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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 Houston (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 Houston. 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 and hospitals 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.

Houston is located in Weld 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 Weld County: Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Kimball (NE) & Laramie (WY).

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

  • Weld County     (The home county of Houston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Gilcrest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Platteville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Milliken
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillsboro
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hillsboro is located in Weld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
    • Evans
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • La Salle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnstown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mead
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Aristocrat Ranchettes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Firestone
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Highland Lake is located in Weld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
    • Garden City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Garden City is located in Weld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 279 people
    • Fort Lupton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Brighton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Todd Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Todd Creek is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Creek
    • Darlow ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Darlow is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darlow
    • Little Texas ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Little Texas is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Texas
    • Henderson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Eastlake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Thornton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Commerce City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Northglenn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Holiday Hills Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Derby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Derby is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
    • Dupont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Federal Heights
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Boulder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Pleasant View Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant View Ridge is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View Ridge
    • Longmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Canfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Canfield is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
    • Erie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Erie is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 30,318 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <1>
    • Hygiene
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Niwot
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gunbarrel
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Gunbarrel is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunbarrel
    • Lafayette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Noland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Noland is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noland
    • Lyons
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Lyons is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,058 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyons <1>
    • Louisville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Valmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Valmont is located in Boulder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valmont
    • Superior
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Broomfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Broomfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Broomfield Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Broomfield Heights is located in Broomfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broomfield Heights
  • Jefferson County
    • Wallace Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wallace Village is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallace Village
  • Larimer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Houston, with the one closest to Houston listed first.
    • Berthoud
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Campion
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Campion is located in Larimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campion
    • Loveland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kerns
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Kerns is located in Larimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerns
    • Timnath
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Collins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Horsetooth Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Horsetooth Heights is located in Larimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsetooth Heights
    • Masonville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stout ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Stout is located in Larimer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
    • Drake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Houston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Houston.

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 Houston - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Houston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Mizpah Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah Cemetery
    • Former name for Mizpah Cemetery:
    • Sandhill Cemetery
  • Burbridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Johnstown Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown Cemetery
    • Former names for Johnstown Cemetery:
    • Dilley Chapel Cemetery
    • Elwell Cemetery
  • Sunset Memorial Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Evans Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Highlandlake Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Linn Grove Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Foothills Gardens of Memory
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (55 more) ...
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Lakeview Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Lakeview Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Windsor.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #277751 <2>
    • Lakeside Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Platteville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Hillsboro
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hillsboro is located in Weld County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
  • Evans
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • La Salle
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Highland Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Highland Lake is located in Weld County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
  • Fort Lupton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Greeley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Berthoud
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Highland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Highland is located in Boulder County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Hudson
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Longmont
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Saint Vrains
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Vrains is located in Weld County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Vrains
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Dick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dick is located in Weld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dick
    • Windsor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Windsor is located in Weld County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,659 people
      • Former names for Windsor:
      • New Liberty
      • New Windsor
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor <1>
    • Loveland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Houston ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Houston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Houston, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Houston.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Houston:

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 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.
<3>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 Houston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Houston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.