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 Junction City (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 Junction City. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Junction City is located in Geary County and is the County Seat.
To see how the shape of Kansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Geary County: Clay, Dickinson, Morris, Riley & Wabaunsee.
Below are the counties that are near Junction City. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Junction City:
- Geary County (The home county of Junction City)
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Grandview Plaza
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Grandview Plaza is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview Plaza
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,553 people
- Wreford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wreford is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wreford
- Kansas Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Alida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Milford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Wakefield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Industry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Broughton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Ladysmith
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clay Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Longford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Green
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Dickinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Upland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Chapman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Lyona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Detroit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodbine
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Enterprise
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Buckeye
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Navarre
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Navarre is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarre
- Abilene
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Talmage
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Herington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Acme
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morris County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Skiddy ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Skiddy is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skiddy
- White City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dwight
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Latimer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Parkerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Parkerville is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Downing ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Downing is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Kelso
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Delavan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wilsey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Helmick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pottawatomie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Saint George
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Olsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wamego
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Riley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Ogden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Ashland has also been known as:
- Ashland Bottoms
- Eureka Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Keats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Manhattan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Riley
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fairmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Bala
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Pillsbury Crossing ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Leonardville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Zeandale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Walsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Wabaunsee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Alta Vista
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Alma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Junction City, see our County-by-County Page for Junction City.
Cemeteries Near Junction City ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Junction City.
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 Junction City - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Junction City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Highland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wetzel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rosey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vinton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Salchow Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Laid - Upland Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Alida Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Laid Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (136 more) ...
- St. Patricks Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Branscom Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Humboldt Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Junction City had a population of 4,502 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Junction City had a population of 21,862 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Junction City, with the one closest to Junction City listed first.
- Wreford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Wreford is located in Geary County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wreford
- Kansas Falls
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Alida
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ogden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chapman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Milford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Skiddy ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Skiddy is located in Morris County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skiddy
- Sutphen ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sutphen is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphen
- Eureka Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka Lake is located in Riley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Lake
- Keats
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Detroit
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pearl
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pearl is located in Dickinson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- White City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Wakefield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Enterprise
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Junction City. See our List of 1890's Communities around Junction City.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Junction City ...
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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Junction City.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Junction City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Junction City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Junction City.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Junction City.
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 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 Junction City:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Geary County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Dickinson County
- Morris County
- Pottawatomie County
- Riley County
- Wabaunsee County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kansas
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 Junction City, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Junction City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |