RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Oregon >> Columbia County >> Downing >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Downing (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 Downing. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Downing 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 Downing. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Downing:

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Downing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • Mayger
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
    • Quincy
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
    • Rainier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Clatskanie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Beaver Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
    • Prescott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Goble
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
    • Reuben
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
    • Fishhawk ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
    • Pittsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
    • Deer Island
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Vernonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Clatsop County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • Westport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Clifton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Brownsmead
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead
    • Jewell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jewell is located in Clatsop County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
    • Svensen Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Svensen Junction is located in Clatsop County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svensen Junction
    • Vinemaple
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Vinemaple is located in Clatsop County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinemaple
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • Woodland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Etna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Etna is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • La Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridgefield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Pioneer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • West Longview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
    • Stella
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Coal Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
    • Bunker Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bunker Hill is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
    • Longview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,515 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longview <1>
    • Longview Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
    • Oak Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
    • Kelso
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Ostrander
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
    • Pleasant Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Carrolls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Castle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • Vader
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Vader is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vader
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 677 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vader <1>
    • Toledo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Toledo is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toledo <1>
    • Winlock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Winlock is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winlock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winlock <1>
    • Saint Urban
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
    • Curtis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Napavine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing listed first.
    • Eagle Cliff
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
    • East Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
    • Cathlamet
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Skamokawa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Brookfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
    • Dahlia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Dahlia is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlia
    • Grays River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Altoona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Altoona is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona

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

Cemeteries Near Downing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Downing.

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 Downing - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Downing, with the one closest to Downing 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.<4>

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

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

  • Mayger
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mayger is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
  • Stella
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
  • Clatskanie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Rainier
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Oak Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
  • Kelso
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Eagle Cliff
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
  • Lexington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Lexington is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
  • Apiary ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Apiary is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apiary
  • Waterford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Waterford is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
  • Carrolls
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Goble
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Goble is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Castle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mist
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mist is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mist
    • Reuben
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben

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

Newspapers Published in Downing ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Downing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Downing, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Downing.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Downing:

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