Welcome to Petra ...
Petra is located in Bracken County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Petra, you might consider that their post office opened in 1864.
Petra is 910 feet [277 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Petra lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Code for Petra: 606
Communities Also Named Petra ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Petra - they are located in Missouri and South Carolina.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Petra.
Communities near Petra ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Petra.
- Cynthiana
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Falmouth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Ripley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Augusta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Felicity
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Washington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Washington is located in Mason County
- Brooksville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
- Brooksville is located in Bracken County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 650 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooksville <3>
- Butler
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olivet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Dover
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Dover is located in Mason County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
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 Petra. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Petra.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Petra. 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 Petra.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Petra. See our Newspapers Page for Petra.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Petra ...
Looking for more information about Petra? 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 Petra, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Petra.
Adding Petra to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Petra 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 Petra was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Petra post office opened in 1864.
We also found Petra in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Petra.
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Kentucky's counties, including Bracken, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Petra - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at:
https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |