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 Portland (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 Portland. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Portland is located in Fremont 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 Fremont County: Chaffee, Custer, El Paso, Park, Pueblo, Saguache & Teller.
Below are the counties that are near Portland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Portland:
- Fremont County (The home county of Portland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Penrose
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Coal Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rockvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Brookside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brookside is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Lincoln Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lincoln Park is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
- Canon City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Prospect Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Prospect Heights is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Heights
- Buckskin Joe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Buckskin Joe is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckskin Joe
- Sunset City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Sunset City is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset City
- Echo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Echo is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Custer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Wetmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Greenwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Greenwood is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Querida ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Querida is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Querida
- Querida has also been known as:
- Bassick
- Querida Junction
- Rosita
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rosita is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosita
- Silver Cliff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westcliffe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ula ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ula is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ula
- El Paso County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Henkel
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Henkel is located in El Paso County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henkel
- Wigwam
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wigwam is located in El Paso County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wigwam
- Fort Carson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fountain
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stratmoor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stratmoor is located in El Paso County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratmoor
- Widefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kelker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kelker is located in El Paso County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelker
- Pueblo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Stone City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Stone City is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
- Siloam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Siloam is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Pueblo West
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Beulah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pinon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pinon is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinon
- Beulah Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Beulah Valley is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah Valley
- Pueblo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pueblo is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pueblo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 112,751 people
- Former names for Pueblo:
- Bessemer
- Central Pueblo
- South Pueblo
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pueblo <1>
- Salt Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Salt Creek is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
- Lombard Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lombard Village is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lombard Village
- Teller County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Victor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Goldfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Goldfield is located in Teller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldfield
- Independence ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Independence is located in Teller County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Cripple Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Portland, see our County-by-County Page for Portland.
Cemeteries Near Portland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portland.
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 Portland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Portland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Penrose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- San Juan Bautisa Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Union Highland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Upper Beaver Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Swallows Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Abbey Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Vale Memory Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Fremont Memory Gardens Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lakeside Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- IOOF Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Valhalla Memorial Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Henry Harkins Gravesite
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Victor Sunnyside Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor Sunnyside Cemetery
- The Victor Sunnyside Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sunnsyside Cemetery
- Victor City Cemetery
- Beulah Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
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 Portland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Portland.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Florence
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Coal Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rockvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Williamsburg is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Siloam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Siloam is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Brookside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Brookside is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Chandler ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Chandler is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
- Swallows
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Swallows is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swallows
- Wetmore
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Canon City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Greenwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Greenwood is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Parkdale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Parkdale is located in Fremont County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Beulah
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Goodnight
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Goodnight is located in Pueblo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodnight
- Fairview
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fairview is located in Custer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Portland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portland.
Newspapers Published in Portland ...
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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Portland, 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 Portland.
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 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 Portland:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Fremont County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Custer County
- El Paso County
- Pueblo County
- Teller County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Colorado
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 Portland, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |