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The Commemorative Quarter for Missouri





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 Van (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 Van. 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 doctors and 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.

Van is located in Polk County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Hickory & Saint Clair.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Van)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Halfway
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halfway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
      • Halfway is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
    • Pleasant Hope
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hope
      • Pleasant Hope is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hope <2>
    • Bolivar
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Brighton
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brighton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
      • Brighton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brighton <2>
    • Goodnight
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodnight have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodnight
      • Goodnight is located in Polk County
      • Estimated population in 2019: 18 people
      • Goodnight has also been known as:
      • Goodnight village
    • Goodson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goodson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson
      • Goodson is located in Polk County
    • Tin Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tin Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tin Town
      • Tin Town is located in Polk County
    • Morrisville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Wishart
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wishart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishart
      • Wishart is located in Polk County
    • Polk
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
      • Polk is located in Polk County
    • Graydon Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Graydon Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graydon Springs
      • Graydon Springs is located in Polk County
    • Aldrich
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Aldrich is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Eudora
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eudora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eudora
      • Eudora is located in Polk County
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Umber View Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Umber View Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umber View Heights
      • Umber View Heights is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Stockton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stockton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
      • Stockton is located in Cedar County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stockton <2>
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Bona
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bona
      • Bona is located in Dade County
    • Dadeville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dadeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dadeville
      • Dadeville is located in Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dadeville <2>
    • Corry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Corry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corry
      • Corry is located in Dade County
    • Everton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everton
      • Everton is located in Dade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Everton <2>
    • Glen Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Town
      • Glen Town is located in Dade County
    • Pilgrim
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pilgrim. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
      • Pilgrim is located in Dade County
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Buffalo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Charity ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Charity. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
      • Charity is located in Dallas County
    • Louisburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Louisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Louisburg is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
    • Long Lane
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lane
      • Long Lane is located in Dallas County
    • Urbana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
      • Urbana is located in Dallas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbana <2>
    • Windyville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windyville
      • Windyville is located in Dallas County
    • Tunas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunas
      • Tunas is located in Dallas County
    • Leadmine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leadmine
      • Leadmine is located in Dallas County
    • Celt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Celt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celt
      • Celt is located in Dallas County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Fair Grove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
      • Fair Grove is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,540 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fair Grove <2>
    • Walnut Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
      • Walnut Grove is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walnut Grove <2>
    • Phenix ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phenix
      • Phenix is located in Greene County
      • Phenix has also been known as:
      • Phenix Quarry
    • Willard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willard
      • Willard is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,736 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willard <2>
    • Strafford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strafford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strafford
      • Strafford is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,502 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Strafford <2>
    • Ash Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Bois D'Arc
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Langston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Langston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
      • Langston is located in Greene County
    • Mumford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mumford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mumford
      • Mumford is located in Greene County
    • Turners
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turners
      • Turners is located in Greene County
    • Brookline Station
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brookline Station. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline Station
      • Brookline Station is located in Greene County
    • Brookline
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookline have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookline
      • Brookline is located in Greene County
  • Hickory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Pittsburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
      • Pittsburg is located in Hickory County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pittsburg <2>
    • Elkton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
      • Elkton is located in Hickory County
    • Nemo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nemo
      • Nemo is located in Hickory County
    • Galmey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Galmey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galmey
      • Galmey is located in Hickory County
    • Hermitage
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermitage have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermitage
      • Hermitage is located in Hickory County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermitage <2>
    • Preston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Preston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
      • Preston is located in Hickory County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Preston <2>
    • Weaubleau
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weaubleau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaubleau
      • Weaubleau is located in Hickory County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weaubleau <2>
    • Wheatland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
      • Wheatland is located in Hickory County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheatland <2>
  • Laclede County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Conway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Phillipsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phillipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phillipsburg
      • Phillipsburg is located in Laclede County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 200 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Phillipsburg <2>
  • Saint Clair County
    • Collins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Collins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Collins is located in Saint Clair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Collins <2>
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Van, with the one closest to Van listed first.
    • Elkland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkland
      • Elkland is located in Webster County
    • Conklin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Conklin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conklin
      • Conklin is located in Webster County
    • Northview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northview
      • Northview is located in Webster County
    • Marshfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Crown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown
      • Crown is located in Webster County
    • Niangua
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Niangua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niangua
      • Niangua is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people

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

Cemeteries Near Van ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Van.

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

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

  • Viles Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Viles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Viles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ankrom Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ankrom Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ankrom Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Reed Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reed Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gorden Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gorden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gorden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Gilread Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Slagle Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slagle Cemetery
    • The Slagle Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Slagle Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Slagle Creek MB Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1984712 <4>
  • Goff Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • New Life Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Life Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Life Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Case Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Case Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Case Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ragsdale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ragsdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ragsdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brighton Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brighton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brighton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (238 more) ...
    • Tiller Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tiller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tiller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Church Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Church Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Church Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Prairie Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>

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

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

  • Sunset
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset
    • Sunset is located in Polk County
  • Burns
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burns have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns
    • Burns is located in Polk County
  • Schofield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Schofield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schofield
    • Schofield is located in Polk County
  • Halfway
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halfway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
    • Halfway is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
  • Slagle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slagle
    • Slagle is located in Polk County
  • Pleasant Hope
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hope
    • Pleasant Hope is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hope <2>
  • Brighton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brighton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
    • Brighton is located in Polk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brighton <2>
  • Bolivar
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Goodnight
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodnight have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodnight
    • Goodnight is located in Polk County
    • Estimated population in 2019: 18 people
    • Goodnight has also been known as:
    • Goodnight village
  • Redtop
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redtop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtop
    • Redtop is located in Dallas County
  • Reynolds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
    • Reynolds is located in Dallas County
  • Morrisville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Goodson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goodson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodson
      • Goodson is located in Polk County
    • Wishart
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wishart. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishart
      • Wishart is located in Polk County
    • Gresham ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gresham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
      • Gresham is located in Polk County

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

Newspapers Published in Van ...

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 100 newspapers that have been published in the area around Van.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Van, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Van.

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 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 Van:

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

The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.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>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 Van, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Van) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5614, Longitude: -93.2871       In this case, the coordinates for Van have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025