Welcome to Pontiac ...
Although we found mention of Pontiac during our research, we have little information about it.<1> We believe that Pontiac had a post office at one time. We have done a cursory search and haven't been able to find any evidence that the community still exists..
We've added Pontiac to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Pontiac, please Contact Us.
The location of Pontiac has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Pontiac, you might get a feel for it by knowing that during our research the earliest mention that we found (so far) was in a book dated 1895.
When the people of Pontiac refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Pontiacker<3>
Pontiac is 1,420 feet [433 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: The area where we believe that Pontiac might be (or was) located is in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
We believe that Pontiac would be found within the (316) area code.
Communities Also Named Pontiac ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 16 communities that are also named Pontiac - they are located in Arkansas, Illinois (2), Indiana (2), Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Quebec (3), Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pontiac.
Communities near Pontiac ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Pontiac.
- El Dorado
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Dorado
- El Dorado is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,856 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for El Dorado <5>
- Augusta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
- Augusta is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,300 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Augusta <5>
- Towanda
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Towanda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towanda
- Towanda is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,446 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Towanda <5>
- Leon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Leon is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 730 people
- Leon has also been known as:
- West Leon
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leon <5>
- Potwin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potwin
- Potwin is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- Latham
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Latham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham
- Latham is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latham <5>
- Cassoday
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cassoday have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassoday
- Cassoday is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cassoday <5>
- Prospect
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Rosalia
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosalia
- Rosalia is located in Butler County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosalia <5>
- Keighley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Pontiac. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Pontiac.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Pontiac. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pontiac.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Pontiac. See our Newspapers Page for Pontiac.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Pontiac ...
Looking for more information about Pontiac? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Pontiac, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Pontiac.
Adding Pontiac to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Pontiac in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Pontiac was in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
We also found Pontiac on a map titled Rand McNally Map of Kansas (1911).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Pontiac.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Butler County: www.bucoks.com/
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer. For example, we might find a sentence like "He went north past Pontiac and then turned west". While Pontiac could be some kind of landmark, we think that it's more likely to be a community. We've added Pontiac as a placeholder with the hope that we'll be able to add more information in the future. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Pontiac could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Pontiac refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Pontiac may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Pontiac - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |