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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 Rainier (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 Rainier. 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.

Rainier is located in Columbia County.

To see how the shape of Oregon's counties 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 Rainier. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rainier:

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Rainier)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Beaver Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
    • Prescott
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Goble
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
    • Reuben
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
    • Mayger
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County
    • Quincy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County
    • Deer Island
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Clatskanie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Columbia City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Pittsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
    • Saint Helens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Helens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helens
      • Saint Helens is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,071 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Helens <2>
    • Vernonia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fishhawk ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fishhawk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
      • Fishhawk is located in Columbia County
  • Clatsop County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Westport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Clifton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County
    • Jewell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jewell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
      • Jewell is located in Clatsop County
    • Brownsmead
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Buxton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Timber
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Woodland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Etna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Etna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
      • Etna is located in Clark County (WA)
    • La Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridgefield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pioneer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
      • Pioneer is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Amboy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • King Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Corner
      • King Corner is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Sara
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sara. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
      • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Cherry Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
      • Cherry Grove is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Dollar's Corner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dollar's Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar's Corner
      • Dollar's Corner is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Battle Ground
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Felida
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Heisson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cowlitz County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Longview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
      • Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,515 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Longview <2>
    • Carrolls
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Kelso
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Kelso is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <2>
    • Rose Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
      • Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • West Longview
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Longview Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Ostrander
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Kalama
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalama
      • Kalama is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,844 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalama <2>
    • Coal Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Stella
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Castle Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Oak Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
      • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Silver Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Vader
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vader
      • Vader is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 677 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vader <2>
    • Toledo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Toledo is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 785 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toledo <2>
    • Winlock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winlock
      • Winlock is located in Lewis County (WA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winlock <2>
    • Saint Urban
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County (WA)
  • Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Eagle Cliff
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eagle Cliff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
      • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • East Cathlamet
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Cathlamet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
      • East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)
    • Cathlamet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Skamokawa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Rainier ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainier.

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

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

  • Dibblee House
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dibblee House
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Dibblee House. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2426176 <4>
  • Knights of Pythias Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Woodbine Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodbine Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Woodbine Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #495875 <4>
  • Green Mtn. Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hudson Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Welter Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Welter Family Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Welter Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2269447 <4>
  • Prescott Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prescott Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Prescott Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39313 <4>
  • Rose Valley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Cowlitz View Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cowlitz View Memorial Gardens
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cowlitz View Memorial Gardens is a very large cemetery that is located in Kelso (WA).
    • The Cowlitz View Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • Kelso IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #281134 <4>
  • Catlin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Neer City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Hills Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • Longview Memorial Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mt. Solo Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Apiary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rainier had a population of 238 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Rainier had a population of 2,021 people.

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

  • Carrolls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kelso
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
    • Kelso is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <2>
  • Apiary ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apiary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apiary
    • Apiary is located in Columbia County
  • Reuben
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
    • Reuben is located in Columbia County
  • Goble
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
    • Goble is located in Columbia County
  • Lexington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lexington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Lexington is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
  • Kalama
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalama
    • Kalama is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,844 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalama <2>
  • Mayger
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
    • Mayger is located in Columbia County
  • Stella
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stella. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
  • Deer Island
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Castle Rock
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Clatskanie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Oak Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
      • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Caples
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caples
      • Caples is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Eagle Cliff
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eagle Cliff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
      • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County (WA)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rainier ...

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 75 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainier.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rainier. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rainier and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rainier.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5> of Rainier.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Rainier:

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

The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.or.us/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.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 '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- Rainier) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rainier. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.0924, Longitude: -122.9470       In this case, the coordinates for Rainier 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 Rainier, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025