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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 Topeka (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 Topeka. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Topeka is located in LaGrange County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of LaGrange County: Elkhart, Noble, Steuben, Branch (MI) & Saint Joseph (MI).

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

  • LaGrange County     (The home county of Topeka)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Wolcottville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolcottville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcottville
      • Wolcottville is located in LaGrange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolcottville <2>
    • Valentine
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Shipshewana
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shipshewana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipshewana
      • Shipshewana is located in LaGrange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shipshewana <2>
    • LaGrange
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for LaGrange have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaGrange
      • LaGrange is located in LaGrange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,802 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaGrange <2>
    • Seyberts
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Plato
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • South Milford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Milford
      • South Milford is located in LaGrange County
    • Howe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howe
      • Howe is located in LaGrange County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howe <2>
    • Gravel Beach
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Brushy Prairie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mongo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brighton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Allen County
  • DeKalb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Corunna
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corunna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corunna
      • Corunna is located in DeKalb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
    • Fairfield Center
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Altona
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Ashley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley
      • Ashley is located in DeKalb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 988 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashley <2>
    • Garrett
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Waterloo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterloo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
      • Waterloo is located in DeKalb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,266 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterloo <2>
    • Auburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Elkhart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Millersburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Millersburg is located in Elkhart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millersburg <2>
    • Benton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Benton is located in Elkhart County
    • Middlebury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlebury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlebury
      • Middlebury is located in Elkhart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,608 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middlebury <2>
    • Bainter Town
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bainter Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
      • Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
    • Goshen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
      • Goshen is located in Elkhart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goshen <2>
    • New Paris
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Paris have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Paris
      • New Paris is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Paris <2>
    • Bristol
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bristol have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
      • Bristol is located in Elkhart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bristol <2>
    • Foraker
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Dunlap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunlap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
      • Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
    • Southwest
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Southwest. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
      • Southwest is located in Elkhart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Southwest
      • From Topeka to Southwest
    • Gravelton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gravelton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
      • Gravelton is located in Elkhart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gravelton
      • From Topeka to Gravelton
    • Garden Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Village
      • Garden Village is located in Elkhart County
  • Kosciusko County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Syracuse
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Syracuse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syracuse
      • Syracuse is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,856 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Syracuse <2>
    • Wawasee Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wawasee Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wawasee Village
      • Wawasee Village is located in Kosciusko County
    • North Webster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Webster
      • North Webster is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,161 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Webster <2>
    • Milford Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Milford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
      • Milford is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
    • Leesburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesburg
      • Leesburg is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 546 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leesburg <2>
    • Arrowhead Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pierceton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierceton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceton
      • Pierceton is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,012 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierceton <2>
    • Clunette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Winona Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winona Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona Lake
      • Winona Lake is located in Kosciusko County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,890 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winona Lake <2>
    • Atwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Noble County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Cosperville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Ligonier
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ligonier have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ligonier
      • Ligonier is located in Noble County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,411 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ligonier <2>
    • Wawaka
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rome City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rome City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome City
      • Rome City is located in Noble County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome City <2>
    • Kimmell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kimmell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmell
      • Kimmell is located in Noble County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kimmell <2>
    • Brimfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brimfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Brimfield is located in Noble County
    • Cromwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Albion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Port Mitchell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
      • Indian Village is located in Noble County
    • Wolf Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Wakeville Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wakeville Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakeville Village
      • Wakeville Village is located in Noble County
  • Saint Joseph County
    • Osceola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osceola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Osceola is located in Saint Joseph County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,486 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osceola <2>
  • Steuben County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Hudson
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Steuben County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 521 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hudson <2>
    • Orland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orland
      • Orland is located in Steuben County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orland <2>
    • Pleasant Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Steuben County
    • Angola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Angola have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angola
      • Angola is located in Steuben County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,827 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Angola <2>
    • Jamestown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Whitley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Ormas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Etna
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Tri-Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Cresco
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cresco. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
      • Cresco is located in Whitley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cresco
      • From Topeka to Cresco
    • Lorane
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lorane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
      • Lorane is located in Whitley County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lorane
      • From Topeka to Lorane
    • Churubusco
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Churubusco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churubusco
      • Churubusco is located in Whitley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,999 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Churubusco <2>
    • Collins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Larwill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larwill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
      • Larwill is located in Whitley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Columbia City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbia City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia City
      • Columbia City is located in Whitley County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,416 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Columbia City <2>
  • Branch County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Gilead
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bronson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hatmaker
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hatmaker. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatmaker
      • Hatmaker is located in Branch County (MI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hatmaker
      • From Topeka to Hatmaker
  • Cass County (MI)
  • Saint Joseph County (MI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka listed first.
    • Klingers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Klingers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klingers
      • Klingers is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Klingers
      • From Topeka to Klingers
    • Oakwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oakwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Oakwood is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oakwood
      • From Topeka to Oakwood
    • Sturgis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • White Pigeon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Bluff Beach
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Fawn River
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Constantine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Constantine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constantine
      • Constantine is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Constantine <2>
    • Mottville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Burr Oak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr Oak
      • Burr Oak is located in Saint Joseph County (MI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burr Oak <2>
    • Findley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Centreville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Nottawa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Topeka ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Topeka.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Topeka, with the one closest to Topeka 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.<6>

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

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

  • Emma
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
    • Emma is located in LaGrange County
  • Grismore
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grismore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grismore
    • Grismore is located in Noble County
  • Ligonier
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ligonier have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ligonier
    • Ligonier is located in Noble County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,411 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ligonier <2>
  • Cosperville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wawaka
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Wolcottville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolcottville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolcottville
    • Wolcottville is located in LaGrange County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wolcottville <2>
  • Valentine
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Shipshewana
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shipshewana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipshewana
    • Shipshewana is located in LaGrange County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shipshewana <2>
  • Kimmell
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kimmell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimmell
    • Kimmell is located in Noble County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kimmell <2>
  • Brimfield
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brimfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
    • Brimfield is located in Noble County
  • Rome City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rome City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome City
    • Rome City is located in Noble County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome City <2>
  • LaGrange
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for LaGrange have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaGrange
    • LaGrange is located in LaGrange County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,802 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for LaGrange <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Cromwell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Benton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
      • Benton is located in Elkhart County
    • Albion
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Topeka. See our List of 1890's Communities around Topeka.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Topeka ...

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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Topeka.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Topeka. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Topeka and those printed in the larger area surrounding Topeka.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4> of Topeka.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Topeka:

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

The official website for LaGrange County: www.lagrangecounty.org/

The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov

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>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.
<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- Topeka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topeka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5394, Longitude: -85.5394    
<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 Topeka, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025