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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 Veta Pass (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 Veta Pass. 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.

La Veta Pass is primarily located in Huerfano County. A portion of La Veta Pass extends into 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 Huerfano County: Alamosa, Costilla, Custer, Las Animas & Pueblo.

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

  • Huerfano County     (The home county of La Veta Pass)
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Veta Pass, with the one closest to La Veta Pass listed first.
    • Muleshoe
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Muleshoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
      • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Muleshoe
      • From La Veta Pass to Muleshoe
    • Uptop ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Red Wing
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Gardner
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Alamo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • La Veta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Tioga
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tioga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
      • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tioga
      • From La Veta Pass to Tioga
    • Cuchara
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Calumet
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bradford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bradford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
      • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bradford
      • From La Veta Pass to Bradford
    • Walsenburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walsenburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsenburg
      • Walsenburg is located in Huerfano County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,003 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walsenburg <2>
    • Apache City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apache City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apache City
      • Apache City is located in Huerfano County
    • Cuchara Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuchara Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuchara Junction
      • Cuchara Junction is located in Huerfano County
  • Costilla County
  • Las Animas County
  • Pueblo County
  • Saguache County
    • The following are listed by their distance from La Veta Pass, with the one closest to La Veta Pass listed first.
    • Liberty ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Duncan ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near La Veta Pass ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La Veta Pass.

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

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

  • Yellowstone Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Oak View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanches Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanches Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanches Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chama Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gonzales Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gonzales Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gonzales Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gardner Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gardner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gardner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chavez Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chavez Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chavez Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Farisita Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farisita Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farisita Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • La Veta Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Old La Veta Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old La Veta Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old La Veta Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maes Creek Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maes Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maes Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cisneros Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cisneros Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cisneros Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Myer Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Brennaman Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Ft. Garland Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<3> 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.<6>

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

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

  • Muleshoe
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Muleshoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muleshoe
    • Muleshoe is located in Huerfano County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Muleshoe
    • From La Veta Pass to Muleshoe
  • Russell ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Malachite
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malachite have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malachite
    • Malachite is located in Huerfano County
  • Gardner
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Sharpsdale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharpsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpsdale
    • Sharpsdale is located in Huerfano County
  • La Veta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Badito
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Badito have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badito
    • Badito is located in Huerfano County
  • Garland City ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garland City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland City
    • Garland City is located in Costilla County
  • Tioga
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tioga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tioga
    • Tioga is located in Huerfano County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tioga
    • From La Veta Pass to Tioga
  • Fort Garland
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Bradford
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bradford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
    • Bradford is located in Huerfano County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Bradford
    • From La Veta Pass to Bradford
  • Pictou
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pictou have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pictou
    • Pictou is located in Huerfano County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in La Veta Pass ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Veta Pass.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of La Veta Pass, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for La Veta Pass.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Veta Pass:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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 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.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- La Veta Pass) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Veta Pass. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6137, Longitude: -105.1896       In this case, the coordinates for La Veta Pass have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Veta Pass, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025