RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Washington >> King County >> Mirror Lake >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Washington

The Commemorative Quarter for Washington





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 Mirror Lake (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 Mirror Lake. 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.

Name Variations for Mirror Lake ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mirror Lake: Mirror Lk.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Mirror Lake is located in King 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 King County: Chelan, Kittitas, Pierce & Snohomish.

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

  • King County     (The home county of Mirror Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mirror Lake, with the one closest to Mirror Lake listed first.
    • Buenna
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
      • Buenna is located in King County
    • Federal Way
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Redondo
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Woodmont Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodmont Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodmont Beach
      • Woodmont Beach is located in King County
    • Star Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
      • Star Lake is located in King County
    • Zenith
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
      • Zenith is located in King County
    • Auburn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Des Moines
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Milton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Algona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pacific
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hill
      • North Hill is located in King County
    • Kent
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
      • Kent is located in King County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <2>
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mirror Lake, with the one closest to Mirror Lake listed first.
    • Olalla
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Southworth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • Burley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • South Colby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Bethel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Colby
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colchester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
    • Manchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • South Park Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • East Port Orchard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Fort Ward
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
    • Parkwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
      • Parkwood is located in Kitsap County
    • Retsil
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retsil
      • Retsil is located in Kitsap County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mirror Lake, with the one closest to Mirror Lake listed first.
    • Allyn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Grapeview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Belfair
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mirror Lake, with the one closest to Mirror Lake listed first.
    • Northeast Tacoma
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northeast Tacoma
      • Northeast Tacoma is located in Pierce County
    • Dash Point
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dash Point
      • Dash Point is located in Pierce County
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
    • Edgewood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fife
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife
      • Fife is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,458 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife <2>
    • Tacoma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Firwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firwood
      • Firwood is located in Pierce County
    • North Puyallup
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Puyallup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Puyallup
      • North Puyallup is located in Pierce County
    • Waller
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waller have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
      • Waller is located in Pierce County
    • Ruston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ruston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruston
      • Ruston is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 848 people
    • Puyallup
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lake Tapps
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
    • Sumner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mirror Lake, with the one closest to Mirror Lake listed first.
    • Puget
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • North Yelm
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Tanglewilde
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Kellys Korner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Mirror Lake ...

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 214 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mirror Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mirror Lake, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mirror Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Mirror Lake:

Cemeteries Near Mirror Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mirror Lake.

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

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

  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gethsemane Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gethsemane Cemetery
  • Georges Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Georges Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Georges Cemetery
  • Auburn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Auburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Auburn Cemetery
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Penbrock Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penbrock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penbrock Cemetery
  • Puyallup Tribal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • The Puyallup Tribal Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Cushman Cemetery
    • Indian Mission Cemetery
    • Puyallup Indian Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Puyallup Tribal Cemetery
  • Firwood Indian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • White Lake Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Suise Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Suise Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Suise Creek Cemetery
  • Saar Pioneer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saar Pioneer Cemetery
  • Sumner Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • The Sumner Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sumner Pioneer Cemetery
    • Sumner Town Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumner Cemetery
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • Washington Memorial Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Memorial Park
    • Tacoma Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakwood Hill Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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.<6>

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

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

  • Buenna
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buenna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenna
    • Buenna is located in King County
  • Maury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maury
    • Maury is located in King County
  • Christopher
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
    • Christopher is located in King County
  • Thomas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
    • Thomas is located in King County
  • Des Moines
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Tacoma
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Stuck
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuck
    • Stuck is located in King County
  • Kent
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Kent is located in King County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130,676 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent <2>
  • O'Brien
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Brien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Brien
    • O'Brien is located in King County
  • Chautauqua
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chautauqua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chautauqua
    • Chautauqua is located in King County
  • Excelsior
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Excelsior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
    • Excelsior is located in Pierce County
  • Puyallup
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Meeker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Sumner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Tapps
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
      • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County

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

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

The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Mirror Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mirror Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3243, Longitude: -122.3412       In this case, the coordinates for Mirror Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Mirror Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024