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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Balfour. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Balfour to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Balfour, please Contact Us.

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 Balfour (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 Balfour. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Balfour is historic, it would have been located within present day Park County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Park County: Chaffee, Clear Creek, Douglas, Fremont, Jefferson, Lake, Summit & Teller.

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

  • Park County     (The home county of Balfour)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
    • Hartsel
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Pike - San Isabel Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pike - San Isabel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike - San Isabel Village
      • Pike - San Isabel Village is located in Park County
    • Guffey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guffey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guffey
      • Guffey is located in Park County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guffey <2>
    • Lake George
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake George have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
      • Lake George is located in Park County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake George <2>
    • Fairplay
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Horseshoe ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Horseshoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
      • Horseshoe is located in Park County
    • Como
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Alma Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma Junction
      • Alma Junction is located in Park County
  • Chaffee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
    • Nathrop
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nathrop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nathrop
      • Nathrop is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nathrop <2>
    • Johnson Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnson Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson Village
      • Johnson Village is located in Chaffee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson Village <2>
    • Buena Vista
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Chaffee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,116 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buena Vista <2>
    • Turret ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turret
      • Turret is located in Chaffee County
    • Americus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Americus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
      • Americus is located in Chaffee County
    • Pine Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
      • Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
    • Browns Canon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Browns Canon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Canon
      • Browns Canon is located in Chaffee County
    • Belleview
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belleview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
      • Belleview is located in Chaffee County
    • Salida
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cleora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cleora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleora
      • Cleora is located in Chaffee County
    • Granite
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Hawkinsville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hawkinsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinsville
      • Hawkinsville is located in Chaffee County
  • Fremont County
    • Wellsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsville
      • Wellsville is located in Fremont County
  • Lake County
    • Low Pass ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Low Pass. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Pass
      • Low Pass is located in Lake County
  • Teller County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Balfour, with the one closest to Balfour listed first.
    • Florissant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florissant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florissant
      • Florissant is located in Teller County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florissant <2>
    • Divide
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Divide have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Divide
      • Divide is located in Teller County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Divide <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Balfour ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Balfour.

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 Balfour covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hartsel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartsel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartsel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buffalo Springs Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buffalo Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rocky Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rocky Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rocky Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake George Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake George Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake George Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Farnum Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farnum Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farnum Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Fourmile Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Florissant Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Centerville Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centerville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Centerville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairplay Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairplay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairplay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Fairplay Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Fairplay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Fairplay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bordenville Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bordenville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bordenville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Wildhorn Ranch Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wildhorn Ranch Cemetery
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Wildhorn Ranch Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>

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.

While we didn't find Balfour in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Balfour.

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

  • Hartsel
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Haver ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haver have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haver
    • Haver is located in Park County
  • Garo ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garo
    • Garo is located in Park County
  • Lake George
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake George have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
    • Lake George is located in Park County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake George <2>
  • Nathrop
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nathrop have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nathrop
    • Nathrop is located in Chaffee County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nathrop <2>
  • Buena Vista
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
    • Buena Vista is located in Chaffee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,116 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buena Vista <2>
  • Americus
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Americus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
    • Americus is located in Chaffee County
  • Riverside
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Riverside is located in Chaffee County
  • Fairplay
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine Creek
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
    • Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
  • Browns Canon
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Browns Canon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Canon
    • Browns Canon is located in Chaffee County
  • Belleview
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belleview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
    • Belleview is located in Chaffee County
  • Salida
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Como
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Balfour ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Balfour.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Balfour. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Balfour and those printed in the larger area surrounding Balfour.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Balfour.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Balfour:

The official website for Park County: www.parkco.us/

The official website for State of Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Balfour, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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>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.
<5>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.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Balfour) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Balfour. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9072, Longitude: -105.7244       In this case, the coordinates for Balfour have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025