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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Detroit. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Detroit to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Detroit, please Contact Us.

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 Detroit (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 Detroit. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Detroit is historic, it would have been located within present day Mason 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 Mason County: Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Pierce & Thurston.

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

  • Mason County     (The home county of Detroit)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Allyn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Belfair
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Tahuya
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Bayshore
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • Union ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Mason County
    • Lilliwaup
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Shelton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hoodsport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Potlatch
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Skokomish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skokomish
      • Skokomish is located in Mason County
    • Mohrweis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohrweis
      • Mohrweis is located in Mason County
    • New Kamilche
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Kamilche. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • McCleary Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Sine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
  • Jefferson County
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
    • Magnolia Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Beach
      • Magnolia Beach is located in King County
    • Vashon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Vashon Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vashon Heights
      • Vashon Heights is located in King County
    • Buenna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buenna. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
      • Buenna is located in King County
    • Redondo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Seahurst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seahurst
      • Seahurst is located in King County
    • Des Moines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Federal Way
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Normandy Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • North Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
      • North Hill is located in King County
    • Woodmont Beach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • Burien
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • Burley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bethel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gorst
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Olalla
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • East Port Orchard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Navy Yard City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Navy Yard City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navy Yard City
      • Navy Yard City is located in Kitsap County
    • Port Orchard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Holly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly
      • Holly is located in Kitsap County
    • Crosby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosby
      • Crosby is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • Retsil
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retsil
      • Retsil is located in Kitsap County
    • Erlands Point - Kitsap Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bremerton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • Vaughn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
      • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
    • Herron Island
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Home
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
      • Home is located in Pierce County
    • Lakebay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosedale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
      • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
    • Wauna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wauna
      • Wauna is located in Pierce County
    • Longbranch
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Artondale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Artondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
      • Artondale is located in Pierce County
    • Cromwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Pierce County
    • Meridian
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Pierce County
    • Gig Harbor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Fox Island
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gertrude
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gertrude
      • Gertrude is located in Pierce County
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Detroit, with the one closest to Detroit listed first.
    • Puget
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Tanglewilde
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <2>
    • Olympia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Tumwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nisqually Indian Community. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisqually Indian Community
      • Nisqually Indian Community is located in Thurston County
    • Kellys Korner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • East Olympia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • North Yelm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Detroit ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Detroit.

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

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

  • Vaughn Bay Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vaughn Bay Cemetery
    • The Vaughn Bay Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bayview Cemetery
    • Niemann Family Cemetery
  • Lakebay Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • German Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Lutheran Cemetery
    • The German Lutheran Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Lakebay German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Old German Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
  • Minter Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Minter Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Minter Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Minter Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the east of Wauna.
    • The Minter Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Elgin Cemetery
  • Longbranch Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Rosedale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Twin Firs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Fox Island Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Cromwell Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cromwell Cemetery
    • The Cromwell Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hales Passage Cemetery
    • Hales Passage Scandinavian Lutheran Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2259125 <6>
  • Artondale Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Haven of Rest Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haven of Rest Cemetery
    • Former name for Haven of Rest Cemetery:
    • Perkins Cemetery
  • Continue List   (74 more) ...
    • Oakland Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Oakland Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #865976 <6>
    • Miller Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Gig Harbor Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gig Harbor Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gig Harbor Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Gig Harbor.
      • The Gig Harbor Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Cresent Valley Cemetery

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.

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

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

  • Vaughn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughn
    • Vaughn is located in Pierce County
  • Allyn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lakebay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Minter
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minter have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
    • Minter is located in Pierce County
  • Rosedale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Pierce County
  • Longbranch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Meridian
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
    • Meridian is located in Pierce County
  • Artondale
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Artondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artondale
    • Artondale is located in Pierce County
  • Purdy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Purdy have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
    • Purdy is located in Pierce County
  • Fox Island
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gig Harbor
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Wollochet
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wollochet have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wollochet
    • Wollochet is located in Pierce County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Union ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Mason County
    • Puget
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Dewatto
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dewatto have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewatto
      • Dewatto is located in Mason County

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

Newspapers Published in Detroit ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Detroit.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Detroit, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Detroit.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Detroit:

The official website for Mason County: www.co.mason.wa.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Detroit, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>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.
<5>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- Detroit) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Detroit. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3351, Longitude: -122.8321       In this case, the coordinates for Detroit have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025