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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 Plattsburg (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 Plattsburg. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Plattsburg is located in Clinton County and is the County Seat.

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 Clinton County: Buchanan, Caldwell, Clay, DeKalb, Platte & Ray.

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

  • Clinton County     (The home county of Plattsburg)
  • Andrew County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Cosby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Cosby is located in Andrew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Avenue City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Avenue City is located in Andrew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avenue City
    • Country Club
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Country Club is located in Andrew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,530 people
    • Helena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Helena is located in Andrew County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Rochester ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Buchanan County
  • Caldwell County
  • Clay County
  • Daviess County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Mabel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Winston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Alta Vista ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Altamont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Altamont is located in Daviess County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
  • DeKalb County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • River Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • River Bend is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10 people
    • Atherton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Cement City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Cement City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cement City
    • Sibley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Platte County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Edgerton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgely
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Ridgely is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Camden Point
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dearborn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Ferrelview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Ferrelview is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferrelview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 800 people
    • Linkville ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodruff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Platte City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Tracy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • West Platte
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Waukomis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Waukomis is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Waukomis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
    • Platte Woods
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Platte Woods is located in Platte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Woods
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 406 people
    • Weston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Ray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Lawson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Elmira
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Elmira is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Excelsior Estates
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Excelsior Estates is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior Estates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
    • Homestead
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Homestead is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Crystal Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Crystal Lakes is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Wood Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wood Heights is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
    • Woods Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Knoxville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Rayville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Georgeville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Albany
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Albany is located in Ray County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albany
    • Orrick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Atchison County (KS)
  • Doniphan County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Elwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Wathena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Palermo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Palermo is located in Doniphan County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
  • Leavenworth County (KS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg listed first.
    • Kickapoo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bain City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bain City is located in Leavenworth County (KS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bain City
    • Leavenworth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wyandotte County (KS)

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

Cemeteries Near Plattsburg ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plattsburg.

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 Plattsburg - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plattsburg, with the one closest to Plattsburg 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Plattsburg had a population of 1,634 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Plattsburg had a population of 2,242 people.

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

  • Scearces
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Scearces is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scearces
  • Grayson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Grayson is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
  • Lilly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Lathrop
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Starfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Perrin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Perrin is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrin
  • Gower
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Holt
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Paradise
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Paradise is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
  • Converse
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Keystone ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Keystone is located in Clinton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keystone
  • Ridgely
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgely is located in Platte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgely
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hemple
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hemple is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemple
    • Frazier
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Frazier is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
    • Platte River
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Platte River is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte River

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Plattsburg ...

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 129 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plattsburg.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Plattsburg. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Plattsburg and those printed in the larger area surrounding Plattsburg.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3> of Plattsburg.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Plattsburg:

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