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 Prairie (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 Prairie. 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.
Prairie is located in Skagit 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 Skagit County: Chelan, Island, Okanogan, San Juan, Snohomish & Whatcom.
Below are the counties that are near Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie:
- Skagit County (The home county of Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Alger
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alger is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
- Sedro - Woolley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Lyman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Burlington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Edison
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Edison is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Hamilton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Big Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Big Lake is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Lake
- Mount Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Bay View
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bay View is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Montborne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Montborne is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montborne
- Skagit City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Skagit City is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skagit City
- Island County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Juniper Beach
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Juniper Beach is located in Island County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper Beach
- Oak Harbor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- San Juan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Decatur Island
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Olga
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lopez Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lopez Island is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lopez Island
- Snohomish County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Lake Ketchum
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lake Ketchum is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ketchum
- North Stanwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- North Stanwood is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Stanwood
- Bryant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bryant is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Stanwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Florence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Florence is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Oso
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Oso is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oso
- Utsalady
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Utsalady is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utsalady
- Silvana
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Arlington Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Arlington Heights is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Heights
- Arlington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Warm Beach
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Warm Beach is located in Snohomish County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Beach
- Whatcom County
- The following are listed by their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Wickersham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
- Saxon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Saxon is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
- Acme
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sudden Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sudden Valley is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudden Valley
- Clipper
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clipper is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clipper
- Geneva
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Chuckanut Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Chuckanut Village is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut Village
- Silver Beach
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Beach is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Beach
- Deming
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Bellingham
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Welcome
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Welcome is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- Marietta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Marietta is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Lummi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lummi is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lummi
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for Prairie.
Cemeteries Near Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie.
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 Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Union Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Saxon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Bow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hills Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Lyman Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hamilton Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hawthorne Memorial Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Van Zandt Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Bay View Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bayview Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bayview Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Bellingham.
- The Bayview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Bay View Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76707 <2>
- Continue List (30 more) ...
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Sunnyland Memorial Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Prairie had a population of 20 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Prairie, with the one closest to Prairie listed first.
- Wickersham
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Wickersham is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickersham
- Alger
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Alger is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alger
- Saxon
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Saxon is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
- Acme
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Burlington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Lyman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Samish
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Samish is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samish
- Avon ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Avon is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Hamilton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Geneva
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Geneva is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Chuckanut
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Chuckanut is located in Whatcom County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckanut
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bay View
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bay View is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay View
- Mount Vernon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Big Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Big Lake is located in Skagit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Lake
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Prairie.
Newspapers Published in Prairie ...
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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Prairie, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Prairie.
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 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 Prairie:
- Websites specific to Washington
- Pages specific to Skagit County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Island County
- San Juan County
- Snohomish County
- Whatcom County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Washington
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 Prairie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |