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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 Wildwood (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 Wildwood. 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.

Wildwood 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 Wildwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wildwood:

  • Lewis County     (The home county of Wildwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Winlock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Vader
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Curtis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Saint Urban
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Urban is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Urban
    • Toledo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Adna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Napavine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Newaukum
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
    • Pe Ell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Claquato
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Claquato is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
    • Fayette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Fayette is located in Lewis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Chehalis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Doty
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Cowlitz County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Ryderwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Ryderwood is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryderwood
    • Olequa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
    • Castle Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bunker Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Bunker Hill is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
    • Coal Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Coal Creek is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
    • Stella
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Pleasant Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
    • Silver Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Oak Point is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Point
    • Toutle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Longview Heights
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Longview Heights is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
    • Ostrander
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ostrander is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
    • West Longview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • West Longview is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Longview
  • Grays Harbor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Chehalis Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Chehalis Village is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chehalis Village
    • Oakville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cedarville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Cedarville is located in Grays Harbor County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
  • Pacific County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Lebam
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Menlo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Menlo is located in Pacific County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menlo
  • Thurston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Independence
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Independence is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
    • Grand Mound
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Rochester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Bucoda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Tenino
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Bordeaux ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Bordeaux is located in Thurston County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bordeaux
    • Littlerock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Wahkiakum County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Eagle Cliff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Eagle Cliff is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Cliff
    • Skamokawa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cathlamet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • East Cathlamet
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Cathlamet is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cathlamet
    • Grays River
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Brookfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brookfield is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookfield
    • Rosburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Dahlia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dahlia is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlia
    • Deep River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Deep River is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
    • Altoona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Altoona is located in Wahkiakum County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
  • Clatsop County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Clifton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Clifton is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Westport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brownsmead
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Brownsmead is located in Clatsop County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsmead
  • Columbia County (OR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Mayger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Mayger is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayger
    • Quincy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Quincy is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
    • Clatskanie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rainier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Beaver Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
    • Prescott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County (OR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people

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

Cemeteries Near Wildwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wildwood.

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

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

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

  • Snow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Little Falls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Claquato Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Rosin Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosin Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rosin Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the northeast of Castle Rock.
    • The Rosin Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Rosin Cemetery
    • Tower Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77025 <2>
  • Fern Hill Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Castle Rock.
    • The Whittle & Hubbard Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hubbard Cemetery
    • Meadowview Cemetery
    • Whittle and Hubbard Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77115 <2>
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for IOOF Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the IOOF Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the east of Castle Rock.
    • The IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • IOOF Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #76862 <2>
  • Tower Twp. Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Twp. Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tower Twp. Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northeast of Castle Rock.
    • The Tower Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tower Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2277304 <2>
  • Lone Hill Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Sylvan Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (52 more) ...
    • Stella / Wiest Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Smith - Tucker Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Silver Lake Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Silver Lake Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the west of Toutle.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #77049 <2>

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wildwood had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Boistfort
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Boistfort is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boistfort
  • Winlock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Olequa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Olequa is located in Cowlitz County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olequa
  • Toledo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Cowlitz
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cowlitz is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowlitz
  • Napavine
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Newaukum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Newaukum is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newaukum
  • Pe Ell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Claquato
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Claquato is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claquato
  • Fayette
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Fayette is located in Lewis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
  • Castle Rock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Chehalis
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ethel
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Stella
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Stella is located in Cowlitz County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
    • Silver Lake
      (18 miles [29 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 Wildwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wildwood.

Newspapers Published in Wildwood ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wildwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wildwood, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wildwood.

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 Wildwood:

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wildwood) 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 Wildwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.