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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 Willard Square (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 Willard Square. 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 Willard Square ...

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 Willard Square: Willard Sq. (or less commonly used: Willard Sqr.)

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Willard Square is located in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County: Androscoggin, Oxford, Sagadahoc & York.

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

  • Cumberland County     (The home county of Willard Square)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard Square, with the one closest to Willard Square listed first.
    • Ferry Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Ferry Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry Village
    • Portland
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Pleasantdale
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Pleasantdale is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
    • South Portland
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Little Diamond Island Landing
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Peaks Island
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Cash Corner
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Cash Corner is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Corner
    • Waites Landing
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Waites Landing is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waites Landing
    • Long Island
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lone Creek Village ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Lone Creek Village is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Creek Village
    • Stroudwater
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Stroudwater is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroudwater
    • Cape Elizabeth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Androscoggin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard Square, with the one closest to Willard Square listed first.
    • Durham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Durham is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,044 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Durham <1>
    • Danville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Danville is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
    • Lisbon Falls
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lisbon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lisbon is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,053 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisbon <1>
    • Penley Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Penley Corner is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penley Corner
    • Rumford Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Rumford Junction is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumford Junction
    • Littlefield Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Littlefield Corner is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlefield Corner
    • West Poland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • East Poland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • East Poland is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Poland
    • Moussam
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Moussam is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moussam
    • Poland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Poland is located in Androscoggin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,683 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poland <1>
  • Sagadahoc County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard Square, with the one closest to Willard Square listed first.
    • Small Point
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sebasco Estates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Popham Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Popham Beach is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popham Beach
    • Sabino
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sabino is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabino
    • Topsham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Pejepscot
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Pejepscot is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pejepscot
    • Phippsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • West Bath
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Arrowsic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Georgetown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bath
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bath is located in Sagadahoc County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <1>
    • Woolwich
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willard Square, with the one closest to Willard Square listed first.
    • Old Orchard Beach
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Kinney Shores
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kinney Shores is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinney Shores
    • Ocean Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Biddeford Pool
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Saco
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saco is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saco <1>
    • Buxton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Buxton is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,368 people
    • Biddeford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bar Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Chicopee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Chicopee is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
    • Kimbles Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Kimbles Corner is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbles Corner
    • Airport Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Airport Village is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
    • Adams Corner
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Adams Corner is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Corner

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

Cemeteries Near Willard Square ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willard Square.

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 Willard Square - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Old Settlers Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Smith Street Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Bay View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Eastern Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Highland Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pond Cove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Western Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Forest City Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (252 more) ...

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

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

  • Pleasantdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Pleasantdale is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasantdale
  • South Portland
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Knightville
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Knightville is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightville
  • Portland
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Peaks Island
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Cash Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Cash Corner is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash Corner
  • East Deering
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Deering is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Deering
  • Woodfords
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodfords is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfords
  • Long Island
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Deering
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Deering is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deering
  • Stroudwater
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Stroudwater is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroudwater
  • Falmouth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Cape Elizabeth
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Falmouth Foreside
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Falmouth Foreside is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Foreside
    • Cumberland Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cumberland Mills is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Willard Square ...

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 315 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willard Square.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willard Square, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willard Square.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Willard Square:

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 Willard Square, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Willard Square) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.