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 Rico (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 Rico. 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.
Rico is located in Dolores 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 Dolores County: Montezuma, San Juan, San Miguel & San Juan (UT).
Below are the counties that are near Rico. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rico:
- Dolores County (The home county of Rico)
- Dunton ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dunton is located in Dolores County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunton
- La Plata County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Rockwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Rockwood is located in La Plata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Hermosa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hermosa is located in La Plata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
- Hesperus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Durango
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Montezuma County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Mancos
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dolores
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McPhee ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- McPhee is located in Montezuma County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McPhee
- Ouray County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Red Mountain ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mountain is located in Ouray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mountain
- Ouray
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- San Juan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Graysill ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Graysill is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysill
- Chattanooga ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chattanooga is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga
- Silverton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Howardsville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Howardsville is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
- Eureka ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Animas Forks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Animas Forks is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Animas Forks
- San Miguel County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Ames ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Ophir
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alta ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Alta is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Ilium
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ilium is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ilium
- Vance Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Vance Junction is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance Junction
- Vanadium ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Vanadium is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanadium
- Keystone ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Keystone is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
- Mountain Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- San Miguel ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- San Miguel is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Miguel
- Telluride
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sawpit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Sawpit is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawpit
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38 people
- Sawpit has also been known as:
- Saw Pit
- Liberty Bell ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Bell is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Bell
- Pandora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pandora is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rico, see our County-by-County Page for Rico.
Cemeteries Near Rico ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rico.
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 Rico - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rico covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Rico Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hermosa Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lone Tree Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lone Tree Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sheek Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nash Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson Park Cemetery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mancos Pioneer Cemetery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hesperus Cemetery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Webber Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Green Mtn. Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Greenmount Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Greenmount Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Durango.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1013065 <2>
- Animas Cemetery
(29 miles [46.7 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rico had a population of 1,134 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Rico had a population of 262 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
- Ames ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ames is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
- Ophir
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rockwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Rockwood is located in La Plata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Ilium
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ilium is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ilium
- Vance Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Vance Junction is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance Junction
- Telluride
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- San Miguel ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- San Miguel is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Miguel
- Hermosa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hermosa is located in La Plata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermosa
- Silverton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chattanooga ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chattanooga is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga
- Pandora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pandora is located in San Miguel County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Trimble
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Trimble is located in La Plata County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimble
- Continue List (9 more) ...
- Placerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Red Mountain ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mountain is located in Ouray County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mountain
- Howardsville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Howardsville is located in San Juan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howardsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rico. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rico.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rico ...
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 71 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rico.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rico. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rico and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rico.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Rico.
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 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 Rico:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Dolores County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- La Plata County
- Montezuma County
- Ouray County
- San Juan County
- San Miguel 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 Rico, 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 from Point A (ie- Rico) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |