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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 Alpha (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 Alpha. 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 and doctors 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.

Alpha is located in Lewis County.

To see how the shape of Washington's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lewis County: Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum & Yakima.

Below are the counties that are near Alpha. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alpha:

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Alpha)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Cinebar
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lacamas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
    • Salkum
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Onalaska
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Silver Creek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mossyrock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ethel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ajlune
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ajlune is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ajlune
    • Wilson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Wilson is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Saint Urban
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
    • Napavine
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Morton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Toledo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Toutle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Silver Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Olequa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
    • Ryderwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
    • Castle Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
  • Grays Harbor County
    • Chehalis Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Alder
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Alder is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
    • La Grande
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • McKenna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Elbe
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eatonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Mock City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
    • Roy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • Clay City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • South Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
    • Ashford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alpha, with the one closest to Alpha listed first.
    • Bucoda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Rainier
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • McIntosh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Tenino
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Yelm
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <1>
    • Grand Mound
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • North Yelm
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
    • Kellys Korner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • East Olympia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rochester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Littlerock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux

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

Cemeteries Near Alpha ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alpha.

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

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

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

  • Shoestring Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Alpha Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Klickitat Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lone Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Washington Lawn Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Tower Twp. Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Twp. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tower Twp. Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> to the northeast of Castle Rock.
    • The Tower Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tower Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2277304 <3>
  • Alder Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenwood Memorial Park
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (28 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Alpha had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cinebar
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Salkum
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Silver Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Harmony
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Harmony is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
  • Mossyrock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ethel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Bremer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Bremer is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bremer
  • Wilson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Wilson is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
  • Swofford
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Swofford is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swofford
  • Napavine
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Cowlitz
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cowlitz is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowlitz
  • Morton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Toledo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Winlock
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bucoda
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Alpha ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alpha.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alpha, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alpha.

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 Alpha:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Alpha) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Alpha, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.