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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 Rainier (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 Rainier. 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 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.

Rainier is located in Thurston 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 Thurston County: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason & Pierce.

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

  • Thurston County     (The home county of Rainier)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • McIntosh
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Yelm
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <1>
    • North Yelm
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Yelm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Yelm
      • North Yelm is located in Thurston County
    • Kellys Korner
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
    • Tenino
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Nisqually Indian Community
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • East Olympia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Bucoda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tanglewilde
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewilde
      • Tanglewilde is located in Thurston County
    • Lacey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <1>
    • Tumwater
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Olympia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Littlerock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chehalis Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Oakville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Cedarville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedarville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Sine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Porter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • McCleary Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone - Porter
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
    • Malone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • King County
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • Centralia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Fords Prairie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fords Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
    • Galvin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cinebar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Chehalis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Onalaska
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lacamas
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacamas
      • Lacamas is located in Lewis County
    • Claquato
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Newaukum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newaukum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Napavine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Ethel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Salkum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Adna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Mason County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • New Kamilche
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Kamilche have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
    • Bayshore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayshore
      • Bayshore is located in Mason County
    • Shelton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rainier, with the one closest to Rainier listed first.
    • McKenna
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mock City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mock City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
    • Roy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • DuPont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Fort Lewis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
      • Fort Lewis is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Lewis <1>
    • South Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for South Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
    • La Grande
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Tillicum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tillicum
      • Tillicum is located in Pierce County
    • Elk Plain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Plain
      • Elk Plain is located in Pierce County
    • Alder
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
      • Alder is located in Pierce County
    • Eatonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Anderson Island
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
    • Lake City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake City
      • Lake City is located in Pierce County

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

Newspapers Published in Rainier ...

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 134 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rainier.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rainier, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rainier.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Rainier:

Cemeteries Near Rainier ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rainier.

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

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

  • Rainier Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Yelm Rainier Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Roy Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • King Hill Pioneer Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ross Family Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Ft. Lewis Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • The Smith Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Henry Smith Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
  • Jeschke Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Tabor Cemetery
  • Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mills & Mills Memorial Park is located outside and to the southwest of Tumwater.
    • The Mills & Mills Memorial Park has also been known as:
    • Olympic Memorial Garden Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mills & Mills Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <5>
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Wren Family Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Wren Family Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wren Family Cemetery
    • Grand Mound Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grand Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grand Mound Cemetery

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 Rainier in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rainier.

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

  • McIntosh
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
  • Yelm
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 <1>
  • Tenino
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Plumb
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plumb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
    • Plumb is located in Thurston County
  • Bucoda
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Roy
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
    • Roy is located in Pierce County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
  • Lacey
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 <1>
  • Tumwater
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Olympia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Belmore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore
    • Belmore is located in Thurston County
  • Littlerock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Grand Mound
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Hillhurst
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillhurst have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillhurst
      • Hillhurst is located in Pierce County
    • Centralia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Leber
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leber have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leber
      • Leber 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 Rainier. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rainier.

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

The official website for Thurston County: www.co.thurston.wa.us/

The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/

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 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.
<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 '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- Rainier) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rainier. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8884, Longitude: -122.6888    
<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 Rainier, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024