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 Trail Creek (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 Trail Creek. 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 Trail Creek ...
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 Trail Creek: Trail Crk. (or less commonly used: Trail Ck. or Trail Cr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Trail Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Trail Creek.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Trail Creek is located in LaPorte County.
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of LaPorte County: Jasper, Porter, Saint Joseph, Starke & Berrien (MI).
Below are the counties that are near Trail Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Trail Creek:
- LaPorte County (The home county of Trail Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Pottawattamie Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Pottawattamie Park is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottawattamie Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Waterford
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Waterford is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Michigan City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Long Beach
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Michiana Shores
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Holmesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Holmesville is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Otis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Otis is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Smith
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Smith is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
- Door Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- La Porte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hesston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hesston is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesston
- Westville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Rolling Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Duneland Village of Gary
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lake Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Duneland Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Duneland Village is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duneland Village
- Hobart
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- New Chicago
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- New Chicago is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chicago
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,937 people
- Deep River
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Deep River is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
- Liverpool
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Liverpool is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liverpool
- Gary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Green Acres
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Green Acres is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Lakes of the Four Seasons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Merrillville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Winfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Winfield is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,265 people
- Lottaville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lottaville is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lottaville
- Marshall County
- Tyner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tyner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyner
- Porter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Town-of-Pines
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Town-of-Pines is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town-of-Pines
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Beverly Shores
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Chesterton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Porter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Suman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
- Tratebas Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tratebas Mill is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tratebas Mill
- Dune Acres
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Dune Acres is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dune Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Burns Harbor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Babcock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Babcock is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
- Portage
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- South Haven
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- South Haven is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Haven
- Valparaiso
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ogden Dunes
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ogden Dunes is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Dunes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,083 people
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- New Carlisle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Zeigler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Zeigler is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zeigler
- Crumstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Crumstown is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumstown
- North Liberty
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Walkerton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Nutwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Nutwood is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nutwood
- Starke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Hamlet
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Koontz Lake
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Koontz Lake is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Lake
- Grovertown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Grovertown is located in Starke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovertown
- Knox
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Berrien County (MI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Michiana
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Beach
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grand Beach is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
- New Buffalo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Union Pier
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeside is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
- Three Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Avery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Avery is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
- Harbert
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelhurst
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hazelhurst is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelhurst
- Shorewood - Tower Hills - Harbert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sawyer
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Galien
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Galien is located in Berrien County (MI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galien
- Population from the 2020 Census: 527 people
- New Troy
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Trail Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Trail Creek.
Cemeteries Near Trail Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Trail Creek.
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 Trail Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Trail Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Swan Lake Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- St. Stanislaus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Cross Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sharp Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lows Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beattys Corner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Eight Square Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rossburg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Furnessville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Quaker Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (133 more) ...
- Shippeeburg Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Eaheart Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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 Trail Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Trail Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Trail Creek, with the one closest to Trail Creek listed first.
- Waterford
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Waterford is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
- Michigan City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oakwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oakwood is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
- Holmesville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Holmesville is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmesville
- Otis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Otis is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
- Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Durham is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
- Burdick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Burdick is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdick
- New Buffalo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Door Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Door Village is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Door Village
- La Porte
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hesston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hesston is located in LaPorte County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesston
- Westville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Porter
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Chesterton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Suman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Suman is located in Porter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suman
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Trail Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Trail Creek.
Newspapers Published in Trail Creek ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Trail Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Trail Creek, 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 Trail Creek.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Trail Creek:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to LaPorte County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Lake County
- Marshall County
- Porter County
- Saint Joseph County
- Starke County
- Berrien County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
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 Trail Creek, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Trail Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |