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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 Breckenridge (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 Breckenridge. 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 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.

Breckenridge is located in Summit County and is the County Seat.

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 Summit County: Clear Creek, Eagle, Grand, Lake & Park.

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

  • Summit County     (The home county of Breckenridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Wild Irishman ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Blue River
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
      • Blue River is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 928 people
    • Dyersville ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Copper Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Frisco
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
      • Frisco is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,874 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frisco <2>
    • Swandyke ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swandyke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swandyke
      • Swandyke is located in Summit County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Swandyke
      • From Breckenridge to Swandyke
    • Mayflower Gulch ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rexford ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rexford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rexford
      • Rexford is located in Summit County
    • Keystone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Kokomo ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kokomo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
      • Kokomo is located in Summit County
    • Dillon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
      • Dillon is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 967 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillon <2>
    • Wildernest
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Johns ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Clear Creek County
  • Eagle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Mitchell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
      • Mitchell is located in Eagle County
    • Camp Hale ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Pando ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bighorn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bighorn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bighorn
      • Bighorn is located in Eagle County
    • Red Cliff
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Gilman ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Vail
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
      • Vail is located in Eagle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,489 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <2>
    • Astor City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Astor City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor City
      • Astor City is located in Eagle County
    • Minturn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minturn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
      • Minturn is located in Eagle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minturn <2>
    • Holy Cross City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Beaver Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Avon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Avon is located in Eagle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,952 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <2>
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Breckenridge, with the one closest to Breckenridge listed first.
    • Climax ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Leadville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oro City ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Malta ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
      • Malta is located in Lake County
  • Park County

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

Cemeteries Near Breckenridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Breckenridge.

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

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

  • Valley Brook Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley Brook Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley Brook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dillon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dillon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dillon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buckskin Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buckskin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buckskin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dudley Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dudley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dudley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Como Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Como Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Como Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Park City Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Park City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Webster Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webster Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lamping Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamping Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamping Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Fairplay Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Fairplay Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • 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.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • River View Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...

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 Breckenridge had a population of 700 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Breckenridge had a population of 4,954 people.

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

  • Frisco
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
    • Frisco is located in Summit County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,874 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frisco <2>
  • Kokomo ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kokomo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
    • Kokomo is located in Summit County
  • Keystone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Dillon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Dillon is located in Summit County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 967 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillon <2>
  • Climax ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Montezuma
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Chihuahua ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chihuahua. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chihuahua
    • Chihuahua is located in Summit County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chihuahua
    • From Breckenridge to Chihuahua
  • Alma
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Como
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pando ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Mitchell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
    • Mitchell is located in Eagle County
  • Birdseye
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birdseye have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdseye
    • Birdseye is located in Lake County
  • 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 Breckenridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Breckenridge.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Breckenridge ...

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 Breckenridge.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Breckenridge. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Breckenridge and those printed in the larger area surrounding Breckenridge.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6> of Breckenridge.

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 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 Breckenridge:

The official website for Breckenridge: www.townofbreckenridge.com/

The official website for Summit County: www.co.summit.co.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Breckenridge, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Breckenridge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Breckenridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4871, Longitude: -106.0462    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025