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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 Altoona (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 Altoona. 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 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.

Altoona is located in Wahkiakum County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wahkiakum County: Clatsop (OR), Columbia (OR), Cowlitz, Lewis & Pacific.

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

  • Wahkiakum County     (The home county of Altoona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona, with the one closest to Altoona listed first.
    • Dahlia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlia
      • Dahlia is located in Wahkiakum County
    • Brookfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
      • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County
    • Rosburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Grays River
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Skamokawa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • East Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • 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
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona, with the one closest to Altoona listed first.
    • Stella
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Ryderwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
  • Lewis County
    • Pe Ell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Pacific County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona, with the one closest to Altoona listed first.
    • Naselle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Megler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megler
      • Megler is located in Pacific County
    • Chinook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Fort Canby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Canby
      • Fort Canby is located in Pacific County
    • Ilwaco
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Pacific City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pacific City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific City
      • Pacific City is located in Pacific County
    • Breakers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakers
      • Breakers is located in Pacific County
    • Long Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Seaview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lebam
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Nahcotta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Menlo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
      • Menlo is located in Pacific County
  • Clatsop County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona, with the one closest to Altoona listed first.
    • Svensen Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svensen Junction
      • Svensen Junction is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Brownsmead
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Tongue Point Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tongue Point Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tongue Point Village
      • Tongue Point Village is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Astoria
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astoria
      • Astoria is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,029 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Astoria <2>
    • Clifton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Jeffers Garden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeffers Garden
      • Jeffers Garden is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Warrenton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrenton
      • Warrenton is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warrenton <2>
    • Hammond
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
      • Hammond is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hammond <2>
    • Westport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gearhart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gearhart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gearhart
      • Gearhart is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,644 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gearhart <2>
    • Seaside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaside
      • Seaside is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,926 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seaside <2>
    • Jewell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell
      • Jewell is located in Clatsop County (OR)
  • Columbia County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona, with the one closest to Altoona listed first.
    • Clatskanie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fishhawk ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishhawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk
      • Fishhawk is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Quincy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Mayger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County (OR)

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

Newspapers Published in Altoona ...

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 Altoona.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Altoona, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Altoona.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Altoona:

Cemeteries Near Altoona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Altoona.

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

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

  • Svensen Pioneer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Svensen Pioneer Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Svensen Junction (OR).
    • The Svensen Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Forest Hill Cemetery
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Svensen Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Svensen Pioneer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38789 <4>
  • Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Salmon Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • The Salmon Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • New Salmon Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salmon Creek Cemetery
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Maplewood Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maplewood Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39081 <4>
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverview Cemetery
  • Astoria Pioneer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Paceful Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Paceful Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Paceful Hill Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lewis & Clark Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Continue List   (30 more) ...
    • Ft. Stevens Post Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Warrenton Pauper Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Warrenton Pauper Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
      • The Warrenton Pauper Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Clatsop County Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warrenton Pauper Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2271005 <4>
    • Ocean View Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 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>

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

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

  • Brookfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
    • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County
  • Frankfort ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
    • Frankfort is located in Pacific County
  • Deep River
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
    • Deep River is located in Wahkiakum County
  • Knappa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knappa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knappa
    • Knappa is located in Clatsop County (OR)
  • Grays River
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Knappton ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knappton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knappton
    • Knappton is located in Pacific County
  • Astoria
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astoria
    • Astoria is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,029 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Astoria <2>
  • Skamokawa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Naselle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Clifton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Clifton is located in Clatsop County (OR)
  • Olney
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney
    • Olney is located in Clatsop County (OR)
  • Chadwell ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chadwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chadwell
    • Chadwell is located in Clatsop County (OR)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cathlamet
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Skipanon ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skipanon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skipanon
      • Skipanon is located in Clatsop County (OR)
    • Melville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
      • Melville is located in Clatsop County (OR)

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

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

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.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 '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- Altoona) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Altoona. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2667, Longitude: -123.6623       In this case, the coordinates for Altoona 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 Altoona, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024