RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> King County >> Des Moines >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Washington

The Commemorative Quarter for Washington





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 Des Moines (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 Des Moines. 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 and hospitals 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.

Des Moines is located in King 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 King County: Chelan, Kittitas, Pierce & Snohomish.

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

  • King County     (The home county of Des Moines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Des Moines, with the one closest to Des Moines listed first.
    • North Hill
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
      • North Hill is located in King County
    • Zenith
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
      • Zenith is located in King County
    • Normandy Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Woodmont Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • SeaTac
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Redondo
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Star Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
      • Star Lake is located in King County
    • Kent
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Kent is located in King County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <2>
    • Burien
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Riverton Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton Heights
      • Riverton Heights is located in King County
    • Seahurst
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seahurst
      • Seahurst is located in King County
    • Orillia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in King County
    • Buenna
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
      • Buenna is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Des Moines, with the one closest to Des Moines listed first.
    • Olalla
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Southworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • South Colby
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colchester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
    • Manchester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Park Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bethel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Ward
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
    • East Port Orchard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • Retsil
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retsil
      • Retsil is located in Kitsap County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Des Moines, with the one closest to Des Moines listed first.
    • Allyn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Grapeview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Des Moines, with the one closest to Des Moines listed first.
    • Dash Point
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
    • Edgewood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Fife
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife
      • Fife is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife <2>
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
    • Ruston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Tacoma
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
    • Lake Tapps
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
    • North Puyallup
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Puyallup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
    • Gig Harbor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fircrest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Snohomish County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Des Moines, with the one closest to Des Moines listed first.
    • Brier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brier
      • Brier is located in Snohomish County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,955 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brier <2>
    • Esperance
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Esperance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esperance
      • Esperance is located in Snohomish County
    • Mountlake Terrace
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Woodway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodway
      • Woodway is located in Snohomish County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,391 people
    • Canyon Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon Park
      • Canyon Park is located in Snohomish County
    • Edmonds
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Lynnwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Alderwood Manor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alderwood Manor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderwood Manor
      • Alderwood Manor is located in Snohomish County
    • Maltby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maltby
      • Maltby is located in Snohomish County
    • North Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Creek
      • North Creek is located in Snohomish County
    • Echo Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
      • Echo Lake is located in Snohomish County
  • Thurston County
    • Puget
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County

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

Newspapers Published in Des Moines ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Des Moines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Des Moines, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Des Moines.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Des Moines:

Cemeteries Near Des Moines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Des Moines.

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

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

  • St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Washington Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Memorial Park
  • Saar Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery
  • Penbrock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penbrock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penbrock Cemetery
  • Riverton Crest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverton Crest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverton Crest Cemetery
  • Highview Recreational Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highview Recreational Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highview Recreational Cemetery
  • Auburn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Auburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Auburn Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Suise Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Suise Creek Cemetery
  • Episcopal Church Of The Holy Spirit Memory Garden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (103 more) ...
    • Gethsemane Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gethsemane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gethsemane Cemetery
    • Georges Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Georges Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Georges Cemetery
    • White Lake Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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 Des Moines had a population of 212 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Des Moines had a population of 32,389 people.

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

  • Maury
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
    • Maury is located in King County
  • Buenna
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Buenna is located in King County
  • Kent
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Kent is located in King County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <2>
  • O'Brien
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Brien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Brien
    • O'Brien is located in King County
  • Orillia
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Orillia is located in King County
  • Sunnydale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnydale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
    • Sunnydale is located in King County
  • Thomas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Thomas is located in King County
  • Latona ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Latona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latona
    • Latona is located in King County
  • Chautauqua
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chautauqua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
    • Chautauqua is located in King County
  • Christopher
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
    • Christopher is located in King County
  • Renton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Duwamish
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duwamish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duwamish
    • Duwamish is located in King County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Vashon
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stuck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
      • Stuck is located in King County
    • Elliott
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in King County

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

The official website for Des Moines: www.desmoineswa.gov/

The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/

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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Des Moines) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Des Moines. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.4019, Longitude: -122.3246    
<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 Des Moines, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024