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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 Crystal Lake (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 Crystal Lake. 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 Crystal Lake ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Crystal Lake: Crystal Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Crystal Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Crystal Lake.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Crystal Lake is located in Polk County.

To see how the shape of Florida's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco & Sumter.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Crystal Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Lake, with the one closest to Crystal Lake listed first.
    • Combee Settlement
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Combee Settlement is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Combee Settlement
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Eaton Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Kossuthville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Kossuthville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuthville
    • Fussels Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Fussels Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fussels Corner
    • Lakeland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Highland City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Gibsonia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Gibsonia is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsonia
    • Medulla
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Winston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Auburndale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jan-Phyl Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jan-Phyl Village is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jan-Phyl Village
  • Hardee County
    • Bowling Green
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Lake, with the one closest to Crystal Lake listed first.
    • Colonial Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Kings Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
    • South Plant City Farms
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
    • Plant City Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
    • Plant City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Parrish
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • Cedar Run
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Cedar Run is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
    • Knights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
    • Strawberry Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Strawberry Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Village
    • West Plant City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Woodfield Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
    • West Plant City Farms
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
    • Sydney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Lake County
    • Four Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Lake, with the one closest to Crystal Lake listed first.
    • ChampionsGate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
    • Reunion
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Poinciana Place
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
    • Poinciana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Intercession City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Celebration
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal Lake, with the one closest to Crystal Lake listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Richland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Dade City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Leo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • San Antonio
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • San Antonio is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for San Antonio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,506 people
      • Former name for San Antonio:
      • Lake Jovita
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for San Antonio <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Crystal Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crystal Lake.

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 Crystal Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Crystal Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Crystal Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Crystal Lake.

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

  • Lakeland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Auburndale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Gordonville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Gordonville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
  • Kathleen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bartow
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Eagle Lake
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Winter Haven
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Wahneta
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wahneta is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
  • Plant City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Knights
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Homeland
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Keene
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Keene is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Keysville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Sydney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Haines City
      (18 miles [29 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 Crystal Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Crystal Lake.

Newspapers Published in Crystal Lake ...

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 Crystal Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crystal Lake, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crystal Lake.

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 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 Crystal Lake:

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 Crystal Lake, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Crystal Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.