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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 Cowlitz (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 Cowlitz. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Cowlitz is located in Lewis 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 Lewis County: Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum & Yakima.

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

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Cowlitz)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowlitz, with the one closest to Cowlitz listed first.
    • Toledo
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Saint Urban
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County
    • Winlock
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Vader
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ethel
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Napavine
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Onalaska
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lacamas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
    • Salkum
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Newaukum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Adna
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Chehalis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowlitz, with the one closest to Cowlitz listed first.
    • Olequa
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olequa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
      • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
    • Toutle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ryderwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
    • Castle Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Ostrander
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County
    • Longview Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longview Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County
    • Coal Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County
    • Kelso
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Kelso is located in Cowlitz County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <1>
    • West Longview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Longview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County
    • Longview
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Stella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stella have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County
    • Rose Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
      • Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County
  • Grays Harbor County
    • Chehalis Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chehalis Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowlitz, with the one closest to Cowlitz listed first.
    • Bucoda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Grand Mound
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Tenino
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Independence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
    • Rochester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • McIntosh
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Rainier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wahkiakum County
    • East Cathlamet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Cathlamet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
      • East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County
  • Columbia County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cowlitz, with the one closest to Cowlitz listed first.
    • Mayger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Rainier
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier
      • Rainier is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,021 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainier <1>
    • Quincy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Beaver Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Prescott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Goble
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
      • Goble is located in Columbia County (OR)
    • Clatskanie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Cowlitz ...

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 Cowlitz.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cowlitz, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cowlitz.

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 Cowlitz:

Cemeteries Near Cowlitz ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cowlitz.

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

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

  • Lone Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Hill Cemetery
  • Tower Twp. Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Tower Twp. Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tower Twp. Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the southwest of Castle Rock.
    • The Tower Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tower Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tower Twp. Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2277304 <5>
  • Little Falls Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Falls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Falls Cemetery
  • Snow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Snow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Snow Cemetery
  • Rosin Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rosin Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southwest of Castle Rock.
    • The Rosin Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rosin Cemetery
    • Tower Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosin Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77025 <5>
  • Silver Lake Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the IOOF Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of Castle Rock.
    • The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76862 <5>
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Jackson Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Jackson Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Castle Rock.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jackson Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76873 <5>
  • Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Castle Rock.
    • The Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hubbard Cemetery
    • Meadowview Cemetery
    • Whittle and Hubbard Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77115 <5>
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fern Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fern Hill Cemetery
  • Alpha Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alpha Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alpha Cemetery
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (40 more) ...
    • Smith - Tucker Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Smith - Tucker Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Smith - Tucker Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Pleasant Hill.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith - Tucker Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2350342 <5>
    • Shoestring Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shoestring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shoestring Cemetery
    • Claquato Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cowlitz had a population of 375 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Toledo
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Winlock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Olequa
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olequa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
    • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
  • Ethel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Napavine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Toutle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Silver Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Salkum
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Wildwood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
    • Wildwood is located in Lewis County
  • Sightly
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sightly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sightly
    • Sightly is located in Cowlitz County
  • Silver Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Castle Rock
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Wilson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
      • Wilson is located in Lewis County
    • Newaukum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Boistfort
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boistfort have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boistfort
      • Boistfort is located in Lewis County

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

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

The official website for Lewis County: www.co.lewis.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.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>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 from Point A (ie- Cowlitz) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cowlitz. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4587, Longitude: -122.8426       In this case, the coordinates for Cowlitz have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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.
<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 Cowlitz, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024