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 Kapowsin (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 Kapowsin. 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 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.
Kapowsin is located in Pierce 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 Pierce County: King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Thurston & Yakima.
Below are the counties that are near Kapowsin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kapowsin:
- Pierce County (The home county of Kapowsin)
- The following are listed by their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- Clay City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
- Clay City is located in Pierce County
- Graham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orting
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- South Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Eatonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Melmont ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melmont. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmont
- Melmont is located in Pierce County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Melmont
- From Kapowsin to Melmont
- Elk Plain
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
- Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
- Frederickson
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederickson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederickson
- Frederickson is located in Pierce County
- McMillin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- South Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
- South Hill is located in Pierce County
- Carbonado
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- La Grande
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- King County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- Osceola
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Milton
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Enumclaw
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pacific
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Algona
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Krain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Auburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Green River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Federal Way
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Lea Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lea Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lea Hill
- Lea Hill is located in King County
- Buenna
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- 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
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Buenna
- From Kapowsin to Buenna
- Black Diamond
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- Mineral
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Morton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cinebar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Thurston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- North Yelm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
- North Yelm is located in Thurston County
- Yelm
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Nisqually Indian Community
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rainier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kellys Korner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Tanglewilde
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McIntosh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- East Olympia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lacey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Puget
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tenino
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Kapowsin, see our County-by-County Page for Kapowsin.
Cemeteries Near Kapowsin ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kapowsin.
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 Kapowsin covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- Soldiers Home Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jensen Pioneer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Orting Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Rainier Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eatonville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carbonado Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mashel Prairie Indian Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wilkeson Catholic Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilkeson Town Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fir Lane Memorial Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (59 more) ...
- Wren Family Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Jeschke Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Spanaway Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Kapowsin had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Kapowsin, with the one closest to Kapowsin listed first.
- Leber
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leber have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
- Leber is located in Pierce County
- Orting
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Eatonville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Carbonado
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- McMillin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilkeson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alderton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Burnett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnett
- Burnett is located in Pierce County
- Cascade Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cascade Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade Junction
- Cascade Junction is located in Pierce County
- South Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Meeker
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meeker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meeker
- Meeker is located in Pierce County
- Puyallup
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sumner
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Buckley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Midland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Midland is located in Pierce County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Midland
- From Kapowsin to Midland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Kapowsin. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kapowsin.
Newspapers Published in Kapowsin ...
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 156 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kapowsin.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kapowsin, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kapowsin.
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 Kapowsin:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Pierce County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- King County
- Lewis County
- Thurston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Washington
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kapowsin. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://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> | 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 Kapowsin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
<5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Kapowsin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kapowsin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9857, Longitude: -122.2244 |