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 Washington Center (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 Washington Center. 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 Washington Center ...
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 Washington Center: Washington Ctr. (or less commonly used: Washington Cen., Washington Cent. or Washington Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Washington Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Washington Center.
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 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.
Washington Center is located in Whitley 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 Whitley County: Allen, Huntington, Kosciusko, Noble & Wabash.
Below are the counties that are near Washington Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Washington Center:
- Whitley County (The home county of Washington Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Luther
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Luther is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- South Whitley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Columbia City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Collamer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Collamer is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
- Dunfee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
- Larwill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Larwill is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Lorane
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lorane is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
- Cresco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cresco is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
- Collins
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Collins is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Tri-Lakes
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
- Etna
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Etna is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Churubusco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Magley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Magley is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magley
- Preble
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Aboite
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Aboite is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aboite
- Arcola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dunn Mill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
- Indian Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Indian Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Fort Wayne
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Wallen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wallen is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallen
- Yoder
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ari
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ari is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
- Anthony Wayne Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Huntertown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hacienda Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hacienda Village is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hacienda Village
- New Haven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- New Era
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- New Era is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- Altona
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Altona is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
- Garrett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Disko
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Disko is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disko
- Akron
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Grant County
- Van Buren
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Van Buren is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Huntington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Goblesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Goblesville is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goblesville
- Roanoke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bippus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bippus is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bippus
- Bowerstown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bowerstown is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerstown
- Huntington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Andrews
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Harlansburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Harlansburg is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
- Markle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Majenica
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Majenica is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majenica
- Monument City ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Monument City is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monument City
- River
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- River is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River
- Mount Etna
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mount Etna is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Etna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Kosciusko County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Sidney
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Sidney is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
- Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
- Pierceton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Winona Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Claypool
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Silver Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Arrowhead Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
- North Webster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Burket
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Burket is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burket
- Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
- Leesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver Dam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Beaver Dam is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
- Sevastopol
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sevastopol is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sevastopol
- Atwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Pettysville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pettysville is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettysville
- Gilead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Gilead is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
- Noble County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Merriam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Merriam is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
- Green Center
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Green Center is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
- Wilmot
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wilmot is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Wolf Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Wolf Lake is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
- Ege
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ege is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ege
- Port Mitchell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
- Indian Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Laotto
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Albion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kimmell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cromwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Avilla
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wabash County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Liberty Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
- Servia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Servia is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servia
- North Manchester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Laketon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lagro
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Urbana
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Lincolnville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lincolnville is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
- Roann
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wabash
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Stockdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Stockdale is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockdale
- Treaty
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Treaty is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treaty
- La Fontaine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- La Fontaine is located in Wabash County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Fontaine
- Population from the 2020 Census: 810 people
- Wells County
- The following are listed by their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Zanesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Uniondale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ossian
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Oaks
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- North Oaks is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oaks
- Tocsin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Tocsin is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tocsin
- Bluffton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Center is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Center
- Craigville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Craigville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigville
- Travisville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Travisville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travisville
- Greenville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Poneto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Poneto is located in Wells County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poneto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Washington Center, see our County-by-County Page for Washington Center.
Cemeteries Near Washington Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Washington Center.
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 Washington Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Washington Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- St. Peters Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Nolt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cleveland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- South Park Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- South Whitley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Funk Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Concord Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Broxon Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (213 more) ...
- Richland Center Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Calvary 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 Washington Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Washington Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Washington Center, with the one closest to Washington Center listed first.
- Laud
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Laud is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laud
- Peabody
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Peabody is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody
- Tunker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Tunker is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunker
- Goblesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Goblesville is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goblesville
- Raber
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Raber is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raber
- Makin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Makin is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makin
- South Whitley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Bracken
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bracken is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bracken
- Columbia City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Saturn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Saturn is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saturn
- Coesse
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Coesse is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coesse
- Collamer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Collamer is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bippus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bippus is located in Huntington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bippus
- Roanoke
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dunfee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Dunfee is located in Whitley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunfee
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Washington Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Washington Center.
Newspapers Published in Washington Center ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Washington Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Washington Center, 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 Washington Center.
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 Washington Center:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Whitley County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Allen County
- DeKalb County
- Fulton County
- Grant County
- Huntington County
- Kosciusko County
- Miami County
- Noble County
- Wabash County
- Wells 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 Washington Center, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Washington Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |