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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 Scenic Park (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 Scenic Park. 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 Scenic Park ...

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 Scenic Park: W. Scenic Park

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.

West Scenic Park is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco & Sumter.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of West Scenic Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Scenic Park, with the one closest to West Scenic Park listed first.
    • Lake Wales
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Waverly
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cypress Gardens
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wahneta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
      • Wahneta is located in Polk County
    • Alturas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
      • Highland Park is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Dundee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Eloise
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Crooked Lake Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crooked Lake Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crooked Lake Park
      • Crooked Lake Park is located in Polk County
    • Cox Corner ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Corner
      • Cox Corner is located in Polk County
    • Lake Garfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Garfield
      • Lake Garfield is located in Polk County
    • Connersville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Connersville
      • Connersville is located in Polk County
  • Hardee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Scenic Park, with the one closest to West Scenic Park listed first.
    • Bowling Green
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wauchula
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Zolfo Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Highlands County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Scenic Park, with the one closest to West Scenic Park listed first.
    • Alpine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
      • Alpine is located in Highlands County
    • Avon Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Hillsborough County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Scenic Park, with the one closest to West Scenic Park listed first.
    • South Plant City Farms
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Plant City Farms have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Plant City Farms
      • South Plant City Farms is located in Hillsborough County
    • Colonial Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
      • Colonial Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Kings Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Village
      • Kings Village is located in Hillsborough County
    • Welcome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
      • Welcome is located in Hillsborough County
    • Parrish
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parrish have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrish
      • Parrish is located in Hillsborough County
    • Plant City Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plant City Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City Heights
      • Plant City Heights is located in Hillsborough County
    • Plant City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • West Plant City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Plant City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Plant City
      • West Plant City is located in Hillsborough County
    • Woodfield Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodfield Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield Village
      • Woodfield Village is located in Hillsborough County
  • Lake County
    • Four Corners
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Scenic Park, with the one closest to West Scenic Park listed first.
    • Poinciana Place
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poinciana Place have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
    • Poinciana
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • ChampionsGate
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
    • Reunion
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Intercession City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Campbell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Osceola County
    • Celebration
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Kissimmee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near West Scenic Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Scenic Park.

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

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

  • Willow Lawn Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Garden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake Wales Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wahneta Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Friendship MB Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Church of Christ Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Church of Christ Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Church of Christ Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Eagle Lake.
    • The Church of Christ Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Eagle Lake Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #71920 <3>
  • Gandy Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gandy Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Gandy Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<4> to the southwest of Bartow.
    • The Gandy Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Connersville Cemetery
    • Polk Lake Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #72018 <3>
  • Fortner Family Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fortner Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fortner Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • The Fortner Family Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Peace Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2349899 <3>
  • Lake Buffum Baptist Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside Memorial Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...
    • Inman Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rolling Hills Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Glover Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Wahneta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahneta
    • Wahneta is located in Polk County
  • Winter Haven
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Eagle Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Gordonville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
    • Gordonville is located in Polk County
  • Bartow
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Homeland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Haines City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Auburndale
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Fort Meade
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lakeland
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bowling Green
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Avon Park
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Wauchula
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Kathleen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Keysville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keysville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
      • Keysville is located in Hillsborough County

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

Newspapers Published in West Scenic Park ...

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 65 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Scenic Park.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Scenic Park, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Scenic Park.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 West Scenic Park:

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

The official website for Polk County: www.polk-county.net/

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

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 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.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Scenic Park) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Scenic Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.9206, Longitude: -81.6423       In this case, the coordinates for West Scenic Park have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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 Scenic Park, 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