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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 Prairie Junction (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 Prairie Junction. 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 Prairie Junction ...

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 Prairie Junction: Prairie Jct. (or less commonly used: Prairie Jctn.)

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

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 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.

Prairie Junction 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 Prairie Junction. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Prairie Junction:

  • Polk County     (The home county of Prairie Junction)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Junction, with the one closest to Prairie Junction listed first.
    • Mulberry
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Willow Oak
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Willow Oak is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Oak
    • Medulla
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Medulla is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medulla
    • Lakeland Highlands
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakeland Highlands is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Highlands
    • Nichols
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lyle Corner
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Lyle Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle Corner
    • Armour ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Armour is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Highland City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Winston
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Winston is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winston
    • Eaton Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Bradley Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Bradley Junction is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley Junction
    • Bartow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Acton ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Acton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Junction, with the one closest to Prairie Junction listed first.
    • Bowling Green
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wauchula
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Junction, with the one closest to Prairie Junction listed first.
    • South Plant City Farms
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
    • Kings Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
    • Welcome
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Welcome is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
    • Parrish
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
    • West Plant City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
    • Woodfield Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
    • Lithia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pinecrest
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Colonial Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Plant City Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
    • Plant City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • West Plant City Farms
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • West Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City Farms
    • Cedar Run
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Cedar Run is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Run
  • Manatee County
  • Pasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairie Junction, with the one closest to Prairie Junction listed first.
    • Crystal Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Crystal Springs is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
    • Zephyrhills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Richland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Richland is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Wesley Chapel South
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Wesley Chapel South is located in Pasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel South
    • Wesley Chapel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Prairie Junction ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairie Junction.

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 Prairie Junction - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Prairie Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Cemetery
    • The Prairie Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bone Valley Cemetery
    • Fuller Heights Cemetery
    • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    • Shiloh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72484 <2>
  • Little Alafia Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Willow Oak Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Medulla Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Fitzgerald Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Seward Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Olive Primitive Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Springhead Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Blue Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Palm Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Malloy Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malloy Cemetery
    • The Malloy Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Haskell Cemetery
    • Lake Hancock Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72221 <2>
  • Continue List   (109 more) ...
    • Oak Hill Burial Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Burial Park
      • The Oak Hill Burial Park has also been known as:
      • Laurel Hill Cemetery
      • Oak Hill Cemetery
      • Temple Emanuel Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #183813 <2>
    • Hunter Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wildwood Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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

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

  • Keysville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
  • Bartow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lakeland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Homeland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gordonville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Gordonville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
  • Plant City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Eagle Lake
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Knights
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Knights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knights
  • Sydney
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Kathleen
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Fort Meade
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Wahneta
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Wahneta is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Auburndale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Valrico
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bloomingdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale

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

Newspapers Published in Prairie Junction ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairie Junction.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Prairie Junction, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Prairie Junction.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Prairie Junction:

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 Prairie Junction, 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- Prairie Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.