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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 West 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 West 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 West 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 West Saint Helens: W. 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 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.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of West Saint Helens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Saint Helens, with the one closest to West Saint Helens listed first.
    • Saint Helens
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • 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>
    • Columbia City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Warren
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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.<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
    • 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
      (15 miles [24.1 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.<1> 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 <2>
    • Vernonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Clatskanie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Multnomah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Saint Helens, with the one closest to West 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.<1> 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 <2>
    • 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
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
      • Hazelwood is located in Multnomah County
    • Woodstock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Woodstock 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.<1> 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 <2>
    • 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)
    • Wood Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Village
      • Wood Village is located in Multnomah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,081 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wood Village <2>
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Saint Helens, with the one closest to West Saint Helens listed first.
    • North Plains
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Bethany
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
      • Bethany is located in Washington County
    • 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.<1> 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.<1> 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 <2>
    • 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.<1> 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 <2>
    • Hillsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlene Village
      • Marlene Village is located in Washington County
    • Kansas City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kansas City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas City
      • Kansas City 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.<1> 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 <2>
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Saint Helens, with the one closest to West Saint Helens listed first.
    • Woodland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ridgefield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • La Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Pioneer
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
      • Pioneer is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Sara
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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)
    • 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.<1> 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.<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
      (12 miles [19.3 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)
    • 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)
    • Lake Shore
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
      • Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Salmon Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salmon Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Cowlitz County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Saint Helens, with the one closest to West 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 <2>
    • Carrolls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ariel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 <2>
    • 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 <2>
    • West Longview
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (23 miles [37 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Coal Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
    • Stella
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stella have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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)
    • Castle Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in West 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 West Saint Helens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Saint Helens, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Saint Helens.

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 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 West Saint Helens:

Cemeteries Near West Saint Helens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West 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 West Saint Helens covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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

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

  • Saint Helens
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • 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>
  • Columbia City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Warren
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caples
    • Caples is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
  • Ridgefield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Deer Island
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Scappoose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • La Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
    • Hayes is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Sara
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sara have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
    • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Reuben
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
    • 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 <2>
    • Goble
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for West Saint Helens. 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>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- West Saint Helens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Saint Helens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8576, Longitude: -122.8273       In this case, the coordinates for West 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 West 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