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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Independence. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Independence to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Independence, please Contact Us.

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 Independence (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 Independence. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Independence is historic, it would have been located within present day Teller 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 Teller County: Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson & Park.

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

  • Teller County     (The home county of Independence)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Victor
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Goldfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Goldfield is located in Teller County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldfield
    • Cripple Creek
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Divide
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Florissant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodland Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Douglas County
    • Westcreek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Westcreek is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westcreek
  • El Paso County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Cascade
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Manitou Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chipita Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Mountain Falls
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Crystola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Crystola is located in El Paso County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystola
    • Fort Carson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Colorado Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Colorado Springs is located in El Paso County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colorado Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 482,131 people
      • Former names for Colorado Springs:
      • El Paso
      • Fountain Colony
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colorado Springs <2>
    • Kelker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Kelker is located in El Paso County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelker
    • Stratmoor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Stratmoor is located in El Paso County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratmoor
    • Widefield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Fountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cimarron Hills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Fremont County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Canon City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Buckskin Joe
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Buckskin Joe is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckskin Joe
    • Lincoln Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Lincoln Park is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
    • Prospect Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Prospect Heights is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Heights
    • Brookside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Brookside is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Penrose
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Florence
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Williamsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Williamsburg is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Coal Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rockvale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Sunset City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sunset City is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset City
    • Echo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Echo is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
  • Park County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Independence, with the one closest to Independence listed first.
    • Lake George
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Guffey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Pueblo County
    • Stone City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Stone City is located in Pueblo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City

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

Cemeteries Near Independence ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Independence.

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

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

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

  • Victor Sunnyside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor Sunnyside Cemetery
    • The Victor Sunnyside Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Sunnsyside Cemetery
    • Victor City Cemetery
  • Gillett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Fourmile Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Upper Beaver Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Helen Hunt Jackson Memorial
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Jackson Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Henry Harkins Gravesite
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Florissant Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Crystal Valley Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Divide Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Bouma / Briggs Grave
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Paupers' Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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.

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

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

  • Manitou Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Green Mountain Falls
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Ivywild
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ivywild is located in El Paso County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivywild
  • Colorado Springs
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Colorado Springs is located in El Paso County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colorado Springs
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 482,131 people
    • Former names for Colorado Springs:
    • El Paso
    • Fountain Colony
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colorado Springs <2>
  • Kelker
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Kelker is located in El Paso County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelker
  • Canon City
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Lake George
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Parkdale
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Parkdale is located in Fremont County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
  • Pikeview
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pikeview is located in El Paso County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikeview
  • Brookside
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Brookside is located in Fremont County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
  • Widefield
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Florence
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Williamsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Williamsburg is located in Fremont County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Fountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Elsmere
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Elsmere is located in El Paso County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elsmere

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

Newspapers Published in Independence ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Independence.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Independence, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Independence.

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 Independence:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Independence, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Independence) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.