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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 Kopiah (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 Kopiah. 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 doctors and 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.

Kopiah is located in Lewis 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 Lewis County: Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum & Yakima.

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

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Kopiah)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kopiah, with the one closest to Kopiah listed first.
    • Centralia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Chehalis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fords Prairie
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
    • Onalaska
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Newaukum
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
    • Claquato
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
    • Napavine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Galvin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ethel
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lacamas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
    • Saint Urban
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
    • Adna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kopiah, with the one closest to Kopiah listed first.
    • Olequa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
    • Ryderwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
    • Toutle
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Silver Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Castle Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kopiah, with the one closest to Kopiah listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
    • Oakville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedarville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Porter
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Malone - Porter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
    • Malone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mason County
    • New Kamilche
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kopiah, with the one closest to Kopiah listed first.
    • McKenna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Mock City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
    • La Grande
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Roy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • Alder
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Alder is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
    • Eatonville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • DuPont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Fort Lewis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • South Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
    • Elbe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Clay City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Clay City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay City
    • Elk Plain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kopiah, with the one closest to Kopiah listed first.
    • Bucoda
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • McIntosh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Tenino
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Grand Mound
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rainier
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rochester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Littlerock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Independence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • East Olympia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Yelm
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Yelm is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yelm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,591 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yelm <1>
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
    • Kellys Korner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner

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

Cemeteries Near Kopiah ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kopiah.

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 Kopiah - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Alpha Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Claquato Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Shoestring Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Grand Mound Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lone Hill Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (32 more) ...
    • Klickitat Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Yelm Rainier Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Finnish Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Bucoda
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Centralia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Chehalis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Newaukum
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
  • Tenino
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Claquato
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
  • Napavine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • McIntosh
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
  • Alpha
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alpha is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
  • Ethel
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Grand Mound
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Salkum
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cinebar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fayette
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Rochester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Kopiah ...

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 109 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kopiah.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kopiah, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Kopiah.

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 Kopiah:

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>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 Kopiah, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Kopiah) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.