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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 Durango (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 Durango. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Durango is located in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County: Hardee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas & Polk.

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

  • Hillsborough County     (The home county of Durango)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durango, with the one closest to Durango listed first.
    • Northlake Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Northlake Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlake Village
    • Canterbury Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Canterbury Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canterbury Village
    • Royal Troon Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Royal Troon Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Troon Village
    • Fawn Ridge Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Fawn Ridge Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fawn Ridge Village
    • Eaglebrook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Eaglebrook is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaglebrook
    • Keystone
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Keystone is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
    • Keystone Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
    • Westchase
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Westchase is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westchase
    • Eastbrook
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Eastbrook is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastbrook
    • Indian Lakes
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Lakes is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Lakes
    • Logan Gate Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Logan Gate Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Gate Village
    • Country Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Country Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
  • Hernando County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durango, with the one closest to Durango listed first.
    • Masaryktown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Timber Pines
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Timber Pines is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Pines
    • Hernando Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Weeki Wachee Acres
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Weeki Wachee Acres is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeki Wachee Acres
    • Weeki Wachee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • North Weeki Wachee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • North Weeki Wachee is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Weeki Wachee
    • Weeki Wachee Gardens
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Weeki Wachee Gardens is located in Hernando County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeki Wachee Gardens
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durango, with the one closest to Durango listed first.
    • Odessa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Trinity
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Holiday
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elfers
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Beacon Square
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Beacon Square is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beacon Square
    • New Port Richey
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Land O' Lakes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Richey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jasmine Estates
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jasmine Estates is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasmine Estates
    • Bayonet Point
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Fivay Junction ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Fivay Junction is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay Junction
    • Fivay ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fivay is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivay
  • Pinellas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durango, with the one closest to Durango listed first.
    • Oldsmar
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • East Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • East Lake is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lake
    • Safety Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Cove Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Cove Springs is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Springs
    • Palm Harbor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Tarpon Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Crystal Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ozona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Dunedin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayview ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bayview is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayview
    • High Point
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • High Point is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • South Highpoint
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • South Highpoint is located in Pinellas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Highpoint

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

Cemeteries Near Durango ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Durango.

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 Durango - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cycadia Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Parklawn Memory Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Curlew Hills Memory Gardens
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Carroll Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Parklawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Dunedin Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • East Elfers Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunedin Highland Memorial Park
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...
    • McMullen Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadowlawn Memorial Gardens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rousseau Pioneer Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Keystone Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Keystone Park is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone Park
  • Odessa
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tampa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tampa
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 407,599 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tampa <1>
  • Port Richey
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Ybor City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ybor City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ybor City
  • Ehren
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Ehren is located in Pasco County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehren
  • Port Tampa
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Port Tampa is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Tampa
  • Hudson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Thonotosassa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Mango
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Limona
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Limona is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limona
  • Seffner
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Brandon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Peru ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Peru is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru
    • Valrico
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Durango ...

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 4 newspapers that have been published in the area around Durango.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Durango, there are papers which were published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Durango.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Durango:

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 Durango, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Durango) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.