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 Rockdale (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 Rockdale. 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 northwest 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 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.
Rockdale is located in Chaffee 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 Chaffee County: Fremont, Gunnison, Lake, Park, Pitkin & Saguache.
Below are the counties that are near Rockdale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rockdale:
- Chaffee County (The home county of Rockdale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Banker Mine ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Banker Mine is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banker Mine
- Vicksburg ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Vicksburg is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicksburg
- Vicksburg has also been known as:
- Vicksburg Mining Camp
- Winfield ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Winfield is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Granite
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkinsville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hawkinsville is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinsville
- Pine Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Americus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Americus is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Buena Vista
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Iron City ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Iron City is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Saint Elmo ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Elmo is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Johnson Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Hancock is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
- Nathrop
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Mitchell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Mitchell is located in Eagle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Holy Cross City ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Holy Cross City is located in Eagle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross City
- Gunnison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Pieplant ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pieplant is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pieplant
- Pieplant has also been known as:
- Pie Plant
- Pieplant Mill
- Abbeyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Abbeyville is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbeyville
- Former name for Abbeyville:
- Hillerton
- Tincup
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tincup is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tincup
- Pitkin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Crested Butte
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Mount Crested Butte is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Crested Butte
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Twin Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Low Pass ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Low Pass is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Pass
- Malta ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Malta is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Oro City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Oro City is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro City
- Leadville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Climax ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Climax is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Park County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Horseshoe ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Horseshoe is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horseshoe
- Park City ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Park City is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
- Alma Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alma Junction is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma Junction
- Alma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buckskin Joe ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buckskin Joe is located in Park County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckskin Joe
- Fairplay
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pitkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Ruby ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Ruby is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
- Independence ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Independence is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Independence has also been known as:
- Chipeta
- Farwell
- Hunter's Pass
- Mammoth City
- Mount Hope
- Sparkill
- Ashcroft ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ashcroft is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
- Former names for Ashcroft:
- Castle Forks City
- Chloride
- Aspen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lenado ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lenado is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenado
- Norrie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Norrie is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
- Biglow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Biglow is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biglow
- Thomasville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Thomasville is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
- Meredith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rockdale, see our County-by-County Page for Rockdale.
Cemeteries Near Rockdale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockdale.
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 Rockdale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rockdale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Windfield Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Granite Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Boothill Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Tincup Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Leadville City Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Evergreen Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Leadville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57260 <2>
- Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Leadville Hebrew Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Leadville.
- The Leadville Hebrew Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hebrew Cemetery of Leadville
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2209837 <2>
- Odd Fellows Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Leadville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57530 <2>
- Mt. Holy Cross Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Buffalo Springs Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Aspen Grove Cemetery
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ute Cemetery
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Park City Cemetery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
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 Rockdale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rockdale.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rockdale, with the one closest to Rockdale listed first.
- Winfield ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Winfield is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Twin Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Granite
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Pine Creek is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Riverside
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Americus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Americus is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus
- Tincup
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Tincup is located in Gunnison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tincup
- Malta ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Malta is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Buena Vista
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Oro City ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Oro City is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro City
- Leadville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Saint Elmo ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Elmo is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Elmo
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Alpine ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Alpine is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Romley ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Romley is located in Chaffee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romley
- Ashcroft ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ashcroft is located in Pitkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcroft
- Former names for Ashcroft:
- Castle Forks City
- Chloride
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rockdale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockdale.
Newspapers Published in Rockdale ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockdale.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockdale, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockdale.
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 Rockdale:
- Websites specific to Colorado
- Pages specific to Chaffee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Eagle County
- Gunnison County
- Lake County
- Park County
- Pitkin 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 Rockdale, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rockdale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |