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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 Lewiston (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 Lewiston. 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.

Lewiston is located in Nez Perce County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Idaho's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Nez Perce County: Clearwater, Idaho, Latah, Lewis, Wallowa (OR), Asotin (WA) & Whitman (WA).

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

  • Nez Perce County     (The home county of Lewiston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewiston, with the one closest to Lewiston listed first.
    • North Lapwai
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Leon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
      • Leon is located in Nez Perce County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leon
      • From Lewiston to Leon
    • Lapwai
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lapwai have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapwai
      • Lapwai is located in Nez Perce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,152 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lapwai <1>
    • Spalding
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spalding have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spalding
      • Spalding is located in Nez Perce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spalding <1>
    • Sweetwater
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Waha
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Culdesac
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Culdesac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culdesac
      • Culdesac is located in Nez Perce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Culdesac <1>
    • Cherrylane
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Chesley ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lenore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenore
      • Lenore is located in Nez Perce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenore <1>
    • Cameron
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Peck
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Cavendish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Latah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewiston, with the one closest to Lewiston listed first.
    • Genesee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genesee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
      • Genesee is located in Latah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Genesee <1>
    • Lenville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lenville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenville
      • Lenville is located in Latah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lenville
      • From Lewiston to Lenville
    • Juliaetta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Moscow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moscow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
      • Moscow is located in Latah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,128 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moscow <1>
    • Kendrick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kendrick have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick
      • Kendrick is located in Latah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kendrick <1>
    • Howell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Howell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
      • Howell is located in Latah County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Howell
      • From Lewiston to Howell
    • Troy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Troy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
      • Troy is located in Latah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 913 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <1>
    • Viola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viola have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
      • Viola is located in Latah County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Viola <1>
    • Linden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewiston, with the one closest to Lewiston listed first.
    • Slickpoo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Winchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winchester have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
      • Winchester is located in Lewis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winchester <1>
    • Reubens
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ruebens
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Craigmont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigmont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigmont
      • Craigmont is located in Lewis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Craigmont <1>
  • Asotin County (WA)
  • Garfield County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lewiston, with the one closest to Lewiston listed first.
    • Peola
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Pataha
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mayview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mayview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
      • Mayview is located in Garfield County (WA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mayview
      • From Lewiston to Mayview
    • Pomeroy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Gould City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gould City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould City
      • Gould City is located in Garfield County (WA)
  • Whitman County (WA)

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

Cemeteries Near Lewiston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lewiston.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lewiston, with the one closest to Lewiston 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lewiston had a population of 849 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Lewiston had a population of 33,039 people.

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

  • Asotin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Leon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
    • Leon is located in Nez Perce County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Leon
    • From Lewiston to Leon
  • Silcott
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Silcott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silcott
    • Silcott is located in Asotin County (WA)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Silcott
    • From Lewiston to Silcott
  • Uniontown
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Genesee
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Genesee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genesee
    • Genesee is located in Latah County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Genesee <1>
  • Colton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Waha
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Johnson
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
    • Johnson is located in Whitman County (WA)
  • Theon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Theon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Theon
    • Theon is located in Asotin County (WA)
  • Lenville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lenville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenville
    • Lenville is located in Latah County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lenville
    • From Lewiston to Lenville
  • Juliaetta
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Anatone
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Staley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Staley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staley
      • Staley is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Staley
      • From Lewiston to Staley
    • Joel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
      • Joel is located in Latah County
    • Sunshine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunshine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
      • Sunshine is located in Whitman County (WA)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lewiston ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lewiston.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lewiston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lewiston and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lewiston.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6> of Lewiston.

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 Lewiston:

The official website for Lewiston: www.cityoflewiston.org/

The official website for Nez Perce County: www.co.nezperce.id.us/

The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/

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>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.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Lewiston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Lewiston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lewiston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4041, Longitude: -117.0020    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025