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Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

• FamilySearch Places
• Tacoma Public Library, Washington Place Names
• Washington State Hometown Locator
• Ghost Towns of Washington State
• Atlas for Historical County Boundaries, Washington State
• Oregon, Washington and Idaho gazetteer and business directory 1884-1885 R L Polk. Oregon, Washington and Idaho gazetteer and business directory 1884-1885. Chicago, R L Polk & Co. 1885
• Disturnell's business directory and gazetteer of the west coast of North America William Disturnell. Disturnell's Business Directory and Gazetteer of the West Coast of North America : containing the names, business, and location of all merchants, manufacturers, professional men and public officers of the seaport and adjacent interior towns of California, Oregon, Washington Territory, Alaska, British Columbia and Mexico : also a gazetteer giving an accurate description of each locality and resources of the surrounding country, commercial statistics, population, distances, etc. San Francisco : W.C. Disturnell 1882
• Oregon and Washington gazetteer and business directory, 1909-1910 R L Polk. Oregon and Washington Gazetteer and Business Directory, 1909-1910. Tucson, Arizona : W.C. Cox & Co., 1974

Print Only Gazetteers

• Origin of Washington geographic names Edmond S Meany. Origin of Washington Geographic Names. Detroit, Michigan : Gale Research, 1968
• Washington State Place Names James W Phillips. Washington State Place Names. Seattle, Washington : University of Washington Press, c1971
• Washington Atlas and Gazetteer DeLorme. Washington Atlas and Gazetteer : topographic maps of the entire state, back roads and outdoor recreation. Freeport, Maine : DeLorme, 1988
• The Evolution of Washington Counties Newton Carl Abbot and Fred E. Carver. The Evolution of Washington Counties. [S.l.] : Yakima Valley Genealogical Society & Klickitat County Historical Society, 1978
• Place Names of Washington Robert Hitchman. Place Names of Washington. [Washington, D.C.] : Washington State Historical Society, 1985

Why Use Gazetteers

A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents

Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:

• Different religious denominations
• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
• The population size.
• Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
• Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
• Longitude and latitude.
• Distances and direction from other from cities.
• Schools, colleges, and universities.
• Denominations and number of churches.
• Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)