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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 Firwood (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 Firwood. 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 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.

Firwood is located in Klickitat County.

To see how the shape of Washington's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Klickitat County: Gilliam (OR), Hood River (OR), Morrow (OR), Sherman (OR), Wasco (OR), Benton, Skamania & Yakima.

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

  • Klickitat County     (The home county of Firwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Firwood, with the one closest to Firwood listed first.
    • Blockhouse
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
    • Goldendale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Wahkiacus
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wahkiacus is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahkiacus
    • Centerville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Klickitat
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Maryhill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Wishram
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Appleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Glenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Lyle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Dallesport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cleveland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Dot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dot is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
  • Sherman County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Firwood, with the one closest to Firwood listed first.
    • Biggs Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Rufus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Rufus is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rufus <1>
    • Wasco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Wasco is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <1>
    • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
    • Sinks ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Sinks is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks
    • Klondike
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Klondike is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • De Moss Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
  • Wasco County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Firwood, with the one closest to Firwood listed first.
    • Celilo Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Celilo Village is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celilo Village
    • Fairbanks
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Fairbanks is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
    • Rowena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Chenoweth
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Chenoweth is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenoweth
    • City of The Dalles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • City of The Dalles is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of The Dalles
    • The Dalles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ortley ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Ortley is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortley
    • Mosier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mosier is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mosier <1>
    • Rice ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Rice is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice

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

Cemeteries Near Firwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Firwood.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Firwood - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Firwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Centerville Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Hartland Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rufus Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Dunkard Graveyard
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Crawford Family Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Celilo Indian Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Celilo Indian Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Adams Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Sampson Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sampson Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sampson Cemetery is located between<3> the communities of Goldendale and Toppenish.  The cemetery lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<4> to the southwest of Toppenish.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77040 <2>
  • Wish - Ham Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Petersburg Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Lyle Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Viewpoint Grave Island Memorial
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Sun Rise Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun Rise Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sun Rise Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northwest of Wasco (OR).
      • The Sun Rise Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Sunrise Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39471 <2>
    • Wasco Methodist Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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 Firwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Firwood.

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

  • Blockhouse
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Blockhouse is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blockhouse
  • Goldendale
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Biggs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Biggs is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggs
  • Rufus
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Rufus is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rufus <1>
  • Glenwood
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Lyle
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Rowena
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Wasco
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wasco is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <1>
  • The Dalles
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County (OR)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
  • Cleveland
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
  • Gilmer
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Gilmer is located in Klickitat County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Dot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dot is located in Klickitat County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
    • Mosier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mosier is located in Wasco County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mosier <1>
    • Bickleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Firwood ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Firwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Firwood, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Firwood.

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 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 Firwood:

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 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.
<3>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Goldendale and Toppenish. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<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- Firwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Firwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.