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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 Blue Lake Landing (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 Blue Lake Landing. 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 Blue Lake Landing ...

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 Blue Lake Landing: Blue Lake Lndg. (or less commonly used: Blue Lake Lndng.)

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 Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the west contained birth and death records; the parish to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Blue Lake Landing is located in Rapides Parish.

To see how the shape of Louisiana's parishes may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Rapides Parish: Allen, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Grant, La Salle, Natchitoches & Vernon.

Below are the parishes that are near Blue Lake Landing. For each of these parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue Lake Landing:

  • Rapides Parish     (The home parish of Blue Lake Landing)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Loyd
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Forest Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Longleaf
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lecompte
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Glenmora
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • McNary
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • McNary is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Cheneyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Woodworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Moreland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
    • Echo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Whittington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Whittington is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittington
    • Elmer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Pawnee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pawnee is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
    • Oakdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mab
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mab is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mab
    • Bond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bond is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
    • Ward
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Ward is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Elizabeth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Canton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Canton is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Reids
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Eola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Bunkie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <1>
    • Milburn
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Milburn is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
    • Gold Dust
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
    • Egg Bend
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Hessmer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Enterprise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cottonport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mansura
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Center Point
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Effie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Turkey Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Pine Prairie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Saint Landry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Reddell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Ville Platte
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mamou
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Mamou is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mamou
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,077 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mamou <1>
    • Chataignier
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Duralde
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Morrow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Boretta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
    • Bayou Jack
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Rosa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
  • Vernon Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blue Lake Landing, with the one closest to Blue Lake Landing listed first.
    • Leander
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Leander is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
    • Dido
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
    • Pitkin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lacamp
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue Lake Landing, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Blue Lake Landing.

Cemeteries Near Blue Lake Landing ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue Lake Landing.

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 Blue Lake Landing - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue Lake Landing covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Duplissey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Meeker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Liberty Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • McCormack Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Mathews Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Wells Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Butters Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rocky Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (205 more) ...
    • Griffin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Spring Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Linzay Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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>

While we didn't find Blue Lake Landing in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blue Lake Landing.

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

  • Loyd
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
  • Lecompte
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Cheneyville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lamourie
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Lamourie is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamourie
  • Haas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Haas is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haas
  • Eola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
  • Moreland
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Moreland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
  • Melder
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Bunkie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Bunkie is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunkie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,826 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bunkie <1>
  • Poland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Poland is located in Rapides Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
  • Elmer
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Barbreck
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Barbreck is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbreck
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Egg Bend
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Egg Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egg Bend
    • Evergreen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Whiteville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Whiteville is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteville

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

Newspapers Published in Blue Lake Landing ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Lake Landing.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Lake Landing, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Lake Landing.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Blue Lake Landing:

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 Blue Lake Landing, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blue Lake Landing) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.