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Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Perry County >> Center Square >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Center Square (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 Center Square. 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 Center Square ...

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 occur.

Another variation: Centersquare.

  • A typical abbreviation for Center Square: Center Sq. (or less commonly used: Center Sqr.)
  • You might see Centre Square instead of Center Square.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Center Square. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Center Square.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 hospitals and 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.

Center Square is located in Perry County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Perry County: Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata & Northumberland.

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

  • Perry County     (The home county of Center Square)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • New Germantown
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cisna Run
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cisna Run is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
    • Centre
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Centre is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
    • Kistler
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Kistler is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
    • Bixler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bixler is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
    • Landisburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Alinda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Alinda is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alinda
    • Elliottsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Elliottsburg is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsburg
    • Ickesburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Ickesburg is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ickesburg
    • Eshcol
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Eshcol is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eshcol
    • Falling Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Falling Spring is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
    • Blain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Trust
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Trust is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
    • Bendersville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gardners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Idaville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Idaville is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idaville
    • Aspers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Aspers is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspers
      • Aspers has also been known as:
      • Bendersville Station
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aspers <1>
    • Gargol
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Gargol is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gargol
    • Arendtsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Latimore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Latimore is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimore
    • Biglerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Guernsey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Guernsey is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
    • Cashtown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
    • York Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Allegheny County
    • Bloomfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Bloomfield is located in Allegheny County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Washington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Washington is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
    • Newburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Newville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bears Crossroads
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
    • Big Spring
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Plainfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
    • Shippensburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Caprivi
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Caprivi is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caprivi
    • Huntsdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
    • Montsera
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
    • Barnitz
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Concord
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Concord is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Doylestown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Doylestown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylestown
    • Mowersville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Mowersville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mowersville
    • Dry Run
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dry Run is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
    • Newbridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Newbridge is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbridge
    • Roxbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Roxbury is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roxbury
    • Orrstown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Hall is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hall
    • Pinola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Pinola is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinola
    • Green Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Green Village is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
    • Keefers
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Keefers is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
    • Cheesetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Cheesetown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheesetown
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Burnt Cabins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
    • Clear Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Clear Ridge is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Ridge
    • Fort Littleton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Knobsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Knobsville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
    • Waterfall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Blairs Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
    • Aughwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Aughwick is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aughwick
    • Neelyton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
    • Shirleysburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Shade Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Union
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Orbisonia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Rockhill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Rockhill is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
      • Rockhill has also been known as:
      • Rockhill Furnace
    • Pogue
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Pogue is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pogue
    • Birdville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Birdville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birdville
    • Mapleton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Mapleton is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Mill Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • East Rutherford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
    • Perulack
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Perulack is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perulack
    • Waterloo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Waterloo is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
    • McCullochs Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • McCullochs Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullochs Mills
    • Peru Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
    • Reeds Gap
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Reeds Gap is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Gap
    • Doyles Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
    • Old Port
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Port is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
    • Port Royal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Mexico
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Mexico is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
    • Mifflin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Mifflin is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Mifflintown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Center Square, with the one closest to Center Square listed first.
    • Mattawana
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mattawana is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawana
    • Newton Hamilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
    • Anderson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Anderson is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Atkinson Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Atkinson Mills is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
    • McVeytown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kistler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Kistler is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
    • Juniata Terrace
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Lewistown Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
    • Lewistown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Allensville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Highland Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Menno
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Menno is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
  • York County
    • Uniontown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown

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

Cemeteries Near Center Square ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Center Square.

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 Center Square - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Center Square covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Eby Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Blain Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McCaskey Graves
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • McWilliams Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • East Waterford Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • United Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Polk Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Emory Chapel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Zion Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Elf Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (231 more) ...
    • Jeffries Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hanna Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Green Spring Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Spring Cemetery
      • The Green Spring Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Irishtown 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.<2>

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

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

  • New Germantown
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • East Waterford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • East Waterford is located in Juniata County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Waterford
  • Andersonburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Andersonburg is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonburg
  • Honey Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Heberlig
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Heberlig is located in Cumberland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heberlig
  • Cisna Run
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cisna Run is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisna Run
  • Waterloo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Waterloo is located in Juniata County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
  • Concord
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Concord is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Centre
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Centre is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centre
  • Kistler
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kistler is located in Perry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
  • Blairs Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Blairs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairs Mills
  • Doylesburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Doylesburg is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doylesburg
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • McCullochs Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • McCullochs Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullochs Mills
    • Bixler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bixler is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixler
    • Peru Mills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Center Square ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Center Square.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Center Square, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Center Square.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Center Square:

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 Center Square, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Center Square) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.