RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Gitchel ...

Gitchel is located in Ottawa County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Gitchel, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1886.

Gitchel is 690 feet [210 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Gitchel lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Gitchel: 616

Communities near Gitchel ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Gitchel.

  • Grand Rapids
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Wyoming
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Kentwood
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentwood
    • Kentwood is located in Kent County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51,719 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kentwood <3>
  • Holland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Walker
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Walker is located in Kent County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,265 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walker <3>
  • Grandville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • East Grand Rapids
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hudsonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Zeeland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Allegan
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Gitchel. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Gitchel.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Gitchel. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gitchel.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Gitchel. See our Newspapers Page for Gitchel.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Gitchel ...

Looking for more information about Gitchel? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Gitchel, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Gitchel.

Adding Gitchel to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Gitchel in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Gitchel was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Gitchel post office opened in 1886.

We also found Gitchel in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Gitchel.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Ottawa, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Gitchel - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<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>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/