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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 Rockland (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 Rockland. 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 Rockland ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

Another variation: Rock Land.

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 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 doctors 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.

Rockland is located in Knox County and is the County Seat.

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 Knox County: Lincoln & Waldo.

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

  • Knox County     (The home county of Rockland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Glen Cove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Cove
      • Glen Cove is located in Knox County
    • Owls Head
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • South Thomaston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Thomaston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Thomaston
      • South Thomaston is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Thomaston <2>
    • Thomaston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
    • West Rockport
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Rockport
      • West Rockport is located in Knox County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Rockport <2>
    • Spruce Head
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Head have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Head
      • Spruce Head is located in Knox County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spruce Head <2>
    • Warren
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Camden
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
      • Camden is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
    • Saint George
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saint George. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
      • Saint George is located in Knox County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,578 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Saint George
      • From Rockland to Saint George
    • Cushing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Warren Station
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Sunset
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
      • Sunset is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset <2>
    • Cape Rosier
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Deer Isle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer Isle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Isle
      • Deer Isle is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer Isle <2>
    • Stonington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stonington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
      • Stonington is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stonington <2>
    • Harborside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harborside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harborside
      • Harborside is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harborside <2>
    • Mountainville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Oceanville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Castine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Deer Isle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Penobscot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penobscot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penobscot
      • Penobscot is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penobscot <2>
    • Sargentville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sargentville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargentville
      • Sargentville is located in Hancock County
    • Brooksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooksville
      • Brooksville is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 910 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooksville <2>
  • Kennebec County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Branch Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Windsor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Windsor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
      • Windsor is located in Kennebec County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,620 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor <2>
    • North Windsor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • East Pittston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • South China
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South China have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South China
      • South China is located in Kennebec County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South China <2>
  • Lincoln County
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockland, with the one closest to Rockland listed first.
    • Lincolnville Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lincolnville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
      • Lincolnville is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,252 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lincolnville <2>
    • Bickfords Corner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Islesboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Islesboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Islesboro
      • Islesboro is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
    • Northport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northport
      • Northport is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,593 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northport <2>
    • Belmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 911 people
    • Greers Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Searsmont
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searsmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searsmont
      • Searsmont is located in Waldo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,424 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Searsmont <2>
    • Slab City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slab City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab City
      • Slab City is located in Waldo County
    • North Islesboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Belmont Corner
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • East Northport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rockland, see our County-by-County Page for Rockland.

Cemeteries Near Rockland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockland.

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 Rockland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Farnsworth Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Farnsworth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Farnsworth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Head of Bay Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Head of Bay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Head of Bay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hall Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tolman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tolman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tolman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Achorn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Glen Cove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Samoset Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Samoset Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Samoset Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Seaview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The Village Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Village Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thomaston Village Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (226 more) ...
    • New Rockville Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Rockville Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Rockville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Ocean View Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ocean View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ocean View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Amesbury Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amesbury Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amesbury Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rockland had a population of 8,174 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rockland had a population of 7,183 people.

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

  • Owls Head
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • South Thomaston
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Thomaston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Thomaston
    • South Thomaston is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,642 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Thomaston <2>
  • Ash Point
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ash Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Point
    • Ash Point is located in Knox County
  • Rockville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Rockville is located in Knox County
  • Thomaston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • South Warren
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Warren have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Warren
    • South Warren is located in Knox County
  • Rockport
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
    • Rockport is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,389 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockport <2>
  • North Cushing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Cushing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cushing
    • North Cushing is located in Knox County
  • Spruce Head
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Head have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Head
    • Spruce Head is located in Knox County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spruce Head <2>
  • Warren
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Saint George
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saint George. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
    • Saint George is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,578 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Saint George
    • From Rockland to Saint George
  • Camden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
    • Camden is located in Knox County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,806 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Camden <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cushing
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • South Hope
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hope
      • South Hope is located in Knox County
    • Warren Station
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rockland ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rockland. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rockland and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rockland.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5> of Rockland.

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 Rockland:

The official website for Rockland: www.ci.rockland.me.us/

The official website for Knox County: www.knoxcounty.midcoast.com/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rockland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1037, Longitude: -69.1092    
<6>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 Rockland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025