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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Alto (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 Alto. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Alto is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Umatilla (OR), Wallowa (OR), Franklin, Garfield, Walla Walla & Whitman.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Alto)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
    • Relief
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Relief is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief
    • Huntsville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Huntsville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
    • Menoken
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Menoken is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
    • Dayton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Starbuck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Delaney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Delaney is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaney
    • Grange City ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Grange City is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange City
  • Adams County
    • Washtucna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
    • Windust
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Windust is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windust
    • Kahlotus
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Garfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
    • Pomeroy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Pataha
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pataha is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pataha
    • Gould City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gould City is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould City
    • Peola
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Peola is located in Garfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peola
  • Walla Walla County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
    • Waitsburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Coppei
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Coppei is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
    • Prescott
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Prescott is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
    • Tompkins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Tompkins is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
    • Clyde
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
    • Dixie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Berryman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Berryman is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman
    • Paddock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Paddock is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
    • Magallon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Magallon is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magallon
    • Kibler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Kibler is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibler
    • Rulo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Rulo is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rulo
    • Walla Walla
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Eureka
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Eureka is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
  • Whitman County
  • Umatilla County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Alto, with the one closest to Alto listed first.
    • Spofford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Spofford is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
    • Calhounville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Calhounville is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville

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

Cemeteries Near Alto ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alto.

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

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

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

  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ivy Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bundy Hollow Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Turner Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Covello Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Old Bones Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Pioneer Memorial Park
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Owsley Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Holy Rosary Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Pomeroy City Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (9 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alto had a population of 29 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Relief
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Relief is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief
  • Menoken
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Menoken is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
  • Huntsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Huntsville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
  • Dayton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Waitsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Starbuck
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Delaney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Delaney is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaney
  • Prescott
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Prescott is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
  • Grange City ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Grange City is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange City
  • Coppei
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Coppei is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
  • Covello
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Covello is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covello
  • Chard
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Chard is located in Garfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chard
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clyde
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
    • Berryman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Berryman is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman
    • Dixie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Alto ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alto, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alto.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Alto:

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>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 Alto, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Alto) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.