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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 Prairieville (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 Prairieville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Prairieville is located in Barry 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 Barry County: Allegan, Calhoun, Eaton, Ionia, Kalamazoo & Kent.

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

  • Barry County     (The home county of Prairieville)
  • Allegan County
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairieville, with the one closest to Prairieville listed first.
    • Bedford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bedford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
      • Bedford is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bedford <1>
    • Level Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Oak Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oak Park. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
      • Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oak Park
      • From Prairieville to Oak Park
    • Fort Custer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Custer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
      • Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
      • Former name for Fort Custer:
      • Camp Custer
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fort Custer
      • From Prairieville to Fort Custer
    • Springfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
      • Springfield is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springfield <1>
    • Battle Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Verona Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownlee Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownlee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
      • Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
    • Pennfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • West Leroy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Beadle Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Sonoma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonoma. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
      • Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sonoma
      • From Prairieville to Sonoma
    • Ceresco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceresco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
      • Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
  • Eaton County
  • Ionia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairieville, with the one closest to Prairieville listed first.
    • Campbell Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Elmdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Clarksville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
      • Clarksville is located in Ionia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <1>
    • Lake Odessa
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Odessa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Odessa
      • Lake Odessa is located in Ionia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,041 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Odessa <1>
    • West Sebewa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Kalamazoo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairieville, with the one closest to Prairieville listed first.
    • Highland Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Richland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 847 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <1>
    • South Gull Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gull Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
      • South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Yorkville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yorkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
      • Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yorkville
      • From Prairieville to Yorkville
    • East Cooper
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Augusta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Parchment
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parchment have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parchment
      • Parchment is located in Kalamazoo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parchment <1>
    • Eastwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
      • Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Comstock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Comstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
      • Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Galesburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Alamo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kalamazoo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Westwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood
      • Westwood is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Kent County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairieville, with the one closest to Prairieville listed first.
    • Caledonia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Corinth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Corinth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
      • Corinth is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Corinth
      • From Prairieville to Corinth
    • North Dorr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Dorr have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Dorr
      • North Dorr is located in Kent County
    • Alto
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
      • Alto is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alto <1>
    • Dutton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Byron Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Carlisle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carlisle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
      • Carlisle is located in Kent County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carlisle
      • From Prairieville to Carlisle
    • Cutlerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutlerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutlerville
      • Cutlerville is located in Kent County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cutlerville <1>
    • Kentwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kentwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Segwun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lowell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Burlingame
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Clyde Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ottawa County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prairieville, with the one closest to Prairieville listed first.
    • Kendall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • North Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Lake
      • North Lake is located in Van Buren County
    • Gobles
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Almena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Almena. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
      • Almena is located in Van Buren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Almena
      • From Prairieville to Almena
    • Mattawan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mattawan have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawan
      • Mattawan is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,973 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mattawan <1>
    • Glendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Paw Paw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
      • Lawton is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Prairieville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prairieville.

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

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

  • Prairieville Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairieville Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairieville Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lindsey Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lindsey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lindsey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Hickory Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Hickory Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Hickory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakhill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Cressey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cressey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cressey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Charlotte Dewey Grave
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Charlotte Dewey Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Charlotte Dewey Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCallum Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCallum Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCallum Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hickory Corners Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Corners Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Corners Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brush Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brush Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brush Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Yankee Springs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yankee Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yankee Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (300 more) ...
    • Jesuit Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jesuit Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jesuit Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Prairie Home Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Home Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Banfield Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Banfield Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Banfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Prairieville had a population of 154 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Delton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Cloverdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Doster
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
    • Doster is located in Barry County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Doster
    • From Prairieville to Doster
  • Cressey
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cressey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cressey
    • Cressey is located in Barry County
  • Hickory Corners
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Hooper
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hooper. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
    • Hooper is located in Allegan County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hooper
    • From Prairieville to Hooper
  • Cedar Creek
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Richland Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Junction
    • Richland Junction is located in Kalamazoo County
  • Richland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
    • Richland is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 847 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <1>
  • Banfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Yorkville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yorkville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
    • Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Yorkville
    • From Prairieville to Yorkville
  • Martin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Prairieville ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Prairieville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Prairieville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Prairieville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Prairieville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Prairieville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Prairieville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Prairieville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Barry County: www.barrycounty.org/

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

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>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>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>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.
<5>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 Prairieville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Prairieville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Prairieville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5046, Longitude: -85.4551       In this case, the coordinates for Prairieville have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025