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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 Sierra City (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 Sierra City. 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 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.

Sierra City is located in Sierra 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 Sierra County: Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Yuba & Washoe (NV).

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

  • Sierra County     (The home county of Sierra City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Loganville
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
      • Loganville is located in Sierra County
    • Downieville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Sattley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Calpine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
      • Forest is located in Sierra County
    • Alleghany
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Goodyears Bar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sierraville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Poker Flat
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poker Flat
      • Poker Flat is located in Sierra County
    • Queen City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Sierra County
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
    • Loyalton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Butte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Clipper Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Oroleve
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oroleve
      • Oroleve is located in Butte County
    • Lumpkin ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumpkin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumpkin
      • Lumpkin is located in Butte County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Marsh Mill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Mill
      • Marsh Mill is located in Nevada County
    • Graniteville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
      • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
    • Meadow Lake ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meadow Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lake
      • Meadow Lake is located in Nevada County
    • Summit City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit City
      • Summit City is located in Nevada County
    • Baltimore Town
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baltimore Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore Town
      • Baltimore Town is located in Nevada County
    • Washington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kingvale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingvale
      • Kingvale is located in Nevada County
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County
    • Soda Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Nevada County
    • Norden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • North Columbia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Columbia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Columbia
      • North Columbia is located in Nevada County
    • Donner Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donner Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donner Lake
      • Donner Lake is located in Nevada County
  • Placer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Emigrant Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Big Bend
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Placer County
    • Donner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donner
      • Donner is located in Placer County
    • Alta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Casa Loma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Loma
      • Casa Loma is located in Placer County
    • Soda Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soda Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soda Springs
      • Soda Springs is located in Placer County
    • Dutch Flat
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Gold Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Plumas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Whitehawk
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitehawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehawk
      • Whitehawk is located in Plumas County
    • Clio
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Valley Ranch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Ranch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Ranch
      • Valley Ranch is located in Plumas County
    • C-Road
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for C-Road
      • C-Road is located in Plumas County
    • Graeagle
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Johnsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Plumas Eureka
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumas Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumas Eureka
      • Plumas Eureka is located in Plumas County
    • Blairsden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Mohawk
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
      • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
    • Mohawk Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk Vista
      • Mohawk Vista is located in Plumas County
    • Iron Horse
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Horse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Horse
      • Iron Horse is located in Plumas County
    • Delleker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delleker
      • Delleker is located in Plumas County
    • Portola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Shasta County
    • Bear Valley ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bear Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
      • Bear Valley is located in Shasta County
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra City, with the one closest to Sierra City listed first.
    • Depot Hill ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depot Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depot Hill
      • Depot Hill is located in Yuba County
    • Camptonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Strawberry Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bullards Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foster Bar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Sierra City ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sierra City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Sierra City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Sierra City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Sierra City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Sierra City.

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 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 Sierra City:

Cemeteries Near Sierra City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sierra City.

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

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

  • Sierra City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Sierra City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sierra City Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Sierra City.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sierra City Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2276304 <5>
  • Downieville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sattley Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Forest City Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Alleghany Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnsville Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Sierraville Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Goodyears Bar Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eureka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eureka Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7955 <5>
  • Howland Flat Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Howland Flat Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howland Flat Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2186787 <5>
  • Westside - Sharkey Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (26 more) ...
    • Pine Grove Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Shady Grove Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Louis Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Louis Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Louis Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the west of La Porte.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Louis Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8331 <5>

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Sierra City had a population of 632 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Graniteville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graniteville
    • Graniteville is located in Nevada County
  • Downieville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Sattley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Alleghany
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnsville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Goodyears Bar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Mohawk
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mohawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
    • Mohawk is located in Plumas County
  • Moore's Flat
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore's Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore's Flat
    • Moore's Flat is located in Nevada County
  • Maybert ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maybert have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybert
    • Maybert is located in Nevada County
  • Washington
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Emigrant Gap
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Cisco
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
    • Cisco is located in Placer County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Gibsonville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonville
      • Gibsonville is located in Sierra County
    • Saint Louis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Louis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Louis
      • Saint Louis is located in Sierra County
    • North Bloomfield ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bloomfield
      • North Bloomfield is located in Nevada County

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

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

The official website for Sierra County: www.sierracounty.ws/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sierra City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sierra City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.5666, Longitude: -120.6320    
<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 Sierra City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024