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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 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 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 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 Sierra Heights: Sierra Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sierra Heights. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sierra Heights.

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 and hospitals 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.

Sierra Heights is located in San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County: La Paz (AZ), Mohave (AZ), Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside & Clark (NV).

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

  • San Bernardino County     (The home county of Sierra Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Heights, with the one closest to Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Fontana
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Muscoy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Muscoy is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoy
    • Devore Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Rialto
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Etiwanda
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • West End
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • West End is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
    • Serrano Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Serrano Village is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serrano Village
    • Lytle Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Declez
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
    • Rochester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
    • Cedarpines Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Heights, with the one closest to Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Mount Baldy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Claremont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Pomona
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 west)
    • Big Pines
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Big Pines is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Pines
    • San Dimas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Spadra
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
    • Diamond Bar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Charter Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Charter Oak is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
    • Falling Springs ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Falling Springs is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Springs
      • Former names for Falling Springs:
      • Cienega Canyon
      • Falling Springs Resort
      • Hedlees Resort
      • La Cienega
    • Glendora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Gladstone ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Gladstone is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
    • Azusa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Azusa is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azusa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49,238 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Azusa <1>
  • Orange County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Heights, with the one closest to Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Beeks Place ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Beeks Place is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeks Place
    • Anaheim Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorba Linda
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverado Canyon ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Silverado Canyon is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverado Canyon
    • Atwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sierra Heights, with the one closest to Sierra Heights listed first.
    • Sunnyslope
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Sunnyslope is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyslope
    • Glen Avon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
    • Jurupa Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jurupa Valley is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jurupa Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109,745 people
    • Rubidoux
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • De Anza Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • De Anza Village is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Anza Village
    • Highgrove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Highgrove is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove
    • Mira Loma
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Pedley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
    • Riverside
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bannockburn Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bannockburn Village is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannockburn Village
    • Eastvale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Arlington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
    • Norco
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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>

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

Cemeteries Near Sierra Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of 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 Sierra Heights - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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

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

  • Grapeland ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Grapeland is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
  • Etiwanda
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rialto
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • 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>
  • Rochester
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
  • Declez
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
  • Declezville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Declezville is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declezville
  • San Bernardino
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • North Cucamonga
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • North Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cucamonga
  • Colton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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>
  • Cajon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Cajon is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cajon
  • Arrowhead Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Arrowhead Springs is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Springs
  • Cucamonga
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cucamonga
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mound City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mound City is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City
    • Victoria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Victoria is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
    • North Ontario
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • North Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ontario

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

Newspapers Published in 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 105 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sierra Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sierra Heights, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sierra Heights.

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 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 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>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 Heights, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sierra Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.