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Introduction ...

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

We've added Fort Gratiot to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Fort Gratiot, 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 Fort Gratiot (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 Fort Gratiot. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Fort Gratiot is historic, it would have been located within present day Saint Clair 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 Saint Clair County: Lapeer, Macomb & Sanilac.

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

  • Saint Clair County     (The home county of Fort Gratiot)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gratiot, with the one closest to Fort Gratiot listed first.
    • Port Huron
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Gardendale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardendale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardendale
      • Gardendale is located in Saint Clair County
    • Sparlingville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparlingville
      • Sparlingville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Wadhams
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadhams have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadhams
      • Wadhams is located in Saint Clair County
    • North Street
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Marysville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeport
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
      • Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
      • Former name for Lakeport:
      • Milwaukee City
    • Atkins
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
      • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
    • Ruby
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
      • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
    • North Lakeport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lakeport
      • North Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
    • Smiths Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Blaine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Blaine is located in Saint Clair County
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gratiot, with the one closest to Fort Gratiot listed first.
    • Memphis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,170 people
      • Former name for Memphis:
      • Well's Settlement
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Memphis <2>
    • Bates Corner ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bates Corner. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bates Corner
      • Bates Corner is located in Macomb County
    • Beebe's Corners ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beebe's Corners. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beebe's Corners
      • Beebe's Corners is located in Macomb County
    • Coopertown ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coopertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopertown
      • Coopertown is located in Macomb County
    • Muttonville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muttonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttonville
      • Muttonville is located in Macomb County
    • Richmond
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
      • Richmond is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richmond <2>
    • Doyle ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doyle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
      • Doyle is located in Macomb County
    • Armada
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armada
      • Armada is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,698 people
      • Former names for Armada:
      • Burk's Corners
      • Honeyoe
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Armada <2>
    • Berry's Corners ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berry's Corners. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry's Corners
      • Berry's Corners is located in Macomb County
    • New Haven
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
      • New Haven is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,061 people
      • Former names for New Haven:
      • New Baltimore Station
      • New Haven Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Haven <2>
    • New Baltimore
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Baltimore
      • New Baltimore is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,281 people
      • Former names for New Baltimore:
      • Ashley
      • Ashleyville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Baltimore <2>
    • Omo ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Omo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omo
      • Omo is located in Macomb County
  • Sanilac County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Gratiot, with the one closest to Fort Gratiot listed first.
    • Lexington Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington Heights
      • Lexington Heights is located in Sanilac County
    • Amadore ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amadore
      • Amadore is located in Sanilac County
    • Lexington
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Croswell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Croswell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croswell
      • Croswell is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,253 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Croswell <2>
    • Speaker
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speaker
      • Speaker is located in Sanilac County
    • Melvin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
    • Applegate
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Peck
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
      • Peck is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Valley Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Center
      • Valley Center is located in Sanilac County
    • Port Sanilac
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Sanilac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Sanilac
      • Port Sanilac is located in Sanilac County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Sanilac <2>
    • Cash
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cash have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cash
      • Cash is located in Sanilac County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fort Gratiot ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Gratiot.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fort Gratiot. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fort Gratiot and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fort Gratiot.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5> of Fort Gratiot.

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 websites either 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 Fort Gratiot:

Cemeteries Near Fort Gratiot ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Gratiot.

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

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

Fort Gratiot itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 2,832 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Port Huron
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Wadhams
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wadhams have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadhams
    • Wadhams is located in Saint Clair County
  • Marysville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • North Street
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Kimball
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kimball have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball
    • Kimball is located in Saint Clair County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kimball <2>
  • Lakeport
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
    • Lakeport is located in Saint Clair County
    • Former name for Lakeport:
    • Milwaukee City
  • Atkins
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkins
    • Atkins is located in Saint Clair County
  • Ruby
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby
    • Ruby is located in Saint Clair County
  • Thornton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
    • Thornton is located in Saint Clair County
  • Smiths Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Abbotsford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Abbotsford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbotsford
    • Abbotsford is located in Saint Clair County
  • Blaine
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
    • Blaine is located in Saint Clair County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Rattle Run
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rattle Run have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattle Run
      • Rattle Run is located in Saint Clair County
    • Saint Clair
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Goodells
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodells have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodells
      • Goodells is located in Saint Clair County

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

The official website for Saint Clair County: www.stclaircounty.org/

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 Fort Gratiot, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fort Gratiot) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Gratiot. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.9893, Longitude: -82.4275    
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024