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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 Dixon (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 Dixon. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Dixon is located in Solano County.

To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Solano County: Contra Costa, Napa, Sacramento, Sonoma & Yolo.

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

  • Solano County     (The home county of Dixon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dixon, with the one closest to Dixon listed first.
    • Batavia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batavia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
      • Batavia is located in Solano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batavia
      • From Dixon to Batavia
    • Allendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hartley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Elmira
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leisure Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leisure Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Town
      • Leisure Town is located in Solano County
    • Vacaville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cannon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
      • Cannon is located in Solano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cannon
      • From Dixon to Cannon
    • Travis Field
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travis Field have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travis Field
      • Travis Field is located in Solano County
    • Oxford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oxford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
      • Oxford is located in Solano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oxford
      • From Dixon to Oxford
    • Denverton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Denverton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denverton
      • Denverton is located in Solano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Denverton
      • From Dixon to Denverton
    • Solano City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Solano City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solano City
      • Solano City is located in Solano County
    • Fairfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Contra Costa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dixon, with the one closest to Dixon listed first.
    • Bay Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pittsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Port Chicago ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • West Pittsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pittsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pittsburg
      • West Pittsburg is located in Contra Costa County
    • Antioch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Empire ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
      • Empire is located in Contra Costa County
  • Napa County
  • Placer County
    • Riego
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riego have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riego
      • Riego is located in Placer County
  • Sacramento County
  • San Joaquin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dixon, with the one closest to Dixon listed first.
    • Mokelumne City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mokelumne City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mokelumne City
      • Mokelumne City is located in San Joaquin County
    • Thornton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Taison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taison. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taison
      • Taison is located in San Joaquin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Taison
      • From Dixon to Taison
    • Terminous
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sutter County
  • Yolo County

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

Cemeteries Near Dixon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dixon.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dixon had a population of 1,082 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dixon had a population of 20,440 people.

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

  • Batavia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batavia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
    • Batavia is located in Solano County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Batavia
    • From Dixon to Batavia
  • Binghamton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Binghamton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binghamton
    • Binghamton is located in Solano County
  • Allendale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Elmira
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Davis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Violet ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Violet have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Violet
    • Violet is located in Solano County
  • Plainfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Plainfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
    • Plainfield is located in Yolo County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Plainfield
    • From Dixon to Plainfield
  • Winters
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Vacaville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Maine Prairie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maine Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine Prairie
    • Maine Prairie is located in Solano County
  • Swingle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swingle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swingle
    • Swingle is located in Yolo County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Swingle
    • From Dixon to Swingle
  • Webster
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Yolo County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Merritt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merritt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
      • Merritt is located in Yolo County
    • Cannon ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cannon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon
      • Cannon is located in Solano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cannon
      • From Dixon to Cannon
    • Vanden ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanden
      • Vanden is located in Solano County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dixon ...

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 172 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dixon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dixon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dixon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dixon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5> of Dixon.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Dixon:

The official website for Dixon: www.ci.dixon.ca.us/

The official website for Solano County: www.co.solano.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dixon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dixon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4484, Longitude: -121.8225    
<6>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 Dixon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025