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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 Rocky Ford (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 Rocky Ford. 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.

Name Variations for Rocky Ford ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Rocky Ford: Rocky Frd.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 doctors and 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.

Rocky Ford is located in Otero 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 Otero County: Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Las Animas & Pueblo.

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

  • Otero County     (The home county of Rocky Ford)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
    • Manzanola
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manzanola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manzanola
      • Manzanola is located in Otero County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manzanola <2>
    • Hawley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawley
      • Hawley is located in Otero County
    • Swink
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swink have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swink
      • Swink is located in Otero County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swink <2>
    • La Junta Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Junta Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Junta Village
      • La Junta Village is located in Otero County
    • Cheraw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • La Junta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Benton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Benton is located in Otero County
    • Fowler
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Higbee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Higbee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higbee
      • Higbee is located in Otero County
  • Bent County
    • Las Animas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Crowley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
    • Ordway
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ordway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordway
      • Ordway is located in Crowley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,013 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ordway <2>
    • Sugar City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar City
      • Sugar City is located in Crowley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar City <2>
    • Crowley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Olney Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olney Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olney Springs
      • Olney Springs is located in Crowley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olney Springs <2>
  • Kiowa County
    • Arlington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arlington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Kiowa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <2>
  • Pueblo County
    • Boone
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
      • Boone is located in Pueblo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Rocky Ford ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rocky Ford.

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 Rocky Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Valley View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Manzanola Mountainview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Mt. View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holbrook Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holbrook Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holbrook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Olney Springs Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olney Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olney Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Otero County Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otero County Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otero County Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of La Junta.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2146283 <4>
  • Fowler Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fowler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fowler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Timpas Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Timpas Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Timpas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Arlington Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arlington Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arlington Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rocky Ford had a population of 468 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rocky Ford had a population of 3,806 people.

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

  • La Junta
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Benton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Benton is located in Otero County
  • Fowler
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Timpas
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timpas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timpas
    • Timpas is located in Otero County
  • Nepesta
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nepesta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nepesta
    • Nepesta is located in Pueblo County
  • Higbee
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Higbee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higbee
    • Higbee is located in Otero County
  • Arlington
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arlington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
    • Arlington is located in Kiowa County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arlington <2>
  • Las Animas
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rocky Ford ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rocky Ford.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rocky Ford. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rocky Ford and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rocky Ford.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6> of Rocky Ford.

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 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 Rocky Ford:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Rocky Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Rocky Ford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rocky Ford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1012, Longitude: -103.7337       In this case, the coordinates for Rocky Ford have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025