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 Gretna (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 Gretna. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
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 north 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.
Gretna is located in Logan County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Logan County: Auglaize, Champaign, Hardin, Shelby & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Gretna. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gretna:
- Logan County (The home county of Gretna)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- De Graff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Logansville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Logansville is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logansville
- Bellefontaine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Iron City
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Iron City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Quincy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Huntsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Russells Point
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- West Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Valley Hi
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Valley Hi is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Zanesfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lakeview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Marl City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Marl City is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl City
- New Richland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Richland is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richland
- Allen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Westminster
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Westminster is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westminster
- Harrod
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Fort Shawnee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Shawnee is located in Allen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Shawnee
- Estimated population in 2012: 3,643 people
- Lafayette
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lima
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Auglaize County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Santa Fe
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Santa Fe is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santa Fe
- Waynesfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Waynesfield is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynesfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
- Saint Johns
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Johns is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
- Fryburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fryburg is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryburg
- Uniopolis
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Uniopolis is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniopolis
- Estimated population in 2016: 220 people
- Wapakoneta
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Pusheta Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pusheta Town is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pusheta Town
- Cridersville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- New Knoxville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- New Knoxville is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Knoxville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 862 people
- Moulton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Moulton is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton
- Minster
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- New Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Buckland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Buckland is located in Auglaize County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
- Champaign County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Carysville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Carysville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carysville
- Millerstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Millerstown is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Kingscreek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kingscreek is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingscreek
- Saint Paris
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Mingo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Westville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Westville is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westville
- Urbana
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- North Lewisburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mutual
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mutual is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mutual
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Woodstock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodstock is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Christiansburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Powhattan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Powhattan is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhattan
- Mechanicsburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Dialton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dialton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dialton
- Owl Town ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Owl Town is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owl Town
- Tremont City
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lawrenceville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lawrenceville is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
- North Hampton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- North Hampton is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hampton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
- Northridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Northridge is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northridge
- Eagle City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Eagle City is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
- New Moorefield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- New Moorefield is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Moorefield
- Dodo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Dodo is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodo
- Greenlawn Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Greenlawn Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlawn Village
- Oakwood Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Village is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Village
- Villa
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Villa is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Catawba
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Catawba is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Roundhead
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Jumbo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Jumbo is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
- Ridgeway
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgeway is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
- Mount Victory
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- McGuffey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- McGuffey is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGuffey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 484 people
- Kenton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alger
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Huntersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Huntersville is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntersville
- Pfeiffer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pfeiffer is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pfeiffer
- Ada
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Grant
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grant is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Madison County
- Chuckery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chuckery is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chuckery
- Marion County
- La Rue
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- La Rue is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Rue
- Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
- Miami County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Lena
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lena is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lena
- Conover
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Conover is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
- Fletcher
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
- Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
- Casstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Piqua
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alcony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Alcony is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alcony
- Polo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Polo is located in Miami County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo
- Troy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Covington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Maplewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Maplewood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Jackson Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Port Jefferson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Montra
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Montra is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montra
- Pasco
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Pasco is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Anna
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Sidney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Botkins
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hardin is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
- Lockington
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lockington is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Kettlersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lehmkuhl Landing
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Lehmkuhl Landing is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehmkuhl Landing
- Dawson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dawson is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Raymond
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Summersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Summersville is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summersville
- Milford Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Marysville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pharisburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Pharisburg is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pharisburg
- New Dover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Dover is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Dover
- Richwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Unionville Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Unionville Center is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gretna, see our County-by-County Page for Gretna.
Cemeteries Near Gretna ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gretna.
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 Gretna - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gretna covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- Miller Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Moore Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Parish Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Tanger Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Huber Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stony Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Means Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sagers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Zeigler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Jacket Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Childrens Home Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (506 more) ...
- Knight Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Logansville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- New Philadelphia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Gretna had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gretna, with the one closest to Gretna listed first.
- De Graff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lewistown
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Lewistown is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown
- Bellefontaine
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Quincy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bloom Center
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bloom Center is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom Center
- Huntsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pemberton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Pemberton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Zanesfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Harper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Harper is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Maplewood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Maplewood is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Crayon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Crayon is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crayon
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lakeview
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- New Jerusalem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- New Jerusalem is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Jerusalem
- Northwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Northwood is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gretna. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gretna.
Newspapers Published in Gretna ...
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 Gretna.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gretna, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gretna.
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 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 Gretna:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Logan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allen County
- Auglaize County
- Champaign County
- Clark County
- Hardin County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Miami County
- Shelby County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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> | 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 Gretna, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Gretna) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |