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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 Basalt (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 Basalt. 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.

Name Variations for Basalt ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Over the years, Basalt had several name changes:

  • Prior to its current name of Basalt, it was known as Aspen Junction.
  • Before changing to Aspen Junction, it was named Fryingpan Town.
  • The community of Basalt was originally named Fryingpan Town

Another variation: Frying Pan Town.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

A Few Details for Basalt ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • The naming (or the toponymy) of Basalt: pcodwn:Named for Basalt Peak, a lava formation in the area
  • It was incorporated on August 26, 1901.

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.

Basalt is primarily located in Eagle County. A portion of Basalt extends into Pitkin 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 Eagle County: Garfield, Grand, Lake, Pitkin, Routt & Summit.

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

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

Cemeteries Near Basalt ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Basalt.

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

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Wheatley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheatley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheatley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Carbondale Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carbondale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carbondale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Weaver Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Weaver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Weaver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fisher Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fisher Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fisher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marion Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Red Butte Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red Butte Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ute Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ute Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ute Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Aspen Grove Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aspen Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aspen Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rosebud Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosebud Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosebud Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Cedar Hill Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Dotsero Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dotsero Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dotsero Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Marble Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marble Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marble Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Brett Family Cemetery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brett Family Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brett Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Basalt had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Basalt had a population of 4,183 people.

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

  • Emma
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
    • Emma is located in Pitkin County
  • Carbondale
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Woody Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Satank
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satank have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satank
    • Satank is located in Garfield County
  • Ruedi ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ruedi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruedi
    • Ruedi is located in Eagle County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ruedi
    • From Basalt to Ruedi
  • Cattle Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cattle Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cattle Creek
    • Cattle Creek is located in Garfield County
  • Aspen
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Lenado ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Thomasville ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
    • Thomasville is located in Pitkin County
  • Shoshone
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shoshone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoshone
    • Shoshone is located in Garfield County
  • Cardiff
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cardiff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
    • Cardiff is located in Garfield County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cardiff
    • From Basalt to Cardiff
  • Gypsum
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Basalt ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Basalt.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Basalt:

The official website for Basalt: www.basalt.net/

The official website for Eagle County: www.eagle-county.com/

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

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>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.
<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>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 Basalt, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Basalt) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Basalt. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3691, Longitude: -107.0332    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025