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The Commemorative Quarter for Montana





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 Townsend (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 Townsend. 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.

Townsend is located in Broadwater County and is the County Seat.

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 Broadwater County: Gallatin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clark & Meagher.

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

  • Broadwater County     (The home county of Townsend)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Townsend, with the one closest to Townsend listed first.
    • Toston
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Crow Creek City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow Creek City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Creek City
      • Crow Creek City is located in Broadwater County
    • Radersburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Winston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Diamond City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
      • Diamond City is located in Broadwater County
    • Whites City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whites City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whites City
      • Whites City is located in Broadwater County
    • Copper City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copper City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copper City
      • Copper City is located in Broadwater County
  • Gallatin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Townsend, with the one closest to Townsend listed first.
    • Francis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Francis
      • Francis is located in Gallatin County
    • Three Forks
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Forks
      • Three Forks is located in Gallatin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Three Forks <1>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Townsend, with the one closest to Townsend listed first.
    • Elkhorn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
      • Elkhorn is located in Jefferson County
    • Clancy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Montana City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montana City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montana City
      • Montana City is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montana City <1>
    • Alhambra
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alhambra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alhambra
      • Alhambra is located in Jefferson County
    • Jefferson City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Boulder
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Lewis and Clark County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Townsend, with the one closest to Townsend listed first.
    • Cavetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
      • Cavetown is located in Lewis and Clark County
    • East Helena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
      • Helena is located in Lewis and Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33,737 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helena <1>
  • Meagher County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Townsend, with the one closest to Townsend listed first.
    • Langford City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Langford City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langford City
      • Langford City is located in Meagher County
    • Fort Logan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Logan
      • Fort Logan is located in Meagher County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Townsend ...

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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Townsend.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Townsend. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Townsend and those printed in the larger area surrounding Townsend.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Townsend.

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 Townsend:

Cemeteries Near Townsend ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Townsend.

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

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

  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
  • Centerville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Centerville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Centerville Cemetery
  • Deep Creek Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deep Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deep Creek Cemetery
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
  • Parker Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Radersburg Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Radersburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Radersburg Cemetery
  • Beaver Creek Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beaver Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beaver Creek Cemetery
  • Winston Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winston Cemetery
  • Diamond City Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Diamond City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Diamond City Cemetery
  • Elkhorn Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Turner Cemetery
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Turner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Turner Cemetery
  • Cemetery Island / Canyon Ferry Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cemetery Island / Canyon Ferry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cemetery Island / Canyon Ferry Cemetery
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • St. John The Evangelist Catholic Church Cemetery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Anns Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anns Cemetery
    • Serbian Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Serbian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Serbian 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Townsend had a population of 245 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Townsend had a population of 2,220 people.

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

  • Canton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
    • Canton is located in Broadwater County
  • Toston
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Elkhorn
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Elkhorn is located in Jefferson County
  • Clasoil
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clasoil have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clasoil
    • Clasoil is located in Jefferson County
  • Montana City
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montana City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montana City
    • Montana City is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montana City <1>
  • Clancy
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Alhambra
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alhambra have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alhambra
    • Alhambra is located in Jefferson County
  • Jefferson City
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Sixteen
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sixteen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixteen
    • Sixteen is located in Meagher County
  • East Helena
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Corbin
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corbin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
    • Corbin is located in Jefferson County
  • Gallatin ‑ Historic
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallatin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallatin
    • Gallatin is located in Gallatin County
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Wickes ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wickes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickes
      • Wickes is located in Jefferson County
    • Portal
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portal
      • Portal is located in Jefferson County
    • Amazon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amazon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amazon
      • Amazon is located in Jefferson County

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

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

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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Townsend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Townsend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.3209, Longitude: -111.5161    
<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 Townsend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024