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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 Paris (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 Paris. 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 hospitals 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.

Paris is located in Bear Lake County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bear Lake County: Caribou, Franklin, Rich (UT) & Lincoln (WY).

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

  • Bear Lake County     (The home county of Paris)
  • Caribou County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris listed first.
    • Bench
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Grace
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
      • Grace is located in Caribou County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grace <1>
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris listed first.
    • Thatcher
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thatcher have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thatcher
      • Thatcher is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thatcher <1>
    • Cherryville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Whitney
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <1>
    • Preston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <1>
    • Dayton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <1>
  • Cache County (UT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris listed first.
    • Cove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
      • Cove is located in Cache County (UT)
    • Lewiston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Richmond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Richmond is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <1>
    • Brachipad
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brachipad. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brachipad
      • Brachipad is located in Cache County (UT)
      • Brachipad has also been known as:
      • Brachipad Summer Home Area
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brachipad
      • From Paris to Brachipad
  • Rich County (UT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris listed first.
    • Garden City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Pickelville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Garden
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden
      • Garden is located in Rich County (UT)
    • Meadowville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Laketown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Round Valley ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Round Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Valley
      • Round Valley is located in Rich County (UT)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Round Valley
      • From Paris to Round Valley
  • Lincoln County (WY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris listed first.
    • Border
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Border. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
      • Border is located in Lincoln County (WY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Border
      • From Paris to Border
    • Taylor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taylor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Taylor is located in Lincoln County (WY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Taylor
      • From Paris to Taylor
    • Cokeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Paris ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paris.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Paris, with the one closest to Paris 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Paris had a population of 893 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Paris had a population of 517 people.

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

  • Bloomington
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Ovid
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Liberty
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Liberty is located in Bear Lake County
  • Dingle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Saint Charles
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Montpelier
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Fish Haven
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Georgetown
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Novene
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Novene have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Novene
    • Novene is located in Bear Lake County
  • Border
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Border. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Border
    • Border is located in Bear Lake County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Border
    • From Paris to Border
  • Garden City
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
  • Manson
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manson
    • Manson is located in Bear Lake County
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Cokeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
      • Franklin is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <1>
    • Preston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Paris ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paris.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Paris. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Paris and those printed in the larger area surrounding Paris.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Paris.

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 Paris:

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

The official website for Bear Lake County: www.bearlakecounty.info/

The official website for State of Idaho: https://idaho.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<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 Paris, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Paris) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Paris. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2269, Longitude: -111.4010    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025