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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 South Fontana (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 South Fontana. 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 South Fontana ...

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 South Fontana: S. Fontana

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 southwest 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 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.

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

  • San Bernardino County     (The home county of South Fontana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Fontana, with the one closest to South Fontana listed first.
    • Declez
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
    • Southridge Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Southridge Village is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southridge Village
    • West End
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • West End is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
    • Rochester
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
    • Fontana
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Etiwanda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Rancho Cucamonga
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Guasti
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Racimo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Racimo is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racimo
    • Rialto
      (7 miles [11.3 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>
    • Alta Loma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Fontana, with the one closest to South Fontana listed first.
    • Claremont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Pomona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Mount Baldy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • La Verne
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Spadra
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Spadra is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spadra
    • Diamond Bar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • San Dimas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Charter Oak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Charter Oak is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Oak
    • Walnut
      (21 miles [33.8 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>
    • Glendora
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Citrus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Citrus is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus
    • Covina
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • 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 South Fontana, with the one closest to South Fontana listed first.
    • Beeks Place ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Beeks Place is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beeks Place
    • Anaheim Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Yorba Linda
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Silverado Canyon ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Silverado Canyon is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverado Canyon
    • Silverado
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Atwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Modjeska
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Modjeska is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modjeska
    • Brea
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Brea is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brea
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brea <1>
    • Cowan Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cowan Heights is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan Heights
    • Olive
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Olive is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olive
    • Placentia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Villa Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverside County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Fontana, with the one closest to South Fontana listed first.
    • Glen Avon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Glen Avon is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Avon
    • Jurupa Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 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
    • Sunnyslope
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sunnyslope is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyslope
    • De Anza Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • De Anza Village is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Anza Village
    • Mira Loma
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Rubidoux
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pedley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Pedley is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedley
    • Eastvale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Highgrove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Highgrove is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove
    • Norco
      (9 miles [14.5 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>
    • Riverside
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Arlington is located in Riverside County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington

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

Cemeteries Near South Fontana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Fontana.

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 South Fontana - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from South Fontana, with the one closest to South Fontana 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 South Fontana in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Fontana.

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

  • Declez
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Declez is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declez
  • Declezville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Declezville is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Declezville
  • Rochester
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochester is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
  • Etiwanda
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • North Cucamonga
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • North Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cucamonga
  • Grapeland ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Grapeland is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapeland
  • Rialto
    (7 miles [11.3 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>
  • Riverside
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Cucamonga
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cucamonga is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cucamonga
  • North Ontario
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • North Ontario is located in San Bernardino County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ontario
  • Ontario
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Colton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Chino
      (11 miles [17.7 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>
    • San Bernardino
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Mound City ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Mound City is located in San Bernardino County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound City

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

Newspapers Published in South Fontana ...

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 101 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Fontana.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Fontana, 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 South Fontana.

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 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 South Fontana:

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 South Fontana, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Fontana) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.