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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 Challenge (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 Challenge. 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 and doctors 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.

Challenge is located in Elk County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Elk County: Cameron, Clearfield, Forest, Jefferson, McKean & Warren.

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

  • Elk County     (The home county of Challenge)
  • Cameron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Challenge, with the one closest to Challenge listed first.
    • Beechwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beechwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
      • Beechwood is located in Cameron County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beechwood
      • From Challenge to Beechwood
    • Weber City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weber City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber City
      • Weber City is located in Cameron County
    • Emporium
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emporium have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emporium
      • Emporium is located in Cameron County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,770 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emporium <1>
    • Huntley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Cameron
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Driftwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Clarion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Challenge, with the one closest to Challenge listed first.
    • Cooksburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Crown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Challenge, with the one closest to Challenge listed first.
    • Treasure Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Treasure Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Treasure Lake
      • Treasure Lake is located in Clearfield County
    • Winterburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Tyler
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tyler. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
      • Tyler is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tyler
      • From Challenge to Tyler
    • DuBois
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Sandy
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
      • Sandy is located in Clearfield County
    • Rockton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Luthersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Stanley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stanley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
      • Stanley is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stanley
      • From Challenge to Stanley
    • Helvetia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Laborde
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Troutville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Mount Joy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Joy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
      • Mount Joy is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Joy
      • From Challenge to Mount Joy
  • Forest County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Challenge, with the one closest to Challenge listed first.
    • Clarington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Iron City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
      • Iron City is located in Forest County
    • Marienville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Sheffield Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Redclyffe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Redclyffe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
      • Redclyffe is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Redclyffe
      • From Challenge to Redclyffe
    • Roses
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Roses. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roses
      • Roses is located in Forest County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Roses
      • From Challenge to Roses
    • Gilfoyle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Indiana County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Challenge, with the one closest to Challenge listed first.
    • Crenshaw
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crenshaw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
      • Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Crenshaw
      • From Challenge to Crenshaw
    • Brockway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brockway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brockway
      • Brockway is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,020 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brockway <1>
    • Falls Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Falls Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Creek
      • Falls Creek is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Falls Creek <1>
    • Red Mill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Allens Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Schoffner Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Pancoast
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Munderf
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sandy Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Warsaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warsaw have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
      • Warsaw is located in Jefferson County
    • Hazen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Prescottville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lawrence County
    • Big Run
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
      • Big Run is located in Lawrence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
  • McKean County
  • Warren County

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

Cemeteries Near Challenge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Challenge.

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

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

  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Brockport Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Tobias Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Tobias Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Tobias Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wildwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wildwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bundy Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bundy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bundy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Conway Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Conway Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Conway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bundy Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bundy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bundy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kooker Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kooker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kooker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sugar Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugar Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugar Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Leos Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Leos Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Leos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (113 more) ...
    • Thayer Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thayer Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thayer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Oakmont Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oakmont Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oakmont 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Challenge had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Cartwright
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cartwright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cartwright
    • Cartwright is located in Elk County
  • Brockport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Brandy Camp
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandy Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy Camp
    • Brandy Camp is located in Elk County
  • Kylers Corners
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Crenshaw
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crenshaw. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
    • Crenshaw is located in Jefferson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Crenshaw
    • From Challenge to Crenshaw
  • Lanes Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lanes Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanes Mills
    • Lanes Mills is located in Jefferson County
  • Dagus Mines
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • McMinns Summit
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMinns Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMinns Summit
    • McMinns Summit is located in Jefferson County
  • Kersey
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kersey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kersey
    • Kersey is located in Elk County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kersey <1>
  • Beechtree
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beechtree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechtree
    • Beechtree is located in Jefferson County
  • Winterburn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Penfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Penfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penfield
    • Penfield is located in Clearfield County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Penfield <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Carman
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carman
      • Carman is located in Elk County
    • Ridgway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgway
      • Ridgway is located in Elk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,708 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ridgway <1>
    • Harveys Run
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harveys Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harveys Run
      • Harveys Run 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 Challenge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Challenge.

Newspapers Published in Challenge ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Challenge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Challenge, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Challenge.

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 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 Challenge:

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

The official website for Elk County: www.co.elk.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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>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 Challenge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Challenge) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Challenge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2889, Longitude: -78.6900    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025