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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 Plaza (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 Plaza. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Plaza is located in Spokane 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 Spokane County: Benewah (ID), Bonner (ID), Kootenai (ID), Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens & Whitman.

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

  • Spokane County     (The home county of Plaza)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plaza, with the one closest to Plaza listed first.
    • Spring Valley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Waverly
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Waverly is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Spangle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Fairfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Latah
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Rockford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cheney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Valleyford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Marshall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Marshall is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
    • Mica
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Mica is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mica
    • Four Lakes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Silver Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Silver Lake is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plaza, with the one closest to Plaza listed first.
    • Sprague
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Edwall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Whitman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plaza, with the one closest to Plaza listed first.
    • Rosalia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Malden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine City is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
    • Lone Pine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lone Pine is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
    • Oakesdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakesdale is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakesdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
    • Tekoa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Willard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Willard is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Juno
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Juno is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
    • Seltice
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Seltice is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seltice
    • Saint John
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Belmont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Steptoe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Benewah County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plaza, with the one closest to Plaza listed first.
    • Willard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Willard is located in Benewah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
    • Plummer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Plummer is located in Benewah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
    • Tensed
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Tensed is located in Benewah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tensed
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tensed <1>
    • De Smet
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • De Smet is located in Benewah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
    • Chatcolet
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Chatcolet is located in Benewah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatcolet
  • Kootenai County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plaza, with the one closest to Plaza listed first.
    • Worley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Worley is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Worley <1>
    • Bellgrove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bellgrove is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellgrove
    • Conkling Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Conkling Park is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conkling Park
    • Harrison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Latah County (ID)
    • Cora
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cora is located in Latah County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora

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

Cemeteries Near Plaza ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plaza.

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

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

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

  • Rosalia IOOF Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalia IOOF Evergreen Cemetery
    • The Rosalia IOOF Evergreen Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Evergreen Cemetery
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • Rosalia Cemetery
    • Rosalia IOOF Evergreen Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #172058 <2>
  • Riggs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pine City Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Farmington Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Rosewood Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Fairfield Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lone Pine Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Latah Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Wood Memorial Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Oakesdale Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (49 more) ...
    • New England Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Goldenrod Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Plaza had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Rosalia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Waverly
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Waverly is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
  • Spangle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pine City ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine City is located in Whitman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
  • Fairfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Latah
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Lone Pine
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lone Pine is located in Whitman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Pine
  • Thornton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Thornton is located in Whitman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
  • Sunset
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sunset is located in Whitman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
  • Oakesdale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakesdale is located in Whitman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakesdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
  • Rockford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Cheney
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Tekoa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Juno
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Juno is located in Whitman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juno
    • Freeman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Freeman is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman

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

Newspapers Published in Plaza ...

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 93 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plaza.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plaza, 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 Plaza.

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 websites either 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 Plaza:

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 Plaza, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Plaza) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.