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 Blue Valley (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 Blue Valley. 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 Blue Valley ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Blue Valley: Blue Vly. (or less commonly used: Blue Vally. or Blue Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Blue Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Blue Valley.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Blue Valley is located in Clear Creek 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 Clear Creek County: Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson, Park & Summit.
Below are the counties that are near Blue Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue Valley:
- Clear Creek County (The home county of Blue Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Idaho Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brookvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brookvale is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookvale
- Dumont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Downieville - Lawson - Dumont
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Downieville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lawson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lawson is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Silver Creek ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Silver Creek is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Georgetown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Alice
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alice is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- Saint Mary's
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Mary's is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mary's
- Empire
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Silverdale ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Silverdale is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverdale
- Silver Plume
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Berkley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Berkley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
- Hidden Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hidden Lake is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lake
- Westminster
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sherrelwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sherrelwood is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrelwood
- Twin Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Western Hills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Western Hills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western Hills
- Federal Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Holiday Hills Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Washington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- North Washington is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Washington
- Welby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Welby is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welby
- Northglenn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arapahoe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Bow Mar
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bow Mar is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Mar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 947 people
- Fort Logan ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fort Logan is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Logan
- Columbine Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Columbine Valley is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbine Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,508 people
- Littleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Sheridan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Englewood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cherry Hills Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cherry Knolls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cherry Knolls is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Knolls
- Glendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Southglenn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Southglenn is located in Arapahoe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southglenn
- Boulder County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Pinecliffe
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wondervu
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Wondervu is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wondervu
- Crescent Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Crescent Village is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Village
- Eldora
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Eldora is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldora
- Former names for Eldora:
- El Dora
- Eldorado
- Eldora has also been known as:
- Happy Valley
- Nederland
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Nederland is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nederland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,557 people
- Former names for Nederland:
- Browns Crossing
- Dayton
- Middle Boulder
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nederland <1>
- Tungsten ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Tungsten is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tungsten
- Caribou ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Caribou is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caribou
- Caribou has also been known as:
- Caribou City
- Eldorado Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Superior
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wallstreet
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Wallstreet is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallstreet
- Boulder
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gold Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill is located in Boulder County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Broomfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Broomfield Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Broomfield Heights is located in Broomfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomfield Heights
- Broomfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Denver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- West Denver
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- West Denver is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Denver
- Denver
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cherry Creek is located in Denver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Creek
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Roxborough Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Roxborough Park is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxborough Park
- Highlands Ranch
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Louviers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Cedars ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Cedars is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Cedars
- Gilpin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Smith Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Smith Hill is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Hill
- Cottonwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Black Hawk
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Central City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nevadaville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- 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
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Russell Gulch is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Gulch
- Apex ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Apex is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
- American City ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- American City is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for American City
- Kingston ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Kingston is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Rollinsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Grand County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Winter Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fraser
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tabernash
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Bergen Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bergen Park is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bergen Park
- Kittredge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brook Forest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brook Forest is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Forest
- Evergreen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Genesee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Idledale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Golden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Indians Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Spruce
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Twin Spruce is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Spruce
- Indian Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Coal Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Coal Creek is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Aspen Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Aspen Park is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspen Park
- Conifer
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Park County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Weller
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Weller is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weller
- Grant
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Shawnee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bailey
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Webster ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Webster is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Jefferson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Chihuahua ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Chihuahua is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chihuahua
- Montezuma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Saint Johns ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Rexford ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rexford is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexford
- Swandyke ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Swandyke is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swandyke
- Keystone
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Dillon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Blue Valley.
Cemeteries Near Blue Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Valley.
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 Blue Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Idaho Springs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Mtn. IOOF Lodge #2 Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Russell Gulch Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Missouri City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Knights of Pythias Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Foresters Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Red Men Lodge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- IOOF Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bald Mtn. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bergen Park Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Dumont Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (64 more) ...
- Masonic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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 Blue Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blue Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blue Valley, with the one closest to Blue Valley listed first.
- Idaho Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cottonwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Cottonwood is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Smith Hill ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Smith Hill is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Hill
- Central City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nevadaville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nevadaville is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevadaville
- Nevadaville has also been known as:
- Bald Mountain
- Nevada City
- Black Hawk
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Brookvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Brookvale is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookvale
- Russell Gulch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Russell Gulch is located in Gilpin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Gulch
- Dumont
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lamartine ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lamartine is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamartine
- Lawson
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lawson is located in Clear Creek County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Evergreen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Georgetown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Empire
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Silver Plume
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blue Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blue Valley.
Newspapers Published in Blue Valley ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Valley, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Blue Valley:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Clear Creek County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Arapahoe County
- Boulder County
- Broomfield County
- Denver County
- Douglas County
- Gilpin County
- Grand County
- Jefferson County
- Park County
- Summit 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> | 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- Blue Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Blue Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |