RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> Pierce County >> Rainier CemeteryIndex...

A visit to the Rainier Cemetery ...

Introduction ...

Note: We have organized the cemeteries in our Gazetteer based on a problem that we had while working on our own genealogy. As an example and without specifying the cemeteries involved, we found an ancestor that we believed to have been buried in one cemetery had actually been buried elsewhere.

We discovered that his burial plans had changed at the last moment and the family had scrambled to make new arrangements. By looking at nearby cemeteries, the surrounding communities and in newspapers of the period, we were finally able to locate his burial site.

Should you find yourself in the same situation, we hope that our Gazetteer helps you discover your lost ancestor.

The Location of the Rainier Cemetery ...

We are using the following GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) for the Rainier Cemetery:

46.8868, -122.3290

The Rainier Cemetery is located in Pierce County<1>.

The county seat for Pierce County is located in Tacoma. Tacoma lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<2> to the north of the Rainier Cemetery .

Open a Google Map centered on the Rainier Cemetery.

Name Variations for Rainier Cemetery ...

When doing your research, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Various errors happen - anything from simple spelling to bad translations.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give a you a feel for the variations that might have occurred with Rainier Cemetery.

Rainier Cemetery has also been known as:

  • Old Indian Cemetery
  • Old Pioneer Cemetery
  • Rainer Free Cemetery
  • Stringtown Cemetery

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.

List of nearby cemeteries ...

Based on our list of cemeteries, we know of 20 that are within 18 miles [29 km] of the Rainier Cemetery.<3>

We've listed the following cemeteries based on their distance from Rainier Cemetery, with the nearest first.

For an expanded list with details, please visit our List of cemeteries.

List of neighboring communities ...

The following 25 communities are within 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> of the Rainier Cemetery.

We've listed the following communities based on their distance from Rainier Cemetery, with the nearest first:

For the full list of neighboring communities with details, please visit our extended List of Communities.

Nearby communities with newspapers ...

The following communities are those where newspapers have been published and are located in the vicinity of the Rainier Cemetery. Unless otherwise noted, the following communities are located in Pierce County.

More information can be found on our list of Local Newspapers for The Rainier Cemetery.

We've listed the following communities alphabetically.

  • Eatonville
  • Elbe
    • Elbe lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the Southeast (SE) of the Rainier Cemetery.
    • Jump to our list of Local Newspapers for Elbe.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbe
  • Fort Lewis
  • Orting
    • Orting lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<2> to the North Northeast (NNE) of the Rainier Cemetery.
    • Jump to our list of Local Newspapers for Orting.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orting
  • Roy
    • Roy lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the Northwest (NW) of the Rainier Cemetery.
    • Jump to our list of Local Newspapers for Roy.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
  • Spanaway
  • Yelm
    • Yelm lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the West Northwest (WNW) of the Rainier Cemetery.
    • Jump to our list of Local Newspapers for Yelm.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm

Websites to help with your research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their websites are open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that might help with the Rainier Cemetery:

  • Pages specific to Washington:
  • Pages specific to Pierce County:
  • Genealogy information for nearby counties:
  • Cemetery Information and Directories:

    • Miscellaneous References and Mentions ...

    Our approach is to add the name of a cemetery whenever we see it mentioned - usually from newspapers, old books and maps. Typically we have little information to start with, but we continue to add detail as we find it.

    We've created the following list to keep track of the sources that we found useful for the Rainier Cemetery:

    • Referenced GNIS Record ...
    • GNIS ID #1524832  (Rainier Cemetery)
      • Note: In 2021, GNIS record #1524832 was archived by the USGS. It is no longer maintained by the USGS, nor can it be retrieved from their website. In the past, the GNIS record contained the following information:
      • BGN Class: cemetery
      • County: Pierce
      • Est. Elev: 241 (in feet)
      • Topo Map Name: Tanwax Lake
      • Location given for Rainier Cemetery:
      • Lat: 46.8870473     Lon: -122.3287262
      • Open a Google Map centered on the above location.

    Footnotes ...

    <1>If you're interested in how the shape of Washington's counties, including Pierce, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
    <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 from Point A (ie- Rainier Cemetery) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
    <3>While we have an extensive database of cemeteries (with over 200,000 entries), be assured that it's not complete and we're still searching for cemeteries to add.
    <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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.