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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 Bayfield (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 Bayfield. 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 Bayfield ...

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.

The community of Bayfield was originally named Los Pinos

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.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Bayfield is located in La Plata 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 La Plata County: Archuleta, Dolores, Hinsdale, Montezuma, San Juan & San Juan (NM).

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

  • La Plata County     (The home county of Bayfield)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bayfield, with the one closest to Bayfield listed first.
    • Gem Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Village
      • Gem Village is located in La Plata County
    • Ignacio
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Florida
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florida
      • Florida is located in La Plata County
    • Vallecito
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Carbon Junction
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Junction
      • Carbon Junction is located in La Plata County
    • La Boca
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Boca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Boca
      • La Boca is located in La Plata County
    • Allison
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison
      • Allison is located in La Plata County
    • Durango
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Hermosa
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
      • Hermosa is located in La Plata County
    • Bondad
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bondad. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondad
      • Bondad is located in La Plata County
    • Rockwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
      • Rockwood is located in La Plata County
    • Hesperus
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
      • Fort Lewis is located in La Plata County
  • Archuleta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bayfield, with the one closest to Bayfield listed first.
    • Chimney Rock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Rock
      • Chimney Rock is located in Archuleta County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chimney Rock <1>
    • Arboles
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gato
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gato. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gato
      • Gato is located in Archuleta County
    • Juanita ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
      • Juanita is located in Archuleta County
    • Pagosa Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pagosa Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pagosa Springs
      • Pagosa Springs is located in Archuleta County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,132 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pagosa Springs <1>
  • San Juan County (NM)

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

Cemeteries Near Bayfield ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bayfield.

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

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

  • Bayfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bayfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bayfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ouray Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ouray Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ouray Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shreck Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shreck Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shreck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crestview Memorial Garden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crestview Memorial Garden
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crestview Memorial Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Allison Tiffany Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Allison Tiffany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Allison Tiffany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Animas Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Animas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Animas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tiffany Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tiffany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tiffany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • La Boca Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the La Boca Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the La Boca Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Mtn. Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Mtn. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Mtn. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenmount Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenmount Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenmount Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Durango.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1013065 <4>
  • New Rosa Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Hermosa Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hermosa Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hermosa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Elco Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elco Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elco Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Altura Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Hesperus Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hesperus Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hesperus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<6>

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

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

  • Ignacio
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Piedra
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedra
    • Piedra is located in Archuleta County
  • La Boca
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Boca have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Boca
    • La Boca is located in La Plata County
  • Durango
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Arboles
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Trimble
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trimble have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
    • Trimble is located in La Plata County
  • Hermosa
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
    • Hermosa is located in La Plata County
  • Rosa ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Rosa is located in Rio Arriba County (NM)
  • Rockwood
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
    • Rockwood is located in La Plata County
  • Carracas
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carracas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carracas
    • Carracas is located in Archuleta County
  • Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Lewis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
    • Fort Lewis is located in La Plata County
  • Juanita ‑ Historic
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juanita
    • Juanita is located in Archuleta County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bayfield ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bayfield.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bayfield. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bayfield and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bayfield.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Bayfield.

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 Bayfield:

The official website for Bayfield: www.bayfield.govoffice.com/

The official website for La Plata County: www.co.laplata.co.us/

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 '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- Bayfield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bayfield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2351, Longitude: -107.5946       In this case, the coordinates for Bayfield have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Bayfield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025