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 Valley 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 Valley 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 Valley 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 Valley Center: Valley Ctr. (or less commonly used: Valley Cen., Valley Cent. or Valley Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Valley Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Valley 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 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.
Valley Center is located in Sedgwick County.
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 Sedgwick County: Butler, Cowley, Harvey, Kingman, Reno & Sumner.
Below are the counties that are near Valley Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Valley Center:
- Sedgwick County (The home county of Valley Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Park City
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wichita Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wichita Heights is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wichita Heights
- Kechi
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coleman is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman
- Bel Aire
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Maize
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Greenwich is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Bentley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cow Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cow Town is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cow Town
- Wichita
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Westlink Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Westlink Village is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlink Village
- Colwich
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Benton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Whitewater
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Acres
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Acres is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Acres
- Andover
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Andover is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,672 people
- Andover has also been known as:
- Cloud City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andover <1>
- Prairie Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie Village is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
- Brainerd
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brainerd is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brainerd
- Lorena
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lorena is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorena
- Potwin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Potwin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- Towanda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Elbing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elbing is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 230 people
- Rose Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Midian
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Midian is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midian
- Harvey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Sedgwick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Putnam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Putnam is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- McGraw
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- McGraw is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGraw
- Van Arsdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Van Arsdale is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Arsdale
- McLains
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McLains is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
- Annelly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Annelly is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annelly
- Newton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Halstead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- North Newton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Patterson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Patterson is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Paxton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Paxton is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Zimmerdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Zimmerdale is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zimmerdale
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Peabody
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Peabody is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,079 people
- Former name for Peabody:
- Coneburgh
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peabody <1>
- Goessel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Goessel is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goessel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- McPherson County
- Moundridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Reno County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Saint Joe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe is located in Reno County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- Haven
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Punkin Center ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Punkin Center is located in Reno County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Punkin Center
- Yoder
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Buhler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Buhler is located in Reno County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buhler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,269 people
- Buhler has also been known as:
- Tulip Town
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buhler <1>
- Obeeville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Obeeville is located in Reno County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obeeville
- Sumner County
- The following are listed by their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Millerton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Millerton is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
- Belle Plaine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Valley Center, see our County-by-County Page for Valley Center.
Cemeteries Near Valley Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valley 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 Valley Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Valley Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Valley Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Marble Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Kechi Twp. Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hillside Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Maize Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ascension Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Mission Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (139 more) ...
- Wichita Park Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lorraine Ave. Mennonite Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Resurrection Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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 Valley Center had a population of 167 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Valley Center had a population of 7,385 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Valley Center, with the one closest to Valley Center listed first.
- Wichita Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wichita Heights is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wichita Heights
- Sunnydale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sunnydale is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnydale
- Kechi
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sedgwick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Maize
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tolerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tolerville is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolerville
- Furley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Furley is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furley
- Greenwich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Greenwich is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwich
- Bentley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Putnam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Putnam is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putnam
- Colwich
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Wichita
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Minneha
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Minneha is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneha
- McLains
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McLains is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLains
- Annelly
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Annelly is located in Harvey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annelly
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Valley Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Valley Center.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Valley 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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valley Center.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Valley Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Valley Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding Valley Center.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Valley Center.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Valley Center:
- Websites specific to Kansas
- Pages specific to Sedgwick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butler County
- Harvey County
- Marion County
- McPherson County
- Reno County
- Sumner 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 Valley 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 from Point A (ie- Valley Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |