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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 Sun Prairie (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 Sun Prairie. 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 Sun Prairie ...

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 Sun Prairie: Sun Pr.

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.

Sun Prairie 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 Sun Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sun Prairie:

  • Cascade County     (The home county of Sun Prairie)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sun Prairie, with the one closest to Sun Prairie listed first.
    • Manchester
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Manchester is located in Cascade County
    • Vaughn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Ulm
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Countryside Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Black Eagle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Sun River
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sun River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun River
      • Sun River is located in Cascade County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun River <1>
    • Fort Shaw
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Sand Coulee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Stockett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Eden
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
      • Eden is located in Cascade County
    • Cascade
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Chouteau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sun Prairie, with the one closest to Sun Prairie listed first.
    • Floweree
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Carter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • Teton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sun Prairie, with the one closest to Sun Prairie listed first.
    • Power
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Power have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power
      • Power is located in Teton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Power <1>
    • Greenfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
      • Greenfield is located in Teton County
    • Fairfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
      • Fairfield is located in Teton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairfield <1>
    • Dutton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutton
      • Dutton is located in Teton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dutton <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Sun Prairie ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sun Prairie.

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

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

  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Sunset Memorial Gardens is a large cemetery that is located 7 miles [11.3 km]<4> to the east of Great Falls.
    • The Sunset Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2133894 <5>
  • Vaughn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vaughn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vaughn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ulm Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ulm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ulm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillcrest Lawn Memorial Association
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Fair Haven Colony Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fair Haven Colony Cemetery
    • The Fair Haven Colony Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Fairhaven Colony Cemetery
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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 <5>
  • Highland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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 <5>
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Sun River Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sun River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sun River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.
  • Castner Falls Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Castner Falls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Castner Falls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Big Stone Colony Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Ft. Shaw Soldiers Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Shaw Soldiers Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ft. Shaw Soldiers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sand Coulee Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ft. Shaw Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ft. Shaw Cemetery
      • The Ft. Shaw Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Ft. Shaw Military Cemetery

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.<6>

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

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

  • Vaughn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ulm
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Great Falls
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • North Great Falls ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Watson ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Sun River
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sun River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun River
    • Sun River is located in Cascade County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sun River <1>
  • Truly
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Sand Coulee
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Portage
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Saint Clair ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Clair have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
      • Saint Clair is located in Cascade County
    • Cascade
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Floweree
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Peter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Peter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Peter
      • Saint Peter is located in Cascade County
    • Belt
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armington
      • Armington 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 Sun Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sun Prairie.

Newspapers Published in Sun Prairie ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sun Prairie.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sun Prairie, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sun Prairie.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Sun Prairie:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sun Prairie. 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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sun Prairie) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sun Prairie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5369, Longitude: -111.4814       In this case, the coordinates for Sun Prairie have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Sun Prairie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025