
    • Stateline
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Tahoe Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tahoe Village is located in Douglas County (NV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahoe Village

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

Cemeteries Near Riverton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverton.

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 Riverton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pioneer Grave
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Indian Diggings Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Flat Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Maidens Gravesite
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Andreason Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Bennett Memorial Park
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Placerville Union Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Pioneer Graves Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Middletown Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Westwood Hills Memorial Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (28 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.<3>

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

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

  • Pacific
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Pacific is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
  • Bryants
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Bryants is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryants
  • Grizzly Flatx
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Valley is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
  • Omo Ranch
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Omo Ranch is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo Ranch
  • Fair Play
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Placerville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Kelsey
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Kelsey is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelsey
  • El Dorado
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Emerald Bay
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Emerald Bay is located in El Dorado County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Bay
  • Georgetown
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Garden Valley
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Coloma
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Fiddletown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Volcano
      (24 miles [38.6 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 Riverton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Riverton.

Newspapers Published in Riverton ...

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 Riverton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverton, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverton.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Riverton:

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