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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 Vail (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 Vail. 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.

Vail is located in Eagle 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 Eagle County: Garfield, Grand, Lake, Pitkin, Routt & Summit.

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

  • Eagle County     (The home county of Vail)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Bighorn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bighorn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bighorn
      • Bighorn is located in Eagle County
    • Minturn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minturn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
      • Minturn is located in Eagle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minturn <2>
    • Astor City ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Astor City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Astor City
      • Astor City is located in Eagle County
    • Gilman ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
      • Gilman is located in Eagle County
    • Red Cliff
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Avon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Avon is located in Eagle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,952 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <2>
    • Beaver Creek
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Edwards
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwards have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
      • Edwards is located in Eagle County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwards <2>
    • Camp Hale ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Hale
      • Camp Hale is located in Eagle County
    • Pando ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pando
      • Pando is located in Eagle County
    • Holy Cross City ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross City
      • Holy Cross City is located in Eagle County
    • Wolcott
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolcott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcott
      • Wolcott is located in Eagle County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolcott <2>
    • Troutville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
      • Troutville is located in Eagle County
  • Clear Creek County
    • Berthoud Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berthoud Falls
      • Berthoud Falls is located in Clear Creek County
  • Grand County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Kremmling
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Parshall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Climax ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Lake County
    • Leadville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Oro City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oro City
      • Oro City is located in Lake County
  • Park County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Buckskin Joe ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckskin Joe
      • Buckskin Joe is located in Park County
    • Park City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Park County
    • Alma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Alma Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma Junction
      • Alma Junction is located in Park County
  • Pitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Biglow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Biglow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biglow
      • Biglow is located in Pitkin County
    • Norrie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norrie
      • Norrie is located in Pitkin County
    • Thomasville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomasville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomasville
      • Thomasville is located in Pitkin County
    • Meredith
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Summit County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vail, with the one closest to Vail listed first.
    • Frisco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
      • Frisco is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,874 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frisco <2>
    • Wildernest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Copper Mountain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Silverthorne
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Heeney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Dillon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
      • Dillon is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 967 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillon <2>
    • Breckenridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Mayflower Gulch ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower Gulch
      • Mayflower Gulch is located in Summit County
    • Keystone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Wild Irishman ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Irishman
      • Wild Irishman is located in Summit County
      • Wild Irishman has also been known as:
      • Preston Mill
      • Preston
    • Blue River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
      • Blue River is located in Summit County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 928 people
    • Swandyke ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swandyke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swandyke
      • Swandyke is located in Summit County
    • Dyersville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyersville
      • Dyersville is located in Summit County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Vail ...

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 43 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vail.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Vail. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Vail and those printed in the larger area surrounding Vail.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4> of Vail.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Vail:

Cemeteries Near Vail ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vail.

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

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

  • River View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edwards Cemetery
  • Brett Family Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brett Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brett Family Cemetery
  • Gold Park Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gold Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gold Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57305 <5>
  • Dillon Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dillon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dillon Cemetery
  • Valley Brook Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley Brook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley Brook Cemetery
  • Sheephorn Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheephorn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheephorn Cemetery
  • Burtcher Gravesite
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Burtcher Gravesite is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the north of Parshall.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burtcher Gravesite
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • McCoy Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCoy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCoy Cemetery
  • Mt. Holy Cross Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the St. Joseph Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • 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 our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #57530 <5>
    • Leadville City Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Leadville City Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Leadville City Cemetery is located in Leadville.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leadville City Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2360743 <5>
    • Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Leadville Hebrew Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • 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 our Gazetteer entry for the Leadville Hebrew Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2209837 <5>

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.<6>

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

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

  • Minturn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minturn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minturn
    • Minturn is located in Eagle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minturn <2>
  • Gilman ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilman
    • Gilman is located in Eagle County
  • Belden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
    • Belden is located in Eagle County
  • Red Cliff
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Avon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
    • Avon is located in Eagle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,952 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <2>
  • Edwards
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwards have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
    • Edwards is located in Eagle County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwards <2>
  • Pando ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pando
    • Pando is located in Eagle County
  • Frisco
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
    • Frisco is located in Summit County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,874 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frisco <2>
  • Holy Cross City ‑ Historic
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holy Cross City
    • Holy Cross City is located in Eagle County
  • Mitchell
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
    • Mitchell is located in Eagle County
  • Kokomo ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kokomo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
    • Kokomo is located in Summit County
  • Dillon
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Dillon is located in Summit County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 967 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dillon <2>
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Wolcott
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolcott have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcott
      • Wolcott is located in Eagle County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolcott <2>
    • Breckenridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Climax ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Lake County

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

The official website for Vail: www.ci.vail.co.us/

The official website for Eagle County: www.eagle-county.com/

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>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- Vail) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vail. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6388, Longitude: -106.3624       In this case, the coordinates for Vail have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Vail, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024