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The Commemorative Quarter for Kansas





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 Plains (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 Plains. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Plains is located in Meade County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Meade County: Clark, Ford, Gray, Haskell, Seward & Beaver (OK).

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

  • Meade County     (The home county of Plains)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.
    • Meade
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade
      • Meade is located in Meade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,519 people
      • Meade has also been known as:
      • Meade City
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meade <1>
    • Fowler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
      • Fowler is located in Meade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <1>
  • Gray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.
    • Copeland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Montezuma
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
  • Haskell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.
    • Sublette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Satanta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Satanta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Satanta
      • Satanta is located in Haskell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Satanta <1>
  • Seward County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.
    • Kismet
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kismet
      • Kismet is located in Seward County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
    • Liberal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Beaver County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.
    • Forgan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forgan
      • Forgan is located in Beaver County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Forgan <1>
    • Floris
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floris have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floris
      • Floris is located in Beaver County (OK)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Plains ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plains.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Plains. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Plains and those printed in the larger area surrounding Plains.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3> of Plains.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Plains:

Cemeteries Near Plains ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plains.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plains, with the one closest to Plains listed first.

  • Seward Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seward Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seward Cemetery
  • Mertilla Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mertilla Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mertilla Cemetery
  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mennonite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mennonite Cemetery
  • West Glendale Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the West Glendale Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Kismet.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Glendale Cemetery
  • Atwater Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Atwater Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Atwater Cemetery
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Graceland Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Meade.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #92561 <4>
  • Banner Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Springfield Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Arkalon Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lockhart Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lockhart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lockhart Cemetery
  • Biller Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Biller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Biller Cemetery
  • Stone School Lutheran Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Emmanuel Mennonite Church Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Evans Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evans Cemetery
    • Kleine Gemeinde Cemetery
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • The Kleine Gemeinde Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Little Congregational Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kleine Gemeinde Cemetery

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 in 1895, Plains had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Plains had a population of 1,021 people.

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

  • Kismet
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kismet
    • Kismet is located in Seward County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
  • Missler
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missler
    • Missler is located in Meade County
  • Meade
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meade
    • Meade is located in Meade County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,519 people
    • Meade has also been known as:
    • Meade City
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Meade <1>
  • Arkalon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arkalon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkalon
    • Arkalon is located in Seward County
  • Liberal
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
  • Fowler
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fowler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fowler
    • Fowler is located in Meade County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fowler <1>
  • Montezuma
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)

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

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

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.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>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.
<3>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- Plains) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plains. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.2642, Longitude: -100.5898       In this case, the coordinates for Plains have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Plains, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024