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 West Athens (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 West Athens. 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 West Athens ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Athens: W. Athens
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Athens. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Athens.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
West Athens is located in Somerset County.
To see how the shape of Maine's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Somerset County: Franklin, Kennebec, Penobscot, Piscataquis & Waldo.
Below are the counties that are near West Athens. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Athens:
- Somerset County (The home county of West Athens)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Athens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
- Cass Corner
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cass Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass Corner
- Brighton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Brighton is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Brighton has also been known as:
- Brighton Plantation
- East Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Madison is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
- Embden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Embden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
- Solon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Harmony
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cornville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cornville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
- Mainstream
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mainstream is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainstream
- Mayfield Corner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Mayfield Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield Corner
- Bingham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barron Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Barron Corner is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron Corner
- North Anson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Industry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Industry is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Industry
- Population from the 2020 Census: 927 people
- Kingfield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- New Vineyard
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Vineyard is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Vineyard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
- New Sharon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Strong
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- South Strong
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- South Strong is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Strong
- Fairbanks
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fairbanks is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
- Carrabassett Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Farmington Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Farmington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Farmington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Farmington is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Farmington
- Avon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Avon is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
- Bigelow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bigelow is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
- Kennebec County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Morrison Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Morrison Corner is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Corner
- Clinton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Benton Station
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Benton Station is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Station
- Benton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Benton is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,720 people
- Rome
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Benton Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Benton Falls is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton Falls
- Waterville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Oakland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Winslow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Belgrade Lakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Belgrade
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- North Belgrade is located in Kennebec County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Belgrade
- Penobscot County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Dexter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Corinna
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Newport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Russell Corner
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Russell Corner is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Corner
- Silvers Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Silvers Mills is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silvers Mills
- East Newport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Newport is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Newport
- North Newport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- North Newport is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Newport
- Exeter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Exeter is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,098 people
- Garland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Garland is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
- Plymouth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Stetson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stetson is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stetson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,192 people
- East Exeter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- East Exeter is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Exeter
- Etna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Etna is located in Penobscot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,194 people
- Piscataquis County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Wellington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wellington is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Kingsbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kingsbury is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Kingsbury Plantation
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Kingsbury Plantation is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury Plantation
- Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
- Parkman
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Abbot
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Guilford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Monson Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Monson Junction is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monson Junction
- Sangerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Sangerville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- East Sangerville is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sangerville
- Howard Corner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Howard Corner is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Corner
- Monson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shirley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Shirley is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Dover South Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
- Waldo County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Burnham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Burnham is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,243 people
- Winnecook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winnecook is located in Waldo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnecook
- Unity
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Troy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Athens, see our County-by-County Page for West Athens.
Cemeteries Near West Athens ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Athens.
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 West Athens - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Athens covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Athens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Rest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kinsman Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Lords Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dore Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jewett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Evergreens Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- West Ridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Leighton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- North Road Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Klondike Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (140 more) ...
- East Madison Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Ridge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Libby Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that West Athens had a population of 85 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Athens, with the one closest to West Athens listed first.
- Athens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Athens is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 976 people
- South Solon
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Solon is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Solon
- Brighton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Brighton is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Brighton has also been known as:
- Brighton Plantation
- Embden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Embden is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Embden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 956 people
- East Madison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- East Madison is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Madison
- Solon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cornville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cornville is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
- Harmony
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wellington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Wellington is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Mainstream
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mainstream is located in Somerset County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainstream
- North Anson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kingsbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Kingsbury is located in Piscataquis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsbury
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bingham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Skowhegan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cambridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Athens. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Athens.
Newspapers Published in West Athens ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Athens.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Athens, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Athens.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 West Athens:
- Websites specific to Maine
- Pages specific to Somerset County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Kennebec County
- Penobscot County
- Piscataquis County
- Waldo County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Maine
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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- West Athens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 West Athens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |