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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Topanga Oaks (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 Topanga Oaks. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Topanga Oaks is located in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County: Kern, Orange, San Bernardino & Ventura.

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

  • Los Angeles County     (The home county of Topanga Oaks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topanga Oaks, with the one closest to Topanga Oaks listed first.
    • Glenview
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Glenview is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenview
    • Topanga
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Santa Maria
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Santa Maria is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Maria
    • Woodland Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Woodland Hills is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Hills
    • Tarzana
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Tarzana is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarzana
    • Calabasas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Castellammare
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Castellammare is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castellammare
    • Hidden Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pacific Palisades
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pacific Palisades is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific Palisades
    • Encino
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Encino is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Encino
    • Brentwood Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Brentwood Park is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood Park
    • Bel Air
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Bel Air is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bel Air
    • Brentwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Brentwood is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
  • Ventura County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topanga Oaks, with the one closest to Topanga Oaks listed first.
    • Oak Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Thousand Oaks
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Simi Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwich Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Greenwich Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich Village
    • Mountclef Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Mountclef Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountclef Village
    • Newbury Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Moorpark
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Casa Conejo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Casa Conejo is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casa Conejo
    • Lagol
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Lagol is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lagol
    • Buckhorn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckhorn is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Piru
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Leisure Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Leisure Village is located in Ventura County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
    • Somis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Topanga Oaks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Topanga Oaks.

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 Topanga Oaks - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Will Geer Estate
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Will Geer Estate
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Will Geer Estate is located less than 2 miles<2> to the northeast of Topanga.
    • The Will Geer Estate has also been known as:
    • Will Geer Shakespeare Garden
    • Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #640478 <3>
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Los Angeles National Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Westwood Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Memorial Park
    • The Westwood Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Westwood Village Memorial Park
  • Oakwood Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park, Simi Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Hillside Memorial Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Valhalla Memorial Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Fernando Mission Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the San Fernando Mission Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Mission Hills.
    • The San Fernando Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
    • San Fernando Mission Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #109027 <3>
  • Eden Memorial Park
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Assumption Catholic Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood Forever Cemetery
      • The Hollywood Forever Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Beth Olam Cemetery
      • Beth Olam Mausoleum
      • Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
      • Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8033 <3>
    • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills is a very large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the south of Burbank.
      • The Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills has also been known as:
      • Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery - Hollywood Hills
      • Forest Lawn Memorial Park - Hollywood Hills
      • Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery
      • Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn Memorial Park
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7975 <3>

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.<4>

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

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

  • Las Flores
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Las Flores is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Las Flores
  • Santa Monica
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Chatsworth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Chatsworth is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatsworth
  • Palms
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Palms is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palms
  • Pacoima
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Pacoima is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacoima
  • San Fernando
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Simi Valley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Inglewood
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Burbank
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Burbank is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101,866 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burbank <1>
  • Hyde Park
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hyde Park is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde Park
  • West Glendale
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • West Glendale is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Glendale
  • Glendale
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Glendale is located in Los Angeles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 197,747 people
    • Former name for Glendale:
    • Tropico
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glendale <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Sunland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunland is located in Los Angeles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunland
    • Newhall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Newbury Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Topanga Oaks ...

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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around Topanga Oaks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Topanga Oaks, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Topanga Oaks.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Topanga Oaks:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Topanga Oaks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Topanga Oaks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.