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The Commemorative
Quarter for
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The Commemorative Quarter for Colorado





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 Last Chance (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 Last Chance. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Last Chance is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Adams, Arapahoe, Elbert, Kit Carson, Lincoln, Logan, Morgan & Yuma.

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Last Chance)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Last Chance, with the one closest to Last Chance listed first.
    • Lindon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Woodrow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Anton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Rago ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rago
      • Rago is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rago
      • From Last Chance to Rago
    • Thurman ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thurman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurman
      • Thurman is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thurman
      • From Last Chance to Thurman
    • Elba ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
      • Elba is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elba
      • From Last Chance to Elba
    • Arickaree ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arickaree. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arickaree
      • Arickaree is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arickaree
      • From Last Chance to Arickaree
    • Wiladel ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wiladel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiladel
      • Wiladel is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wiladel
      • From Last Chance to Wiladel
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Last Chance, with the one closest to Last Chance listed first.
    • Shamrock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shamrock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shamrock
      • Shamrock is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shamrock
      • From Last Chance to Shamrock
    • Cabin Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Arapahoe County
  • Elbert County
  • Morgan County

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

Cemeteries Near Last Chance ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Last Chance.

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

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

  • Swan Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lindon Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lindon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lindon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Abbott Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glen Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jolly Family Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jolly Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jolly Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walks Camp Lutheran Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walks Camp Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walks Camp Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elba Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elba Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elba Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walks Camp Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walks Camp Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walks Camp Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thurman Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thurman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thurman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adena Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adena Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woolsey Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Gebaurer Family Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gebaurer Family Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gebaurer Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lutheran Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lee Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee 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.<5>

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

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

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

Newspapers Published in Last Chance ...

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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Last Chance.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Last Chance, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Last Chance.

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 either 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 Last Chance:

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

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

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>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.
<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>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 Last Chance, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Last Chance) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Last Chance. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7401, Longitude: -103.5935    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025