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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 West Little River (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 West Little River. 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 West Little River ...

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 West Little River: W. Little Riv.

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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

West Little River is located in Miami-Dade County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Miami-Dade County: Broward, Collier & Monroe.

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

  • Miami-Dade County     (The home county of West Little River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Little River, with the one closest to West Little River listed first.
    • Westview
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
      • Westview is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Pinewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Gladeview
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gladeview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladeview
      • Gladeview is located in Miami-Dade County
    • El Portal
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for El Portal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Portal
      • El Portal is located in Miami-Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,355 people
    • Brownsville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Sun-Tan Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sun-Tan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun-Tan Village
      • Sun-Tan Village is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Miami Shores
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Opa Locka
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Biscayne Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Biscayne Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscayne Park
      • Biscayne Park is located in Miami-Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,018 people
    • North Miami
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lemon City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemon City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon City
      • Lemon City is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Hialeah
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hialeah
      • Hialeah is located in Miami-Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 232,027 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hialeah <2>
    • Bunche Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bunche Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunche Park
      • Bunche Park is located in Miami-Dade County
  • Broward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Little River, with the one closest to West Little River listed first.
    • Lake Forest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Forest
      • Lake Forest is located in Broward County
    • Miami Gardens
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Gardens
      • Miami Gardens is located in Broward County
    • Carver Ranches
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carver Ranches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carver Ranches
      • Carver Ranches is located in Broward County
    • Utopia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Utopia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utopia
      • Utopia is located in Broward County
    • West Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Park
      • West Park is located in Broward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,038 people
    • Pembroke Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Miramar
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hallandale Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hallandale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hallandale came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallandale
      • Hallandale is located in Broward County
    • West Hollywood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Hollywood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pembroke Pines
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Royal Palm Ranches
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Palm Ranches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Palm Ranches
      • Royal Palm Ranches is located in Broward County

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

Cemeteries Near West Little River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Little River.

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 West Little River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Lincoln Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Evergreen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Sinai Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Sinai Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Sinai Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miami Shores Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miami Shores Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miami Shores Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dade Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dade Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dade Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vista Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vista Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vista Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miami City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miami City Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Miami City Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Miami.
    • The Miami City Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Biscayne Park Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #71852 <5>
  • City Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the City Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Southern Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Southern Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Southern Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (33 more) ...
    • Flagler Memorial Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flagler Memorial Park
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flagler Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Graceland Memorial Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Memorial Park
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Woodlawn Park Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Park Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Park 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.<6>

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

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

  • Miami
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
    • Miami is located in Miami-Dade County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 471,525 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miami <2>
  • Cutler
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutler
    • Cutler is located in Miami-Dade County

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

Newspapers Published in West Little River ...

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 290 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Little River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Little River, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Little River.

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 West Little River:

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

The official website for Miami-Dade County: www.miamidade.gov/

The official website for State of Florida: https://www.myflorida.com/

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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Little River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Little River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 25.8570, Longitude: -80.2370       In this case, the coordinates for West Little River 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 West Little River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025