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 Alta Vista (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 Alta Vista. 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 hospitals 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.
Alta Vista is located in Jefferson County.
To see how the shape of Colorado's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jefferson County: Adams, Boulder, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin, Park & Teller.
Below are the counties that are near Alta Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alta Vista:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Alta Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Arvada
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Oak Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Park is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Wheat Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Lakeside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain View
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain View is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
- Applewood Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Applewood Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood Village
- Edgewater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wallace Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Wallace Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace Village
- Applewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Applewood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood
- Arapahoe ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Arapahoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arapahoe
- Lakewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- East Pleasant View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Pleasant View is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Pleasant View
- West Pleasant View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Pleasant View is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pleasant View
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Berkley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Berkley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Hidden Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hidden Lake is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lake
- Westminster
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Lakes
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Western Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Western Hills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
- Federal Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sherrelwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sherrelwood is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrelwood
- North Washington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- North Washington is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Holiday Hills Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Welby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Welby is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welby
- Adams City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Adams City is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams City
- Derby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Derby is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Dupont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Arapahoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Fort Logan ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Logan is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Logan
- Sheridan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Glendale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bow Mar
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bow Mar is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Mar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 947 people
- Englewood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Littleton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Cherry Hills Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Colfax Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Colfax Village is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax Village
- Columbine Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Columbine Valley is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbine Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,508 people
- Havana Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Havana Village is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana Village
- Old Towne
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Old Towne is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Towne
- Aurora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Hallcrafts Village East
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Boulder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Superior
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lafayette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Louisville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Eldorado Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Erie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Crescent Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Crescent Village is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Village
- Valmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Valmont is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valmont
- Canfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Canfield is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Boulder
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wondervu
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Wondervu is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wondervu
- Gunbarrel
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Gunbarrel is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunbarrel
- Magnolia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Magnolia is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Pinecliffe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Broomfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Broomfield Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Broomfield Heights is located in Broomfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomfield Heights
- Broomfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clear Creek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Brookvale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Brookvale is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookvale
- Idaho Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Downieville - Lawson - Dumont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Downieville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dumont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Lawson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lawson is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Silver Creek ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Silver Creek is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Alice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Alice is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Saint Mary's
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Mary's is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary's
- Denver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- West Denver
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Denver
- Denver
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 735,538 people
- Former names for Denver:
- Auraina
- Denver City
- Montana City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denver <1>
- Cherry Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Creek is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Sandown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Sandown is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandown
- Montbello
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Highlands Ranch
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Acres Green
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gateway
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gateway is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gateway
- Carriage Club
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Carriage Club is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carriage Club
- Heritage Hills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Hills is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
- Meridian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meridian is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
- Cottonwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cottonwood is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Lone Tree
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Louviers
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Roxborough Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Roxborough Park is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxborough Park
- Grand View Estates
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Grand View Estates is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View Estates
- Stonegate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Stonegate is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonegate
- Castle Pines North
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Castle Pines North is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Pines North
- Estimated population in 2011: 10,602 people
- Gilpin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Cottonwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cottonwood is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Smith Hill ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Smith Hill is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Hill
- Black Hawk
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Central City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rollinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Nevadaville ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Nevadaville is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevadaville
- Nevadaville has also been known as:
- Bald Mountain
- Nevada City
- Russell Gulch
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Russell Gulch is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Gulch
- Apex ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Apex is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
- American City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- American City is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for American City
- Kingston ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Kingston is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Weld County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Dacono
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wattenberg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wattenberg is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattenberg
- Frederick
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lochbuie
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lochbuie is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochbuie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,885 people
- Firestone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fort Lupton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Aristocrat Ranchettes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Highland Lake is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Hudson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alta Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Alta Vista.
Cemeteries Near Alta Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alta Vista.
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 Alta Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alta Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Arvada Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Wheat Ridge.
- The Mt. Olivet Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57441 <2>
- Crown Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Ralston Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Belleview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Belleview Cemetery is located in Westminster.
- The Belleview Cemetery has also been known as:
- Pillar of Fire Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2143601 <2>
- Golden Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Golden Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Golden Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Golden.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #152829 <2>
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Highland Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Olinger Highland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olinger Highland Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Olinger Highland Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the southwest of Thornton.
- The Olinger Highland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Highland Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #453365 <2>
- White Ash Mine Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Broomfield County Commons Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (83 more) ...
- Lakeview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- William F Cody Grave
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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 Alta Vista in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Alta Vista.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alta Vista, with the one closest to Alta Vista listed first.
- Arvada
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Semper
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Semper is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Semper
- West Denver
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- West Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Denver
- Denver
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 735,538 people
- Former names for Denver:
- Auraina
- Denver City
- Montana City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denver <1>
- Cotton Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cotton Creek is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Creek
- Golden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Broomfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Fort Logan ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Logan is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Logan
- Louisville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Lafayette
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Marshall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marshall is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Morrison
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Littleton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Sullivan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sullivan is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Aurora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alta Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alta Vista.
Newspapers Published in Alta Vista ...
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 413 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alta Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alta Vista, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alta Vista.
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 Alta Vista:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Arapahoe County
- Boulder County
- Broomfield County
- Clear Creek County
- Denver County
- Douglas County
- Gilpin County
- Weld County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Colorado
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Alta Vista) 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 Alta Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |