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 Clear Creek (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 Clear Creek. 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 Clear Creek ...
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.
Another variation: Clearcreek.
- A typical abbreviation for Clear Creek: Clear Crk. (or less commonly used: Clear Ck. or Clear Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Clear Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Clear Creek.
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 northeast 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 north.
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 north 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.
Clear Creek is located in Columbia County.
To see how the shape of Oregon's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Clatsop, Multnomah, Washington, Clark (WA), Cowlitz (WA) & Wahkiakum (WA).
Below are the counties that are near Clear Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clear Creek:
- Columbia County (The home county of Clear Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Keasey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Keasey is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keasey
- Vernonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Fishhawk ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
- Scappoose
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Warren
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Clatskanie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Saint Helens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Deer Island
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Columbia City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Beaver Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
- Reuben
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Reuben is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
- Clatsop County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Jewell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jewell is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Vinemaple
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Vinemaple is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinemaple
- Westport
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Clifton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Clifton is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Svensen Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Svensen Junction is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svensen Junction
- Multnomah County
- Burlington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Burlington is located in Multnomah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
- Tillamook County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
- Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
- Idiotville
- Jordan Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan Creek is located in Tillamook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan Creek
- Foss
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Foss is located in Tillamook County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foss
- Nehalem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Wheeler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Timber
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Buxton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Manning
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gales Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Banks
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kansas City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Kansas City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
- Christie ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Christie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
- Christie has also been known as:
- Carstens
- Mountaindale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mountaindale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Watts
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Watts is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts
- North Plains
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Forest Grove
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yamhill County
- Cove Orchard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cove Orchard is located in Yamhill County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Orchard
- Clark County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Ridgefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Woodland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sara
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
- Felida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
- La Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Shore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
- Pioneer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pioneer is located in Clark County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Cowlitz County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Kalama
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Point
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
- Stella
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Carrolls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bunker Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bunker Hill is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Longview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Longview
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
- Coal Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Kelso
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kelso is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <1>
- Rose Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
- Longview Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
- Wahkiakum County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Eagle Cliff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
- Cathlamet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Cathlamet
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clear Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Clear Creek.
Cemeteries Near Clear Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clear Creek.
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 Clear Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clear Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- North Cemetery of Clear Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Vernonia Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hall - Tipton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vernonia Pioneer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buxton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hayward Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- United Brethren Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Deeds Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pisgah Home Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Wilark Pioneer Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mist Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Jewell Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (101 more) ...
- Sunny Hill Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunny Hill Cemetery
- The Sunny Hill Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elsie Cemetery
- Elsie Road Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39469 <2>
- Fishhawk Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hillside Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
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 Clear Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Clear Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clear Creek, with the one closest to Clear Creek listed first.
- Keasey
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Keasey is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keasey
- Vernonia
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
- Buxton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Glenwood is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Manning
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fishhawk ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
- Mist
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mist is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mist
- Jewell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jewell is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
- Dixie ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dixie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Vinemaple
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Vinemaple is located in Clatsop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinemaple
- Gales Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Greenville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Mountaindale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mountaindale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Apiary ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Apiary is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apiary
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Clear Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clear Creek.
Newspapers Published in Clear Creek ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clear Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clear Creek, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clear Creek.
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 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 Clear Creek:
- Websites specific to Oregon
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clatsop County
- Multnomah County
- Tillamook County
- Washington County
- Yamhill County
- Clark County
- Cowlitz County
- Wahkiakum County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oregon
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 Clear Creek, 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- Clear Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |