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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 Pontiac (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 Pontiac. 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 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.

Pontiac is located in Oakland County and is the County Seat.

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 Oakland County: Genesee, Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Washtenaw & Wayne.

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

  • Oakland County     (The home county of Pontiac)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Oak Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Oakland County
    • Sylvan Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Auburn Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Heights
      • Auburn Heights is located in Oakland County
    • Keego Harbor
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Angelus
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Angelus
      • Lake Angelus is located in Oakland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Auburn Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clintonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clintonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
      • Clintonville is located in Oakland County
    • Bloomfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Bloomfield is located in Oakland County
    • Bloomfield Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Gingellville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gingellville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gingellville
      • Gingellville is located in Oakland County
      • Gingellville has also been known as:
      • Gingeville
    • Drayton Plains
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drayton Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drayton Plains
      • Drayton Plains is located in Oakland County
    • Charing Cross
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charing Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charing Cross
      • Charing Cross is located in Oakland County
    • Orchard Lake Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Lake Village
      • Orchard Lake Village is located in Oakland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,471 people
      • Orchard Lake Village has also been known as:
      • Orchard Lake
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orchard Lake Village <2>
  • Genesee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Goodrich
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Atlas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
      • Atlas is located in Genesee County
    • Fenton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fenton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Fenton is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,374 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <2>
    • Lakeside
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
      • Lakeside is located in Genesee County
    • Lake Fenton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Fenton
      • Lake Fenton is located in Genesee County
    • Bayport Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport Park
      • Bayport Park is located in Genesee County
    • Grand Blanc
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Linden
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,954 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Linden <2>
    • Burton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Davison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davison
      • Davison is located in Genesee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,860 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Davison <2>
    • Argentine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argentine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argentine
      • Argentine is located in Genesee County
  • Lapeer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Metamora
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dryden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dryden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dryden
      • Dryden is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dryden <2>
    • Hadley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hadley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
      • Hadley is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hadley <2>
    • Hunters Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Creek
      • Hunters Creek is located in Lapeer County
    • Almont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Almont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almont
      • Almont is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,815 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Almont <2>
    • Attica
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Attica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Attica
      • Attica is located in Lapeer County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Attica <2>
    • Imlay City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Imlay City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imlay City
      • Imlay City is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imlay City <2>
    • Lapeer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lapeer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lapeer
      • Lapeer is located in Lapeer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lapeer <2>
  • Livingston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Hallers Corners
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallers Corners
      • Hallers Corners is located in Livingston County
    • Green Oak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Oak
      • Green Oak is located in Livingston County
    • Hartland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Tyrone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyrone. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
      • Tyrone is located in Livingston County
    • Whitmore Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitmore Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmore Lake
      • Whitmore Lake is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitmore Lake <2>
    • Brighton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brighton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
      • Brighton is located in Livingston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brighton <2>
    • Hamburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Hamburg is located in Livingston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamburg <2>
    • Lakeland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Macomb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Depew ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Depew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depew
      • Depew is located in Macomb County
      • Depew has also been known as:
      • Depew Siding
    • Shelby Village ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shelby Village. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby Village
      • Shelby Village is located in Macomb County
    • Shelby ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Macomb County
      • Shelby has also been known as:
      • Shelby Crossing
      • Shelby Station
    • Mount Vernon ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
      • Mount Vernon is located in Macomb County
    • Disco ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disco
      • Disco is located in Macomb County
      • Former name for Disco:
      • Whiskey Center
    • Sterling Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterling Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Heights
      • Sterling Heights is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131,709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sterling Heights <2>
    • Utica
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
      • Utica is located in Macomb County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,062 people
      • Former names for Utica:
      • Hog Hollow
      • McDougalville
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Utica <2>
    • Dresden Village ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dresden Village. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresden Village
      • Dresden Village is located in Macomb County
    • Crissmanville ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crissmanville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crissmanville
      • Crissmanville is located in Macomb County
    • Grays' Mills ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grays' Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays' Mills
      • Grays' Mills is located in Macomb County
      • Former names for Grays' Mills:
      • Clifton Mill
      • Clifton Village
      • Clifton
    • Miami ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Miami. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
      • Miami is located in Macomb County
    • Washington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Spinnings ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spinnings. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spinnings
      • Spinnings is located in Macomb County
      • Spinnings has also been known as:
      • Spinning
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Allenton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allenton
      • Allenton is located in Saint Clair County
    • Berville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berville
      • Berville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Lesterville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesterville
      • Lesterville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Anchorville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorville
      • Anchorville is located in Saint Clair County
    • Riley Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Center
      • Riley Center is located in Saint Clair County
  • Washtenaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Salem
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Salem is located in Washtenaw County
    • Emery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emery
      • Emery is located in Washtenaw County
    • Dixboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixboro
      • Dixboro is located in Washtenaw County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pontiac, with the one closest to Pontiac listed first.
    • Brightmoor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightmoor
      • Brightmoor is located in Wayne County
    • Livonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Redford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redford
      • Redford is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Redford <2>
    • Strathmoor ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strathmoor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strathmoor
      • Strathmoor is located in Wayne County
    • Beech
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beech have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
      • Beech is located in Wayne County
    • Highland Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
      • Highland Park is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,712 people
    • Hamtramck
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Plymouth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Dearborn Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dearborn Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearborn Heights
      • Dearborn Heights is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55,027 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dearborn Heights <2>
    • Garden City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dearborn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Westland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Detroit
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pontiac ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pontiac.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Pontiac. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Pontiac and those printed in the larger area surrounding Pontiac.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4> of Pontiac.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Pontiac:

Cemeteries Near Pontiac ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pontiac.

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

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Perry Mount Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Oakland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Kirk in the Hills Columbarium
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Aaron Webster Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pine Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Christ Church Cranbrook Columbarium
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Christ Church Cranbrook Columbarium. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ Church Cranbrook Columbarium
  • Beach Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Drayton Plains Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Crescent Hills Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Waterford Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waterford Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waterford Center Cemetery
  • Continue List   (383 more) ...
    • Four Towns Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Birmingham Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Oakland Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Oakland Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakland Cemetery

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Pontiac had a population of 6,200 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pontiac had a population of 58,911 people.

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

  • Orchard Lake Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Lake Village
    • Orchard Lake Village is located in Oakland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,471 people
    • Orchard Lake Village has also been known as:
    • Orchard Lake
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orchard Lake Village <2>
  • Drayton Plains
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drayton Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drayton Plains
    • Drayton Plains is located in Oakland County
  • Four Towns
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Towns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Towns
    • Four Towns is located in Oakland County
  • Birmingham
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Troy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
    • Troy is located in Oakland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 83,589 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Troy <2>
  • Waterford
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Waterford is located in Oakland County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterford <2>
  • North Farmington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Farmington
    • North Farmington is located in Oakland County
  • Franklin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Franklin is located in Oakland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,221 people
    • Franklin has also been known as:
    • Franklin Village
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Franklin <2>
  • Rochester
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Oxbow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oxbow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxbow
    • Oxbow is located in Oakland County
  • Big Beaver
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Beaver
    • Big Beaver is located in Oakland County
  • Goodison
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodison
    • Goodison is located in Oakland County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Clarkston
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Commerce
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Commerce have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
      • Commerce is located in Oakland County
    • Clawson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)

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

The official website for Pontiac: www.pontiac.mi.us/

The official website for Oakland County: www.co.oakland.mi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Pontiac) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pontiac. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6388, Longitude: -83.2927    
<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>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 Pontiac, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024