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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 Saint Helens (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 Saint Helens. 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 Saint Helens ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Saint Helens: St. Helens

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Saint Helens is located in Columbia County and is the County Seat.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Saint Helens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens listed first.
    • Columbia City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Warren
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Deer Island
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Scappoose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Reuben
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
    • Goble
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
    • Prescott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Beaver Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
    • Pittsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
    • Rainier
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier
      • Rainier is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,021 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainier <1>
    • Vernonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Clatskanie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Multnomah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens listed first.
    • Burlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
      • Burlington is located in Multnomah County
    • Vanport City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport City
      • Vanport City is located in Multnomah County
    • Portland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Laurelhurst
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelhurst
      • Laurelhurst is located in Multnomah County
    • Maywood Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maywood Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood Park
      • Maywood Park is located in Multnomah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 852 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maywood Park <1>
    • Hillsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Multnomah County
    • Montavilla
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla
      • Montavilla is located in Multnomah County
    • Woodstock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Woodstock is located in Multnomah County
    • Hazelwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hazelwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
      • Hazelwood is located in Multnomah County
    • Fairview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Multnomah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,450 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairview <1>
    • Rockwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
      • Rockwood is located in Multnomah County
    • Milwaukie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens listed first.
    • Bethany
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
      • Bethany is located in Washington County
    • North Plains
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Plains
      • North Plains is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,194 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Plains <1>
    • Oak Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
      • Oak Hills is located in Washington County
    • Rockcreek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockcreek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockcreek
      • Rockcreek is located in Washington County
    • Banks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,034 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Banks <1>
    • Buxton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
      • Christie is located in Washington County
      • Christie has also been known as:
      • Carstens
    • Manning
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mill
      • Cedar Mill is located in Washington County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Mill <1>
    • Marlene Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlene Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlene Village
      • Marlene Village is located in Washington County
    • Cedar Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hills
      • Cedar Hills is located in Washington County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Hills <1>
    • Hillsboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens listed first.
    • Woodland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgefield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • La Center
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
      • Pioneer is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Sara
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sara have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
      • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
    • King Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Corner
      • King Corner is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Dollar's Corner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dollar's Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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)
    • Felida
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felida have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Cherry Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
      • Cherry Grove is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Mount Vista
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vista
      • Mount Vista is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Salmon Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salmon Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Creek
      • Salmon Creek is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Battle Ground
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Cowlitz County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens listed first.
    • Kalama
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Ariel
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Carrolls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Rose Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
      • Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Kelso
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Longview
      (20 miles [32.2 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 <1>
    • Longview Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Ostrander
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • West Longview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Coal Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Stella
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stella have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Cougar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Saint Helens ...

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 84 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saint Helens.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Saint Helens. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Saint Helens and those printed in the larger area surrounding Saint Helens.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> of Saint Helens.

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 Saint Helens:

Cemeteries Near Saint Helens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saint Helens.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Saint Helens, with the one closest to Saint Helens 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Saint Helens had a population of 220 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Saint Helens had a population of 14,071 people.

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

  • Columbia City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Warren
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Caples
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caples have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caples
    • Caples is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
  • Ridgefield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Deer Island
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • La Center
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Scappoose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Sara
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sara have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
    • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Pioneer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Pioneer is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Hayes
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
    • Hayes is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Reuben
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
    • Reuben is located in Columbia County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kalama
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Goble
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
    • Felida
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felida have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)

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

The official website for Saint Helens: www.ci.st-helens.or.us/

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

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

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 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>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 from Point A (ie- Saint Helens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saint Helens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8580, Longitude: -122.8157       In this case, the coordinates for Saint Helens have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Saint Helens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024