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 Ara (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 Ara. 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.
Ara is located in Boulder 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 Boulder County: Adams, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Larimer & Weld.
Below are the counties that are near Ara. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ara:
- Boulder County (The home county of Ara)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Boulder
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Valmont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Valmont is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valmont
- Gunbarrel
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gunbarrel is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunbarrel
- Lazy Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lazy Acres is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lazy Acres
- Sunshine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sunshine is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Eldorado Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Louisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Magnolia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Magnolia is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Salina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Salina is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
- Niwot
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Superior
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wallstreet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Wallstreet is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallstreet
- Gold Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gold Hill is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Darlow ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Darlow is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlow
- Little Texas ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Little Texas is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Texas
- Eastlake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Federal Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Holiday Hills Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Northglenn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Thornton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Westminster
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hidden Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hidden Lake is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lake
- Sherrelwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sherrelwood is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrelwood
- Twin Lakes
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Western Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Western Hills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
- Berkley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Berkley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Arapahoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Glendale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Colfax Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Colfax Village is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax Village
- Fort Logan ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Logan is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Logan
- Sheridan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bow Mar
(29 miles [46.7 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
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Altura
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Altura is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altura
- Aurora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Hills Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Havana Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Havana Village is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana Village
- Littleton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Old Towne
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Old Towne is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Towne
- Broomfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Broomfield Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Broomfield Heights is located in Broomfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomfield Heights
- Broomfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Idaho Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alice
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alice is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Dumont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Mary's
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Mary's is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary's
- Downieville - Lawson - Dumont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Downieville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lawson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lawson is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Silver Creek ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Silver Creek is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Brookvale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Brookvale is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookvale
- Empire
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Denver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- West Denver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Denver
- Denver
(23 miles [37 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>
- Sandown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sandown is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandown
- Cherry Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cherry Creek is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Montbello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Gilpin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Rollinsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- American City ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- American City is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for American City
- Apex ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Apex is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
- Black Hawk
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cottonwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cottonwood is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Smith Hill ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Smith Hill is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Hill
- Central City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nevadaville ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nevadaville is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevadaville
- Nevadaville has also been known as:
- Bald Mountain
- Nevada City
- Kingston ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Russell Gulch
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Russell Gulch is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Gulch
- Grand County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Winter Park
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fraser
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Coal Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coal Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Twin Spruce
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Twin Spruce is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Spruce
- Wallace Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wallace Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace Village
- Oak Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Park is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Arapahoe ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Arapahoe is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arapahoe
- Arvada
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Applewood Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Applewood Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood Village
- Golden
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Applewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Applewood is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applewood
- Lakeside
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wheat Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- West Pleasant View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- West Pleasant View is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pleasant View
- Mountain View
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Larimer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Big Elk Meadows
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Big Elk Meadows is located in Larimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Elk Meadows
- Berthoud
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Campion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Campion is located in Larimer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campion
- Loveland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Drake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Estes Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Weld County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Frederick
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Dacono
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Firestone
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Lake is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Wattenberg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Wattenberg is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattenberg
- Mead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Lupton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Aristocrat Ranchettes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Platteville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lochbuie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lochbuie is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lochbuie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,885 people
- Johnstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Milliken
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsboro is located in Weld County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ara, see our County-by-County Page for Ara.
Cemeteries Near Ara ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ara.
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 Ara - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ara covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Mountain View Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Mountain View Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Columbia Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Green Mtn. Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Mtn. Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Green Mtn. Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Boulder.
- The Green Mtn. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Green Mtn. Memorial Park
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57314 <2>
- Valmont Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eldorado Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Niwot Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Superior Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Salina Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Coal Creek Memorial Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Louisville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (94 more) ...
- Lafayette Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Ryssby Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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 Ara in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ara.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ara, with the one closest to Ara listed first.
- Boulder
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Valmont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Valmont is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valmont
- Marshall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Marshall is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
- Crisman
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Crisman is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crisman
- Magnolia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Magnolia is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Louisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sunshine
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sunshine is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Salina
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Salina is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salina
- Altona ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Altona is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Niwot
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lafayette
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Springdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Springdale is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Gold Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Gold Hill is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Sugarloaf
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sugarloaf is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf
- Canfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Canfield is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ara. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ara.
Newspapers Published in Ara ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ara.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ara, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ara.
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 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 Ara:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Boulder County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Arapahoe County
- Broomfield County
- Clear Creek County
- Denver County
- Gilpin County
- Grand County
- Jefferson County
- Larimer 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> | 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 Ara, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Ara) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |