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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 Grand Prairie (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 Grand Prairie. 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 Grand Prairie ...

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 Grand Prairie: Grand Pr.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Grand Prairie. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Grand Prairie.

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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the east. 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 east 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.

Grand Prairie is located in Saint Landry 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 Saint Landry Parish: Acadia, Avoyelles, Evangeline, Lafayette, Pointe Coupee & Saint Martin.

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

  • Saint Landry Parish     (The home parish of Grand Prairie)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Boretta
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
    • Washington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
    • Immaculata
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
    • Lebeau
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Morrow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Lawtell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Opelousas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Palmetto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Port Barre
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Bayou Jack
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Jack is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Jack
    • Lewisburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Lewisburg is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Leonville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Acadia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Church Point
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Higginbotham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Higginbotham is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higginbotham
    • Branch
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Castille
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Castille is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castille
    • Ellis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellis is located in Acadia Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
  • Allen Parish
    • Bond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bond is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bond
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Gold Dust
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Gold Dust is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Dust
    • Milburn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Milburn is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
    • Eola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Bunkie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Evergreen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Hickory
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Hickory is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory
    • Enterprise
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Enterprise is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
    • Dupont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dupont is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Cottonport
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Plaucheville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hessmer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Odenburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
    • Mansura
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Evangeline Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Ville Platte
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Saint Landry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Chataignier
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bayou Chicot
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bayou Chicot is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Chicot
    • Mamou
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Reddell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Pine Prairie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Turkey Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Duralde
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Duralde is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duralde
    • Tyrone
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Tyrone is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Unatex
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Unatex is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unatex
    • Basile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Basile is located in Evangeline Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basile
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,791 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Basile <1>
  • Lafayette Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Carencro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Stekey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Stekey is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stekey
    • Ossun
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Ossun is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossun
    • Duson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Duson is located in Lafayette Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duson <1>
  • Pointe Coupee Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • East Krotz Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • East Krotz Springs is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Krotz Springs
    • Ravenswood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ravenswood is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenswood
    • Elliot City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Elliot City is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliot City
    • Legonier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
    • Batchelor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Innis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.
    • Cheneyville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Loyd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Loyd is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
    • Echo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Saint Martin Parish
    • Cecilia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Grand Prairie ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Prairie.

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 Grand Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.

  • Old Grand Prairie Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Soileaus Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Young Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Chimleyville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Deville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Frilot Cove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Andrews Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Whipp Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lafleur Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hebrew Rest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (160 more) ...
    • Jules Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fontenot Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gate of Heaven Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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 Grand Prairie in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Grand Prairie.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Grand Prairie, with the one closest to Grand Prairie listed first.

  • Plaisance
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Plaisance is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaisance
  • Beggs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Beggs is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beggs
  • Garland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Garland is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
  • Boretta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Boretta is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boretta
  • Dubuisson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dubuisson is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dubuisson
  • Washington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Whiteville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Whiteville is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteville
  • Barbreck
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Barbreck is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barbreck
  • Rosa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rosa is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosa
  • Morrow
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Opelousas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Big Cane
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Cane is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cane
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Port Barre
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmetto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eola
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Eola is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola

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

Newspapers Published in Grand Prairie ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Prairie.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grand Prairie, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grand Prairie.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Grand Prairie:

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 Grand Prairie, 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- Grand Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.