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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 Wabash (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 Wabash. 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 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 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.

Wabash is located in Lewis 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 Lewis County: Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Pierce, Skamania, Thurston, Wahkiakum & Yakima.

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

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Wabash)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabash, with the one closest to Wabash listed first.
    • Centralia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fords Prairie
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Fords Prairie is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fords Prairie
    • Galvin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Chehalis
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Newaukum
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
    • Claquato
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
    • Adna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Napavine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Fayette
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Curtis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Onalaska
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Urban
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
    • Doty
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabash, with the one closest to Wabash listed first.
    • Olequa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
    • Ryderwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
    • Toutle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabash, with the one closest to Wabash listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
    • Oakville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedarville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
    • Porter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Malone - Porter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Malone - Porter is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone - Porter
    • Malone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Sine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sine is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sine
    • McCleary
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Garden City is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • McCleary Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • McCleary Junction is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCleary Junction
    • Elma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Elma is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elma <1>
  • Mason County
    • New Kamilche
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • New Kamilche is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Kamilche
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabash, with the one closest to Wabash listed first.
    • McKenna
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mock City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Mock City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mock City
    • Roy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Roy is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roy <1>
    • DuPont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Lewis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • La Grande
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Alder
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Alder is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alder
    • Anderson Island
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Anderson Island is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Island
    • South Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • South Creek is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Creek
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wabash, with the one closest to Wabash listed first.
    • Bucoda
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Grand Mound
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tenino
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Rochester
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • McIntosh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
    • Independence
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Littlerock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
    • East Olympia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rainier
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tumwater
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Kellys Korner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Kellys Korner is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellys Korner
    • Lacey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lacey is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacey <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Wabash ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wabash.

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

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

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

  • Greenwood Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington Lawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Forest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Claquato Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Finnish Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Oakville Pioneer Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Alpha Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Rainier Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Sylvan Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mills & Mills Memorial Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mills & Mills Memorial Park
      • 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 Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76974 <2>
    • Union Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 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.<3>

While we didn't find Wabash in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wabash.

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

  • Centralia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Bucoda
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Grand Mound
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Chehalis
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Claquato
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
  • Newaukum
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
  • Tenino
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Rochester
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • McIntosh
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • McIntosh is located in Thurston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
  • Fayette
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
  • Napavine
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Littlerock
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Plumb
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Plumb is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumb
    • Oakville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Belmore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Belmore is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmore

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

Newspapers Published in Wabash ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wabash.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wabash, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wabash.

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 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 Wabash:

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