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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 Pleasant Valley Colony (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 Pleasant Valley Colony. 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.

Name Variations for Pleasant Valley Colony ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Valley Colony: Pleasant Vly. Colony (or less commonly used: Pleasant Vally. Colony or Pleasant Vlly. Colony)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Pleasant Valley Colony is located in Cascade County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cascade County: Chouteau, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Meagher & Teton.

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

  • Cascade County     (The home county of Pleasant Valley Colony)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley Colony, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley Colony listed first.
    • Stockett
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sand Coulee
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Belt
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belt
      • Belt is located in Cascade County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 568 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belt <1>
    • Armington Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armington Junction
      • Armington Junction is located in Cascade County
    • Armington
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armington
      • Armington is located in Cascade County
    • Eden
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Eden is located in Cascade County
    • Black Eagle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Eagle
      • Black Eagle is located in Cascade County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Black Eagle <1>
    • Great Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Countryside Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
      • Countryside Village is located in Cascade County
    • Ulm
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ulm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulm
      • Ulm is located in Cascade County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ulm <1>
    • Manchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Cascade County
    • Monarch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Chouteau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley Colony, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley Colony listed first.
    • Highwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Sag
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Sag
      • Big Sag is located in Chouteau County
    • Floweree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Carter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carter
      • Carter is located in Chouteau County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carter <1>
  • Judith Basin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Valley Colony, with the one closest to Pleasant Valley Colony listed first.
    • Raynesford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Geyser
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Pleasant Valley Colony ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant Valley Colony.

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 Pleasant Valley Colony covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Pleasant Valley Colony Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Cottonwood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cottonwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cottonwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sand Coulee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Big Stone Colony Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Tiger Butte Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tiger Butte Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tiger Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Red Butte Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Red Butte Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Red Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Goodman Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Highland Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Great Falls.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20910 <4>
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Great Falls.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #20799 <4>
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Lower Belt Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lower Belt Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lower Belt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Big Willow Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Willow Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Willow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Pleasant Valley Colony in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Valley Colony.

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

  • Sand Coulee
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Belt
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belt
    • Belt is located in Cascade County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 568 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belt <1>
  • Armington
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armington
    • Armington is located in Cascade County
  • Evans
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans
    • Evans is located in Cascade County
  • North Great Falls ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Great Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Great Falls
    • North Great Falls is located in Cascade County
  • Great Falls
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Truly
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truly
    • Truly is located in Cascade County
  • Watson ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Watson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
    • Watson is located in Cascade County
  • Highwood
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Portage
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
    • Portage is located in Cascade County
  • Ulm
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ulm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulm
    • Ulm is located in Cascade County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ulm <1>
  • Monarch
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Floweree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Vaughn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Millegan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millegan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millegan
      • Millegan is located in Cascade County

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

Newspapers Published in Pleasant Valley Colony ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Valley Colony.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Valley Colony, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant Valley Colony.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Pleasant Valley Colony:

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

The official website for Cascade County: www.co.cascade.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.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>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.
<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- Pleasant Valley Colony) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pleasant Valley Colony. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3569, Longitude: -111.0841       In this case, the coordinates for Pleasant Valley Colony have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Pleasant Valley Colony, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025