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 La 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 La 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.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
La Center is located in Ballard County.
To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ballard County: Alexander (IL), Pulaski (IL), Carlisle, McCracken & Mississippi (MO).
Below are the counties that are near La Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to La Center:
- Ballard County (The home county of La Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Barlow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Kevil
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bandana
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Ceredo
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ceredo is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceredo
- Gage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Gage is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gage
- Blandville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Wickliffe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lovelaceville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Carlisle County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Cunningham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bardwell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Kirbyton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Kirbyton is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirbyton
- Arlington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Arlington is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
- Milburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Milburn is located in Carlisle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
- Graves County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Melber
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Melber is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melber
- Lowes
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowes is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowes
- Pottsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pottsville is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottsville
- Fancy Farm
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fancy Farm is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Farm
- Boaz
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Viola
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- West Viola is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Viola
- Hickory
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
- Symsonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Westplains
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Westplains is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westplains
- Mayfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pryorsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pryorsburg is located in Graves County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pryorsburg
- Hickman County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Columbus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Columbus is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Spring Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Clinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fulgham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Fulgham is located in Hickman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulgham
- Livingston County
- Ledbetter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Marshall County
- Sharpe
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sharpe is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharpe
- McCracken County
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Woodville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Cimota City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Cimota City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
- Ragland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Future City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- West Future City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- West Future City is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
- Camelia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Camelia is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelia
- Grahamville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
- West Paducah
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Massac
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Massac is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
- Lone Oak
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lone Oak is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
- Hendron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hendron is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
- Paducah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Krebs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Krebs is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krebs
- Alexander County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,989 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <1>
- Future City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Future City is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
- Cairo Junction
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cairo Junction is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo Junction
- Cache
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frog City ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Frog City is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog City
- Hodges Park
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hodges Park is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodges Park
- Unity
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Tamms
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Tamms is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamms
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tamms <1>
- Diswood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Diswood is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diswood
- Miller City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Olive Branch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Elco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Thebes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Thebes is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thebes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Johnson County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Belknap
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cypress
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Bender ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Bender is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bender
- Vienna
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Reevesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Reevesville is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reevesville
- Wartrace
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wartrace is located in Johnson County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartrace
- Grantsburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Buncombe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Simpson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Massac County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Joppa
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Metropolis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Massac City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Massac City is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac City
- Brookport
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- New Columbia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Columbia is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbia
- Big Bay
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Big Bay is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bay
- Shady Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Shady Grove is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Unionville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Massac County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Pope County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Dixon Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dixon Springs is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon Springs
- Bay City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bay City is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay City
- Hamletsburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rock is located in Pope County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
- Pulaski County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Olmsted
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mound City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Grand Chain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Grand Chain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
- Mounds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Mounds is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mounds
- Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
- Villa Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Villa Ridge is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Ridge
- Karnak
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pulaski
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Perks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Ullin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Union County (IL)
- The following are listed by their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Dongola
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mill Creek is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
- Mount Pleasant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Dutch Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dutch Mills is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Mills
- Anna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Anna is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,059 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anna <1>
- Jonesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Reynoldsville is located in Union County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynoldsville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to La Center, see our County-by-County Page for La Center.
Cemeteries Near La Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of La 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 La Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for La Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- La Cemetery Gardens Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Criswell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Terrell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Northington Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Henderson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Hines Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barlow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Antioch Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Newton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Vance Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (393 more) ...
- Bridgewater Graveyard
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Old Hazelwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Pace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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.<2>
While we didn't find La Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of La Center.
These communities are listed based on their distance from La Center, with the one closest to La Center listed first.
- Hinkleville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hinkleville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkleville
- Barlow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barlow is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
- Population from the 2020 Census: 628 people
- Slater
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Slater is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slater
- Woodville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woodville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Oscar
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Oscar is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oscar
- Bandana
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bandana is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandana
- Ragland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ragland is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ragland
- Wickliffe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blandville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blandville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
- Olmsted
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- America
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- America is located in Pulaski County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for America
- Lovelaceville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lovelaceville is located in Ballard County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovelaceville
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Mound City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cairo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cairo is located in Alexander County (IL)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,989 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cairo <1>
- Grahamville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Grahamville is located in McCracken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around La Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around La Center.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of La 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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around La Center.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of La Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of La Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding La Center.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<3> of La Center.
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 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 La Center:
- Websites specific to Kentucky
- Pages specific to Ballard County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carlisle County
- Graves County
- Hickman County
- Livingston County
- Marshall County
- McCracken County
- Alexander County
- Johnson County
- Massac County
- Pope County
- Pulaski County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
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> | 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 La Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- La Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |