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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 Prescott (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 Prescott. 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.

Prescott is located in Walla Walla 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 Walla Walla County: Umatilla (OR), Benton, Columbia & Franklin.

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

  • Walla Walla County     (The home county of Prescott)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prescott, with the one closest to Prescott listed first.
    • Berryman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Berryman is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman
    • Waitsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Paddock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Paddock is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
    • Clyde
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
    • Coppei
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Coppei is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
    • Tompkins
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Tompkins is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
    • Rulo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Rulo is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rulo
    • Dixie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Eureka is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
    • Kibler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Kibler is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibler
    • Walla Walla
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • College Place
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prescott, with the one closest to Prescott listed first.
    • Menoken
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Menoken is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
    • Huntsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Huntsville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
    • Relief
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Relief is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief
    • Dayton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Starbuck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Grange City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Grange City is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grange City
    • Delaney
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Delaney is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaney
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prescott, with the one closest to Prescott listed first.
    • Windust
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Windust is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windust
    • Kahlotus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Umatilla County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prescott, with the one closest to Prescott listed first.
    • Calhounville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Calhounville is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhounville
    • Spofford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Spofford is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spofford
    • Umapine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Umapine is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umapine
    • Milton - Freewater
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Blue Mountain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Blue Mountain is located in Umatilla County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain

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

Cemeteries Near Prescott ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prescott.

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

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

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

  • Ivy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Bundy Hollow Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Blue Mtn. Memorial Garden
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Ft. Walla Walla Military Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Valley Chapel Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Old Bones Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Ford Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford Cemetery
    • The Ford Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ballou Cemetery
    • Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38788 <2>
  • Turner Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Pioneer Memorial Park
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Covello Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Bowlus Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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 Prescott had a population of 313 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Prescott had a population of 310 people.

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

  • Berryman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Berryman is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryman
  • Waitsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Menoken
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Menoken is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menoken
  • Climax
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Climax is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
  • Hadley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Hadley is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
  • Huntsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Huntsville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
  • Valley Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Valley Grove is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Grove
  • Coppei
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Coppei is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppei
  • Clyde
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Clyde is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
  • Alto
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alto is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
  • Rulo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rulo is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rulo
  • Lee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lee is located in Walla Walla County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Gilliam
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilliam is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilliam
    • Dixie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Eureka is located in Walla Walla County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Prescott ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prescott.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Prescott. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Prescott and those printed in the larger area surrounding Prescott.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4> of Prescott.

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 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 Prescott:

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