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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 Chester (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 Chester. 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 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.

Chester is located in Spokane 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 Spokane County: Benewah (ID), Bonner (ID), Kootenai (ID), Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens & Whitman.

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

  • Spokane County     (The home county of Chester)
  • Lincoln County
  • Pend Oreille County
  • Stevens County
  • Whitman County
  • Benewah County (ID)
  • Bonner County (ID)
    • Blanchard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard
      • Blanchard is located in Bonner County (ID)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blanchard <1>
  • Kootenai County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Chester, with the one closest to Chester listed first.
    • State Line Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line Village
      • State Line Village is located in Kootenai County (ID)
    • State Line
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
      • State Line is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Hauser
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hauser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hauser
      • Hauser is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 726 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hauser <1>
    • Post Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Post Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Falls
      • Post Falls is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 38,933 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Post Falls <1>
    • Bellgrove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Coeur d'Alene Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Huetter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Rathdrum
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rathdrum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathdrum
      • Rathdrum is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rathdrum <1>
    • Worley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Coeur d'Alene
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Dalton Gardens
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dalton Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Gardens
      • Dalton Gardens is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dalton Gardens <1>
    • Fernan Lake Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fernan Lake Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernan Lake Village
      • Fernan Lake Village is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 174 people
    • Hayden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Chester ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chester.

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

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

  • The Pines Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Pines Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Pines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saltese Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saltese Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saltese Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Englewood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Englewood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Englewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Moran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mica Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mica Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mica Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wood Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wood Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wood Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spokane Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spokane Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spokane Memorial Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mica Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mica Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mica Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Orchard Prairie Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orchard Prairie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orchard Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (56 more) ...
    • Mt. St. Michael Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. St. Michael Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. St. Michael Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Spokane Evergreen Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spokane Evergreen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spokane Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holy Cross Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Chester had a post office and railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Chester ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chester.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Chester, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Chester.

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 helpful 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 Chester:

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

The official website for Spokane County: www.spokanecounty.org/

The official website for State of Washington: https://wa.gov/

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 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.
<3>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.
<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>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 Chester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Chester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.6180, Longitude: -117.2506       In this case, the coordinates for Chester have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025