RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Michigan >> Bay County >> Brooks >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Michigan

The Commemorative Quarter for Michigan





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Brooks. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Brooks to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Brooks, please Contact Us.

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 Brooks (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 Brooks. 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 and 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Brooks is historic, it would have been located within present day Bay County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bay County: Arenac, Gladwin, Midland, Saginaw & Tuscola.

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

  • Bay County     (The home county of Brooks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
    • Salzburg ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
      • Salzburg is located in Bay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Salzburg
      • From Brooks to Salzburg
    • Wenona ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wenona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wenona
      • Wenona is located in Bay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wenona
      • From Brooks to Wenona
    • West Bay City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Bay City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bay City
      • West Bay City is located in Bay County
      • West Bay City has also been known as:
      • West Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Bay City
      • From Brooks to West Bay City
    • Bay City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Frankenlust
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Banks ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
      • Banks is located in Bay County
      • Banks has also been known as:
      • Bangor
      • Bank City
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Banks
      • From Brooks to Banks
    • Essexville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essexville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essexville
      • Essexville is located in Bay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,244 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Essexville <3>
    • Amelith
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kawkawlin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Munger
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munger have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
      • Munger is located in Bay County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munger <3>
    • Auburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Arenac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
    • Saganing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Whites Beach
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Pine River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pine River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine River
      • Pine River is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pine River
      • From Brooks to Pine River
    • Standish
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Standish have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standish
      • Standish is located in Arenac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Standish <3>
    • Arenac
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arenac. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arenac
      • Arenac is located in Arenac County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arenac
      • From Brooks to Arenac
  • Genesee County
  • Gladwin County
  • Gratiot County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
    • North Wheeler
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Wheeler
      • North Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Wheeler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Wheeler is located in Gratiot County
    • Breckenridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breckenridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breckenridge
      • Breckenridge is located in Gratiot County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breckenridge <3>
  • Huron County
  • Midland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
    • Midland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Averill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Averill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
      • Averill is located in Midland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Averill
      • From Brooks to Averill
    • Ryan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Midland County
    • Sanford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Midland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <3>
    • Porter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Edenville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
      • Edenville is located in Midland County
    • Redstone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • North Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Saginaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brooks, with the one closest to Brooks listed first.
    • Melbourne ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
      • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Melbourne
      • From Brooks to Melbourne
    • Kochville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Crow Island ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
      • Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
    • Zilwaukee city
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
      • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
      • From Brooks to Zilwaukee city
    • Carrollton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Buena Vista
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buena Vista. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Buena Vista
      • From Brooks to Buena Vista
    • Saginaw
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Freeland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeland
      • Freeland is located in Saginaw County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeland <3>
    • Dice
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Frost
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Brooks to Frost
    • Shields
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shields. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shields
      • Shields is located in Saginaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shields
      • From Brooks to Shields
    • Blumfield Corners
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Tuscola County

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

Cemeteries Near Brooks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brooks.

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

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

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.

Brooks itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Salzburg ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salzburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salzburg
    • Salzburg is located in Bay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Salzburg
    • From Brooks to Salzburg
  • Frankenlust
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Melbourne ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Melbourne. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melbourne
    • Melbourne is located in Saginaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Melbourne
    • From Brooks to Melbourne
  • Bay City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Essexville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Essexville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Essexville
    • Essexville is located in Bay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,244 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Essexville <3>
  • Banks ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Banks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banks
    • Banks is located in Bay County
    • Banks has also been known as:
    • Bangor
    • Bank City
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Banks
    • From Brooks to Banks
  • Kawkawlin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Zilwaukee city
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zilwaukee city. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zilwaukee city
    • Zilwaukee city is located in Saginaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Zilwaukee city
    • From Brooks to Zilwaukee city
  • Crow Island ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Island have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Island
    • Crow Island is located in Saginaw County
  • Wenona Beach ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Carrollton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Munger
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munger have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munger
    • Munger is located in Bay County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munger <3>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Brooks ...

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 107 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brooks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brooks, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brooks.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Brooks:

The official website for Bay County: www.co.bay.mi.us/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Brooks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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.
<6>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- Brooks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brooks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5658, Longitude: -83.9161    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025