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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 West Pioneer (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 West Pioneer. 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.

Name Variations for West Pioneer ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Pioneer: W. Pioneer

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

West Pioneer is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Columbia (OR), Multnomah (OR), Cowlitz & Skamania.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of West Pioneer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Pioneer
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Pioneer is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • La Center
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ridgefield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • King Corner
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • King Corner is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King Corner
    • Sara
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Sara is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
    • Cherry Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Dollar's Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dollar's Corner is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar's Corner
    • Woodland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Vista
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Mount Vista is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vista
    • Lewisville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Lewisville is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
    • Battle Ground
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Meadow Glade
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Meadow Glade is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Glade
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Ariel
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Kalama
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Carrolls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Rose Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Rose Valley is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Valley
    • Cougar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Kelso
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Kelso is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,438 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kelso <1>
    • Longview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Ostrander
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
    • Longview Heights
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
    • West Longview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
    • Pleasant Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Coal Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
  • Skamania County
    • Cruzatt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cruzatt is located in Skamania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruzatt
  • Clackamas County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Happy Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lake Oswego
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Oak Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Sunnyside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Sunnyside is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Christie is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
    • Clackamas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Johnson City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Johnson City is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
    • Oatfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Oatfield is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatfield
    • Damascus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Damascus is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
      • Estimated population in 2017: 11,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damascus <1>
    • Jennings Lodge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jennings Lodge is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings Lodge
    • Marylhurst
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Rivergrove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Rivergrove is located in Clackamas County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivergrove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
  • Columbia County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Saint Helens
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Columbia City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Warren
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Deer Island
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Scappoose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Goble
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Goble is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
    • Reuben
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
    • Prescott
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Beaver Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
    • Rainier
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rainier is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,021 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rainier <1>
    • Pittsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
    • Vernonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Vernonia is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernonia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,295 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vernonia <1>
  • Multnomah County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Burlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Burlington is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
    • Vanport City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Vanport City is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport City
    • Albina
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Albina is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina
    • Maywood Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Laurelhurst
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Laurelhurst is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelhurst
    • Portland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Portland is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656,751 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portland <1>
    • Hazelwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Hazelwood is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Montavilla
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Montavilla is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla
    • Russellville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Russellville is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
    • Fairview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairview is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,450 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairview <1>
    • Rockwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Rockwood is located in Multnomah County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
    • Wood Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Pioneer, with the one closest to West Pioneer listed first.
    • Bethany
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bethany is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
    • West Union
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • West Union is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
    • Cedar Mill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Oak Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Oak Hills is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
    • Rockcreek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockcreek is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockcreek
    • Marlene Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Marlene Village is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlene Village
    • Mountaindale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Mountaindale is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
    • North Plains
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Hills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • West Slope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • West Slope is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Slope
    • Aloha
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Christie is located in Washington County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
      • Christie has also been known as:
      • Carstens

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

Cemeteries Near West Pioneer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Pioneer.

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 West Pioneer - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Bethel Evangelical Methodist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for IOOF Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the IOOF Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Woodland.
    • The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1986229 <2>
  • Lewisville Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Dublin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Frank Abel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frank Abel Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Frank Abel Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2229827 <2>
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Bayview Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Salmon Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Wilson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mountain View Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the northwest of Fargher Lake.
      • The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hazen Cemetery
      • View Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76951 <2>
    • Kinder Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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.<4>

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

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

  • Pioneer
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Pioneer is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
  • La Center
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Ridgefield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sara
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Sara is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
  • Woodland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hayes
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hayes is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayes
  • Saint Helens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Battle Ground
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lewisville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lewisville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
  • Caples
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Caples is located in Cowlitz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caples
  • Columbia City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Felida
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Felida is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Etna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Etna is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Warren
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Brush Prairie
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in West Pioneer ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Pioneer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Pioneer, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Pioneer.

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 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 West Pioneer:

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>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- West Pioneer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 West Pioneer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.