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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Bitter Root. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Bitter Root to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Bitter Root, please Contact Us.

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 Bitter Root (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 Bitter Root. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Bitter Root is historic, it would have been located within present day Ravalli County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ravalli County: Idaho (ID), Lemhi (ID), Beaverhead, Granite & Missoula.

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

  • Ravalli County     (The home county of Bitter Root)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bitter Root, with the one closest to Bitter Root listed first.
    • Florence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Ravalli County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <3>
    • Stevensville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cinnabar Court
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnabar Court
      • Cinnabar Court is located in Ravalli County
    • Bing
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bing
      • Bing is located in Ravalli County
    • Victor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Corvallis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Pinesdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinesdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinesdale
      • Pinesdale is located in Ravalli County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinesdale <3>
    • Hamilton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Leisure Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
      • Leisure Village is located in Ravalli County
    • Grantsdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Missoula County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bitter Root, with the one closest to Bitter Root listed first.
    • Lolo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Missoula
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missoula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missoula
      • Missoula is located in Missoula County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76,848 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missoula <3>
    • Orchard Homes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard Homes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Homes
      • Orchard Homes is located in Missoula County
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Clinton is located in Missoula County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <3>
    • East Missoula
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Missoula
      • East Missoula is located in Missoula County
    • Travois Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travois Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travois Village
      • Travois Village is located in Missoula County
    • Piltzville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piltzville
      • Piltzville is located in Missoula County
    • Bonner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Milltown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • De Smet
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Smet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
      • De Smet is located in Missoula County
    • Grass Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grass Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
      • Grass Valley is located in Missoula County
    • Wye
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wye have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wye
      • Wye is located in Missoula County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wye <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Bitter Root ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bitter Root.

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

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

  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Joseph's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Florence - Carlton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florence - Carlton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florence - Carlton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Victor Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Woodman Pioneer Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Pinesdale Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinesdale Cemetery
    • The Pinesdale Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ted Weidow Sr. Memorial Cemetery
  • Post Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Post Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Post Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Corvallis Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Corvallis Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Corvallis Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Corvallis.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20829 <5>
  • Blodgett Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • St. Mary Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Mary Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Missoula Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)

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.

Bitter Root itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Stevensville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Carlton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
    • Carlton is located in Missoula County
  • Victor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lolo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Woodside
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
    • Woodside is located in Ravalli County
  • Corvallis
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Clinton
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Clinton is located in Missoula County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <3>
  • Missoula
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missoula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missoula
    • Missoula is located in Missoula County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 76,848 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missoula <3>
  • Hamilton
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Bonner
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • De Smet
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Smet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
    • De Smet is located in Missoula County
  • Grantsdale
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Grass Valley
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grass Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
    • Grass Valley is located in Missoula County

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

Newspapers Published in Bitter Root ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bitter Root.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bitter Root, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bitter Root.

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 Bitter Root:

The official website for Ravalli County: www.co.ravalli.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Bitter Root, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bitter Root) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bitter Root. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.5730, Longitude: -114.0468       In this case, the coordinates for Bitter Root have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025