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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 Puyallup (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 Puyallup. 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.

Puyallup is located in Pierce 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 Pierce County: King, Kitsap, Kittitas, Lewis, Mason, Thurston & Yakima.

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

  • Pierce County     (The home county of Puyallup)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Puyallup, with the one closest to Puyallup listed first.
    • North Puyallup
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • 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
    • Sumner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Firwood ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Alderton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
      • Alderton is located in Pierce County
    • South Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hill
      • South Hill is located in Pierce County
    • Summit
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Pierce County
    • Waller
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Edgewood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fife
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Gardenville ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
      • Gardenville is located in Pierce County
    • McMillin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
      • McMillin is located in Pierce County
    • Bonney Lake
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • King County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Puyallup, with the one closest to Puyallup listed first.
    • Milton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Pacific
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Algona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Auburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Federal Way
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Buenna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] 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
    • Redondo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redondo
      • Redondo is located in King County
    • Star Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Lake
      • Star Lake is located in King County
    • Lea Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lea Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lea Hill
      • Lea Hill is located in King County
    • Osceola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Osceola is located in King County
    • Woodmont Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Green River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
      • Green River is located in King County
  • Kitsap County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Puyallup, with the one closest to Puyallup listed first.
    • Olalla
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Burley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Southworth
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southworth
      • Southworth is located in Kitsap County
    • South Colby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Colby
      • South Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Bethel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Colby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colby
      • Colby is located in Kitsap County
    • Colchester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colchester
      • Colchester is located in Kitsap County
    • South Park Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • East Port Orchard
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Port Orchard
      • East Port Orchard is located in Kitsap County
    • Manchester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Parkwood
      (28 miles [45.1 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
    • Fort Ward
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ward
      • Fort Ward is located in Kitsap County
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Puyallup, with the one closest to Puyallup listed first.
    • Grapeview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Allyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Puyallup, with the one closest to Puyallup listed first.
    • North Yelm
      (21 miles [33.8 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
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (22 miles [35.4 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
    • Yelm
      (22 miles [35.4 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>
    • Puget
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puget
      • Puget is located in Thurston County
    • Tanglewilde
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Kellys Korner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (26 miles [41.8 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>
    • Rainier
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • East Olympia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Olympia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Puyallup ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Puyallup.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Puyallup. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Puyallup and those printed in the larger area surrounding Puyallup.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Puyallup.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Puyallup:

Cemeteries Near Puyallup ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Puyallup.

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

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

  • Woodbine Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • The Woodbine Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Puyallup Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodbine Cemetery
  • Sumner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • The Sumner Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sumner Pioneer Cemetery
    • Sumner Town Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sumner Cemetery
  • Firwood Indian Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Georges Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Puyallup Tribal Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Parkland Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Trinity Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Orting Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • The Orting Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Orting IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orting Cemetery
  • Soldiers Home Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • The Soldiers Home Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Old Soldiers Home Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Soldiers Home Cemetery
  • Spanaway Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Fir Lane Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...
    • Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • The Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Dieringer Cemetery
      • Dieringer Pioneer Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Tapps Pioneer Cemetery
    • Auburn Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Puyallup had a population of 1,732 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Puyallup had a population of 42,569 people.

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

  • Meeker
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • 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
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Alderton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alderton
    • Alderton is located in Pierce County
  • McMillin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMillin
    • McMillin is located in Pierce County
  • Midland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
    • Midland is located in Pierce County
  • Parkland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Lake Tapps
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Tapps
    • Lake Tapps is located in Pierce County
  • Fern Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Hill
    • Fern Hill is located in Pierce County
  • Orting
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Stuck
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Excelsior
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Tacoma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lakeview
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
      • Lakeview is located in Pierce County
    • South Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Buenna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] 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

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

The official website for Puyallup: www.ci.puyallup.wa.us/

The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.wa.us/

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Puyallup) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Puyallup. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.1852, Longitude: -122.2937    
<5>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 Puyallup, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024