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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 Riverdale (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 Riverdale. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.

Riverdale is located in Benewah County.

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 Benewah County: Kootenai, Latah, Shoshone, Spokane (WA) & Whitman (WA).

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

  • Benewah County     (The home county of Riverdale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Saint Maries
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Maries have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Maries
      • Saint Maries is located in Benewah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Maries <2>
    • Parkline
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkline
      • Parkline is located in Benewah County
    • Chatcolet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatcolet
      • Chatcolet is located in Benewah County
    • Santa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Emida
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emida
      • Emida is located in Benewah County
    • Plummer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
      • Plummer is located in Benewah County
    • Fernwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fernwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernwood
      • Fernwood is located in Benewah County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fernwood <2>
    • Tensed
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • De Smet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Smet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
      • De Smet is located in Benewah County
    • Willard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Willard is located in Benewah County
  • Kootenai County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Medimont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medimont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medimont
      • Medimont is located in Kootenai County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Medimont <2>
    • Conkling Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conkling Park
      • Conkling Park is located in Kootenai County
    • Lane
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
      • Lane is located in Kootenai County
    • Harrison
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
      • Harrison is located in Kootenai County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrison <2>
    • Rose Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Lake
      • Rose Lake is located in Kootenai County
    • Worley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Canyon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
      • Canyon is located in Kootenai County
    • Cataldo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Bellgrove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellgrove
      • Bellgrove is located in Kootenai County
    • Fernan Lake Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fernan Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernan Lake Village
      • Fernan Lake Village is located in Kootenai County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
    • Coeur d'Alene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Dalton Gardens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dalton Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Gardens
      • Dalton Gardens is located in Kootenai County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dalton Gardens <2>
  • Latah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Harvard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
      • Harvard is located in Latah County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvard <2>
    • Cora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
      • Cora is located in Latah County
  • Shoshone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Calder
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calder
      • Calder is located in Shoshone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calder <2>
    • Kingston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pinehurst
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinehurst have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
      • Pinehurst is located in Shoshone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,620 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinehurst <2>
    • Emerald Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Creek
      • Emerald Creek is located in Shoshone County
    • Smelterville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sweeney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweeney
      • Sweeney is located in Shoshone County
    • Wardner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Kellogg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kellogg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
      • Kellogg is located in Shoshone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,130 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kellogg <2>
    • Clarkia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Osburn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Silverton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverton
      • Silverton is located in Shoshone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silverton <2>
  • Spokane County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Latah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latah
      • Latah is located in Spokane County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latah <2>
    • Rockford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Fairfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Whitman County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverdale, with the one closest to Riverdale listed first.
    • Willard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Willard is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Tekoa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tekoa
      • Tekoa is located in Whitman County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tekoa <2>
    • Seltice
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seltice. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltice
      • Seltice is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lone Pine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lone Pine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
      • Lone Pine is located in Whitman County (WA)

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

Cemeteries Near Riverdale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverdale.

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

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

  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Medimont Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Medimont Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Medimont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lane Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lane Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Mission Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Mission Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Mission Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rose Lake Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<5> to the east of Plummer.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1991685 <4>
  • Coeur d'Alene Indian Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coeur d'Alene Indian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coeur d'Alene Indian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanders Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanders Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Worley Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Worley Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Worley Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<5> to the south of Worley.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #80687 <4>
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mountain View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mountain View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Shoshone Memorial Gardens
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shoshone Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shoshone Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hunt Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)

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>

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

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

  • Saint Maries
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Maries have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Maries
    • Saint Maries is located in Benewah County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Maries <2>
  • Chatcolet
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatcolet
    • Chatcolet is located in Benewah County
  • Lacon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacon
    • Lacon is located in Kootenai County
  • Lane
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
    • Lane is located in Kootenai County
  • Santa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Harrison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Harrison is located in Kootenai County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrison <2>
  • Kingston
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Enaville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enaville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enaville
    • Enaville is located in Shoshone County
  • Wardner
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Kellogg
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kellogg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
    • Kellogg is located in Shoshone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,130 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kellogg <2>
  • Tekoa
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tekoa
    • Tekoa is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tekoa <2>
  • Seltice
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seltice. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltice
    • Seltice is located in Whitman County (WA)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Coeur d'Alene
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lone Pine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lone Pine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
      • Lone Pine is located in Whitman County (WA)
    • Farmington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Riverdale ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverdale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverdale, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverdale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Riverdale:

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

The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Riverdale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Riverdale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3296, Longitude: -116.5557       In this case, the coordinates for Riverdale have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Riverdale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025