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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 Plainville (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 Plainville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Plainville is located in Rooks 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 Rooks County: Ellis, Graham, Osborne, Phillips, Russell, Smith & Trego.

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

  • Rooks County     (The home county of Plainville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
    • Codell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Zurich
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
      • Zurich is located in Rooks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Webster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Rooks County
    • Stockton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Palco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Damar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Woodston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
    • Turkville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
      • Turkville is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turkville
      • From Plainville to Turkville
    • Catharine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
      • Catharine is located in Ellis County
      • Catharine has also been known as:
      • Catherine
    • Emmeram
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Yocemento
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yocemento have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yocemento
      • Yocemento is located in Ellis County
    • Hog Back
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hog Back. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hog Back
      • Hog Back is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hog Back
      • From Plainville to Hog Back
    • Hays
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Ellis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Toulon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Toulon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toulon
      • Toulon is located in Ellis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Toulon
      • From Plainville to Toulon
    • Victoria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victoria have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victoria
      • Victoria is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,215 people
    • Walker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Walker is located in Ellis County
    • Munjor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munjor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munjor
      • Munjor is located in Ellis County
  • Graham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
    • Nicodemus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicodemus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicodemus
      • Nicodemus is located in Graham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nicodemus <2>
    • Bogue
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Graham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Bogue has also been known as:
      • Wildhorse
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bogue
      • From Plainville to Bogue
    • Roscoe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roscoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Roscoe is located in Graham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roscoe
      • From Plainville to Roscoe
    • Hill City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
      • Hill City is located in Graham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,354 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hill City <2>
  • Osborne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
    • Natoma
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
      • Natoma is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
    • Alton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Osborne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
  • Russell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainville, with the one closest to Plainville listed first.
    • Paradise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Waldo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Gorham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorham
      • Gorham is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 336 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorham <2>
  • Trego County

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

Cemeteries Near Plainville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plainville.

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

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

  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Plainville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Conger Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Conger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Conger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Conger Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<5> to the east of Codell.
  • Twin Mound Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twin Mound Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twin Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paradise Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Zurich Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zurich Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zurich Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shiloh Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Conger East Paradise Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hobart Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hobart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hobart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eureka Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eureka Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eureka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (76 more) ...
    • Norman Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Aurora Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurora Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurora Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Green Mound Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Plainville had a population of 347 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Plainville had a population of 1,768 people.

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

  • Codell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Zurich
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zurich
    • Zurich is located in Rooks County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Turkville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkville
    • Turkville is located in Ellis County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Turkville
    • From Plainville to Turkville
  • Laton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laton
    • Laton is located in Rooks County
  • Webster
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Webster is located in Rooks County
  • Natoma
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Natoma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natoma
    • Natoma is located in Osborne County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Natoma <2>
  • Stockton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Palco
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Damar
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Woodston
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairport
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
    • Fairport is located in Russell County
  • Nicodemus
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicodemus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicodemus
    • Nicodemus is located in Graham County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nicodemus <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Catharine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catharine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catharine
      • Catharine is located in Ellis County
      • Catharine has also been known as:
      • Catherine
    • Paradise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
      • Paradise is located in Russell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Bogue
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bogue
      • Bogue is located in Graham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
      • Bogue has also been known as:
      • Wildhorse
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bogue
      • From Plainville to Bogue

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Plainville ...

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 94 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plainville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Plainville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Plainville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Plainville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Plainville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Plainville:

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

The official website for Rooks County: www.rookscounty.net/

The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Plainville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plainville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.2345, Longitude: -99.2983    
<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 Plainville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025