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 Alton (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 Alton. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Alton is located in Penobscot County.
To see how the shape of Maine's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Penobscot County: Aroostook, Hancock, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Alton. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Alton:
- Penobscot County (The home county of Alton)
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Costigan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - West Old Town
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Old Town
- West Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Greenbush
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Old Town Landing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town Landing
- Old Town Landing is located in Penobscot County
- South Lagrange
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Lagrange have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lagrange
- South Lagrange is located in Penobscot County
- Milford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Milford is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,973 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <2>
- Old Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,404 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Town <2>
- Hudson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Olamon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Stillwater
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stillwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
- Stillwater is located in Penobscot County
- Bradley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Bradley is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,483 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bradley <2>
- Glenburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Glenburn is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,567 people
- Lucky Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Landing
- Lucky Landing is located in Penobscot County
- Hancock County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Great Pond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
- Great Pond is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Amherst
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - Dedham
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dedham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
- Dedham is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,666 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dedham <2>
- Aurora
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Aurora is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <2>
- Otis
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast) - Mariaville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mariaville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
- Mariaville is located in Hancock County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
- Bucksport Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
- Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
- Osborn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast) - Waltham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Piscataquis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Medford Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Center
- Medford Center is located in Piscataquis County
- Medford
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
- Medford is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
- Atkinson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest) - Atkinson Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkinson Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
- Atkinson Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Milo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Milo is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,314 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milo <2>
- South Dover
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dover
- South Dover is located in Piscataquis County
- Adams
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Adams is located in Piscataquis County
- Dover South Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover South Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
- Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Lake View Plantation
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake View Plantation have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View Plantation
- Lake View Plantation is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Brownville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville
- Brownville is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,197 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brownville <2>
- Sebec
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebec have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebec
- Sebec is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebec <2>
- Dover - Foxcroft
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover - Foxcroft have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover - Foxcroft
- Dover - Foxcroft is located in Piscataquis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,086 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dover - Foxcroft <2>
- Brownville Junction
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownville Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownville Junction
- Brownville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- North Winterport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Winterport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
- North Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Winterport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winterport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterport
- Winterport is located in Waldo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,028 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winterport <2>
- Frankfort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frankfort have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankfort
- Frankfort is located in Waldo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,196 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frankfort <2>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Alton, see our County-by-County Page for Alton.
Newspapers Published in Alton ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Alton, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Alton.
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 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 Alton:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the Maine State Archives
- Pages specific to Penobscot County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hancock County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Piscataquis County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Waldo County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Hancock County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maine
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Maine
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Maine
- Cemeteries of Penobscot County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Maine
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Maine
- Cemeteries of Penobscot County
Cemeteries Near Alton ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Alton.
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.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Alton covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Alton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alton Cemetery
- Cedarvale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedarvale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedarvale Cemetery
- Hemlock Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hemlock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hemlock Cemetery
- Tribal Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tribal Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2464451 <4>
- Milford Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milford Cemetery
- Cardville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cardville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cardville Cemetery
- Hoyt Brook Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hoyt Brook Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hoyt Brook Cemetery
- Mills Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mills Cemetery
- Lawndale Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawndale Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #797071 <4>
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
- Forest Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1825116 <4>
- Dennis Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dennis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dennis Cemetery
- Continue List (148 more) ...
- Welles Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Welles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Welles Cemetery
- Williams Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
- Lakeview Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #90135 <4>
- Welles Cemetery
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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Alton had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Alton had a population of 858 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Alton, with the one closest to Alton listed first.
- Pea Cove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Argyle
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - West Old Town
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Old Town
- West Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Costigan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Greenbush
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Cardville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Hudson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Old Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Old Town is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,404 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Old Town <2>
- Milford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Milford is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,973 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milford <2>
- South Lagrange
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Lagrange have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lagrange
- South Lagrange is located in Penobscot County
- Olamon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Bradford Center
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradford Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Center
- Bradford Center is located in Penobscot County
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Glenburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenburn
- Glenburn is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,567 people
- Great Works
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Works have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
- Great Works is located in Penobscot County
- Bradley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Bradley is located in Penobscot County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,483 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bradley <2>
- Glenburn
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Alton. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Maine: https://www.maine.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Alton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Alton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0315, Longitude: -68.7286 In this case, the coordinates for Alton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Alton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |