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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 Fir Tree (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 Fir Tree. 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 hospitals 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.

Fir Tree is located in Thurston 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 Thurston County: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pierce.

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

  • Thurston County     (The home county of Fir Tree)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • Kellys Korner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • East Olympia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Lacey
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • 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 <1>
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nisqually Indian Community
      • Nisqually Indian Community is located in Thurston County
    • Tanglewilde
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Tumwater
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • McIntosh
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Rainier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Olympia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tenino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • North Yelm
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chehalis Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Oakville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • McCleary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Sine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Cedarville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedarville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Porter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Porter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Garden City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone - Porter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Elma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
      • Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • Tahlequah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tahlequah
      • Tahlequah is located in King County
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • Centralia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Fords Prairie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fords Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
    • Galvin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Chehalis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Newaukum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newaukum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Claquato
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Napavine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Onalaska
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Adna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Fayette
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fayette. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Lacamas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
    • Cinebar
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • New Kamilche
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Bayshore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • Shelton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Grapeview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Allyn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fir Tree, with the one closest to Fir Tree listed first.
    • Mock City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mock City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
    • McKenna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Roy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • DuPont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Lewis
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
      • Fort Lewis is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Lewis <1>
    • Anderson Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
    • Tillicum
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
    • Steilacoom
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Longbranch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Meridian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Pierce County
    • Lake City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Pierce County
    • Clover Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Park
      • Clover Park is located in Pierce County

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

Cemeteries Near Fir Tree ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fir Tree.

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

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

  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
    • The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <4>
  • Union Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ross Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Yelm Rainier Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • McLane Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McLane Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the McLane Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • The McLane Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mud Bay Cemetery
  • Roy Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • King Hill Pioneer Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the King Hill Pioneer Cemetery
    • The King Hill Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • King Hill Indian Cemetery
  • Ft. Lewis Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (66 more) ...
    • Grand Mound Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Mound Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Anderson Island Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Smith Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
      • The Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Henry Smith 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.<5>

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

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

  • Plumb
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumb have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
    • Plumb is located in Thurston County
  • Lacey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • 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 <1>
  • McIntosh
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
  • Tumwater
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Tenino
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Olympia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Yelm
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • 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 <1>
  • Belmore
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
    • Belmore is located in Thurston County
  • Littlerock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Bucoda
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Roy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
    • Roy is located in Pierce County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
  • Puget
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
    • Puget is located in Thurston County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Grand Mound
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillhurst
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhurst
      • Hillhurst is located in Pierce County
    • Rochester
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Fir Tree ...

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 170 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fir Tree.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fir Tree, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fir Tree.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Fir Tree:

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

The official website for Thurston County: www.co.thurston.wa.us/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Fir Tree, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fir Tree) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fir Tree. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9562, Longitude: -122.7832       In this case, the coordinates for Fir Tree have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025