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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 Central City (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 Central City. 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 and doctors 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.

Central City is located in Jasper County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jasper County: Cherokee (KS), Crawford (KS), Barton, Dade, Lawrence & Newton.

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

  • Jasper County     (The home county of Central City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • West Joplin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • West Joplin is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Joplin
    • Iron Gates
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Iron Gates is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gates
    • Joplin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Lone Elm
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lone Elm is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Elm
    • Klondike
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Klondike is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Thoms
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Thoms is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thoms
    • East Joplin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • East Joplin is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joplin
    • Dupont ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Dupont is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
    • Smithfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Smithfield is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Airport Drive
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Airport Drive is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
    • Oakland Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Oakland Park is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Park
    • Rex City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Rex City is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rex City
    • Carl Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Barton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • Nashville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Nashville is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
    • Mindenmines
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Oakton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakton is located in Barton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakton
  • McDonald County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • May
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • May is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
    • Goodman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Erie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Erie is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Tiff City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Tiff City is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff City
    • Anderson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • Grand Falls Plaza
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Grand Falls Plaza is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Falls Plaza
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Shoal Creek Drive
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Drive is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Drive
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 327 people
    • Cliff Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cliff Village is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
    • Dennis Acres
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dennis Acres is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Redings Mill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Redings Mill is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redings Mill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Loma Linda
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Loma Linda is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Linda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
    • Leawood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Leawood is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leawood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 678 people
    • Shoal Creek Estates
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Shoal Creek Estates is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Spring City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Spring City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
    • Saginaw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Silver Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Silver Creek is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
      • Estimated population in 2012: 631 people
    • Racine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Racine is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
    • Diamond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Diamond is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 909 people
      • Former names for Diamond:
      • Diamond Grove
      • Diamond Mill
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamond <1>
  • Cherokee County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • East Galena
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • East Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Galena
    • Galena
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
    • South Galena
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • South Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Galena
    • Empire City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
    • Badger
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Badger is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
    • Lowell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Lowell is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell has also been known as:
      • Lowell Station
    • Riverton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Crestline
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Crestline is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestline
    • Lawton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Lawton is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawton
    • Baxter Junction
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Baxter Junction is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter Junction
    • Baxter Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Commonwealth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Commonwealth is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commonwealth
    • Quaker
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Quaker is located in Cherokee County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker
  • Crawford County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • Opolis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Opolis is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opolis
    • Kirkwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Kirkwood is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkwood
    • Klendike
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Klendike is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klendike
    • Cherokee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pittsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Pittsburg is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,968 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pittsburg <1>
    • Lone Oak
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Lone Oak is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
    • Cornell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Cornell is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Frontenac
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Capaldo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Capaldo is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capaldo
    • Yale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Yale is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yale
    • Beulah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Beulah is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
    • Monmouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Monmouth is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monmouth
    • Curranville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Curranville is located in Crawford County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curranville
  • Labette County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • Chetopa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Chetopa is located in Labette County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetopa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,014 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chetopa <1>
    • Oswego
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Oswego is located in Labette County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oswego <1>
  • Ottawa County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Central City, with the one closest to Central City listed first.
    • Peoria
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Peoria is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
    • Hockerville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hockerville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hockerville
    • Lincolnville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincolnville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnville
    • Quapaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Quapaw is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quapaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 871 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Quapaw <1>
    • Picher ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cardin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Commerce
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • North Miami
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • North Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 370 people
    • Ottawa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Ottawa is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Wyandotte
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Miami
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Miami is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,947 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miami <1>
    • Kellyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Kellyville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellyville
    • Dotyville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Dotyville is located in Ottawa County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dotyville

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

Cemeteries Near Central City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Central City.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Central City - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Central City covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Galena Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Osborne Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Parkway Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Peace Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peace Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Peace Church Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Joplin.
  • Union Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Cemetery
    • The Union Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ritchie Cemetery
    • Union Chapel Cemetery
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Faith Community Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sherwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Stevenson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Forest Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (221 more) ...
    • Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Joplin.
      • The Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Ozark Memorial Park
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #30712 <2>
    • Messer Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Boston Mills - Cox Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)

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.<3>

While we didn't find Central City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Central City.

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

  • Galena
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Galena is located in Cherokee County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,824 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galena <1>
  • West Joplin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • West Joplin is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Joplin
  • Blendville ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Blendville is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blendville
  • Joplin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Empire City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Empire City is located in Cherokee County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire City
  • Tuckahoe
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tuckahoe is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
  • Thoms
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Thoms is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thoms
  • Smithfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Smithfield is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
  • East Joplin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • East Joplin is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Joplin
  • Dupont ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Dupont is located in Jasper County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
  • Lowell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lowell is located in Cherokee County (KS)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
    • Lowell has also been known as:
    • Lowell Station
  • Carl Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Saginaw
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Saginaw is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Webb City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hornet
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Hornet is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornet

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

Newspapers Published in Central City ...

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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Central City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Central City, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Central City.

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 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 Central City:

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>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.
<3>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 Central City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Central City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.