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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 Spokane (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 Spokane. 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 Spokane ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

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

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 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.

West Spokane is located in Spokane 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 Spokane County: Benewah (ID), Bonner (ID), Kootenai (ID), Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens & Whitman.

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

  • Spokane County     (The home county of West Spokane)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Spokane, with the one closest to West Spokane listed first.
    • Spokane
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Town and Country
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Town and Country is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town and Country
    • Hillyard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hillyard is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillyard
    • Country Homes
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Country Homes is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Homes
    • Dishman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Dishman is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dishman
    • Millwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Millwood is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,801 people
    • Fairwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairwood is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairwood
    • Marshall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Marshall is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
    • Airway Heights
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Dartford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Dartford is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartford
    • Mead
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Chester
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Chester is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Spokane, with the one closest to West Spokane listed first.
    • Reardan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Long Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Long Lake is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
    • Edwall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mondovi
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Mondovi is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mondovi
    • Omans
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Omans is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omans
  • Pend Oreille County
    • Camden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Camden is located in Pend Oreille County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Spokane, with the one closest to West Spokane listed first.
    • Tumtum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Tumtum is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tumtum
    • Clavton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Clayton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Ford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Loon Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Wellpinit
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wellpinit is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellpinit
    • Springdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Whitman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Spokane, with the one closest to West Spokane listed first.
    • Malden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Rosalia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Kootenai County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Spokane, with the one closest to West Spokane listed first.
    • State Line Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • State Line Village is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line Village
    • State Line
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • State Line is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Hauser
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hauser is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hauser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 726 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hauser <1>
    • Post Falls
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Coeur d'Alene Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Coeur d'Alene Junction is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coeur d'Alene Junction
    • Bellgrove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bellgrove is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellgrove
    • Huetter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Huetter is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huetter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
    • Rathdrum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Rathdrum is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathdrum
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rathdrum <1>
    • Sturgeon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sturgeon is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgeon
    • Coeur d'Alene
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Echo Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Echo Beach is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Beach
    • Worley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Worley is located in Kootenai County (ID)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Worley <1>

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

Cemeteries Near West Spokane ...

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

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

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

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

  • Riverside Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Greenwood Memorial Terrace Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Military Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Fairmount Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Fairmount Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Spokane.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76786 <2>
  • Spokane Memorial Gardens Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Moran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Englewood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Marshall Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Orchard Prairie Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. St. Michael Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (53 more) ...
    • Spokane Evergreen Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • The Pines Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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

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

  • Spokane
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • East Spokane
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • East Spokane is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Spokane
  • Marshall
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Marshall is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
  • Mead
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Chester
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Chester is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
  • Medical Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mica
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mica is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mica
  • Buckeye
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Buckeye is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
  • Deep Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Deep Creek is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Creek
  • Cheney
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Peone
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Peone is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peone
  • Hazard
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Hazard is located in Spokane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazard
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Freeman
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Freeman is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Hite
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Hite is located in Spokane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hite
    • Spangle
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in West Spokane ...

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 131 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Spokane.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Spokane, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Spokane.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Spokane:

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