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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 La 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 La 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 La 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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for La Valley: La Vly. (or less commonly used: La Vally. or La Vlly.)

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 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.

La Valley is located in Costilla 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 Costilla County: Alamosa, Conejos, Huerfano, Las Animas, Colfax (NM) & Taos (NM).

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

  • Costilla County     (The home county of La Valley)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Valley, with the one closest to La Valley listed first.
    • Chama
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chama
      • Chama is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chama <2>
    • San Pablo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Pablo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Pablo
      • San Pablo is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Pablo <2>
    • San Luis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
      • San Luis is located in Costilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <2>
    • Garcia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garcia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garcia
      • Garcia is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garcia <2>
    • San Acacio
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jaroso
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaroso have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaroso
      • Jaroso is located in Costilla County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jaroso <2>
    • Fort Garland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Blanca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Garland City ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
      • Garland City is located in Costilla County
  • Huerfano County
  • Las Animas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Valley, with the one closest to La Valley listed first.
    • Monument Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument Park
      • Monument Park is located in Las Animas County
    • Weston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Taos County (NM)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Valley, with the one closest to La Valley listed first.
    • Ventero
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventero
      • Ventero is located in Taos County (NM)
    • Amalia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amalia
      • Amalia is located in Taos County (NM)
    • Costilla
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Buena Vista
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Red River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cerro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Questa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Questa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Questa
      • Questa is located in Taos County (NM)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Questa <2>

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

Cemeteries Near La Valley ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La 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.

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

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

  • Chama Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chama Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chama Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • San Pedro Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the San Pedro Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the San Pedro Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Town Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Garcia Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Jaroso Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jaroso Cemetery
    • The Jaroso Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mountain View Cemetery
  • Tercio Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Stonewall Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
  • Brennaman Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brennaman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brennaman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ft. Garland Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Garland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ft. Garland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunshine Valley Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Myer Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Latir Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Latir Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Latir Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38177 <3>
    • Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blanca Trinchera Cemetery
      • The Blanca Trinchera Cemetery has also been known as:
      • New Ft. Garland Cemetery
    • Mac Mullan Cemetery
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mac Mullan Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mac Mullan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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.<4>

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

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

  • San Luis
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for San Luis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Luis
    • San Luis is located in Costilla County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Luis <2>
  • Costilla
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Stonewall
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonewall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewall
    • Stonewall is located in Las Animas County
  • Fort Garland
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Blanca
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
  • Lasauses
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lasauses have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lasauses
    • Lasauses is located in Conejos County
  • Weston
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Cerro
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in La 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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Valley.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Valley, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Valley.

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 professional and volunteer 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 La Valley:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for La Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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>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 La Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- La Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.1020, Longitude: -105.3478       In this case, the coordinates for La Valley have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025