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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 Fontana (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 Fontana. 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 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.

Fontana is located in Lebanon 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 Lebanon County: Berks, Dauphin, Lancaster & Schuylkill.

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

  • Lebanon County     (The home county of Fontana)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Mount Gretna
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Gretna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna
      • Mount Gretna is located in Lebanon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Gretna <2>
    • Timber Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Hills
      • Timber Hills is located in Lebanon County
    • Quentin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Annville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Annville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annville
      • Annville is located in Lebanon County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Annville <2>
    • Cleona
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Colebrook
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Mount Gretna Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Gretna Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna Heights
      • Mount Gretna Heights is located in Lebanon County
    • Burd Coleman Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burd Coleman Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burd Coleman Village
      • Burd Coleman Village is located in Lebanon County
    • Cornwall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
      • Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cornwall <2>
    • Pleasant Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Lebanon County
    • West Lebanon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lawn
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Campbelltown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Berks County
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • New Cumberland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Cumberland
      • New Cumberland is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,300 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Cumberland <2>
    • Lemoyne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemoyne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemoyne
      • Lemoyne is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,632 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lemoyne <2>
    • Lower Allen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lower Allen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Allen
      • Lower Allen is located in Cumberland County
    • West Fairview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Wormleysburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wormleysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wormleysburg
      • Wormleysburg is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,062 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wormleysburg <2>
    • Camp Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Enola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Lisburn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Westwood Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
      • Westwood Village is located in Cumberland County
    • Shiremanstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shiremanstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiremanstown
      • Shiremanstown is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,641 people
    • Allenview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Good Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Sporting Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Dauphin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Bachmanville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hershey
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Grantville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Deposit
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Shellsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hummelstown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummelstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummelstown
      • Hummelstown is located in Dauphin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,814 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummelstown <2>
    • Clifton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Fontana to Clifton
    • Manadahill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manadahill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manadahill
      • Manadahill is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Manadahill
      • From Fontana to Manadahill
    • Skyline View
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyline View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline View
      • Skyline View is located in Dauphin County
    • Middletown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Royalton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Rutherford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rutherford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherford
      • Rutherford is located in Dauphin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rutherford
      • From Fontana to Rutherford
    • Springford Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springford Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springford Village
      • Springford Village is located in Dauphin County
  • Lancaster County
  • Luzerne County
    • Newtown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Newtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newtown
      • Newtown is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newtown
      • From Fontana to Newtown
  • Northumberland County
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Marysville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marysville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysville
      • Marysville is located in Perry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marysville <2>
    • Perdix
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Cove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
      • Cove is located in Perry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cove
      • From Fontana to Cove
    • New Buffalo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Buffalo
      • New Buffalo is located in Perry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Duncannon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncannon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncannon
      • Duncannon is located in Perry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,481 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncannon <2>
  • Schuylkill County
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fontana, with the one closest to Fontana listed first.
    • Goldsboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Goldsboro. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldsboro
      • Goldsboro is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 938 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Goldsboro
      • From Fontana to Goldsboro
    • York Haven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for York Haven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York Haven
      • York Haven is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 691 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for York Haven <2>
    • Wrightsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Redland Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redland Village
      • Redland Village is located in York County
    • Valley Green
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Marsh Run
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marsh Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsh Run
      • Marsh Run is located in York County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marsh Run
      • From Fontana to Marsh Run
    • Mount Wolf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Wolf
      • Mount Wolf is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,380 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Wolf <2>
    • East Prospect
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Prospect have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Prospect
      • East Prospect is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 912 people
    • Manchester
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Quaker Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Village
      • Quaker Village is located in York County
    • Starview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Strinestown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hallam
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hallam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallam
      • Hallam is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,634 people

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

Cemeteries Near Fontana ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fontana.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fontana had a population of 169 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Mount Gretna
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Gretna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gretna
    • Mount Gretna is located in Lebanon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Gretna <2>
  • Annville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Annville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annville
    • Annville is located in Lebanon County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Annville <2>
  • Colebrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cleona
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lawn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Cornwall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
    • Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,382 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cornwall <2>
  • North Cornwall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Cornwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cornwall
    • North Cornwall is located in Lebanon County
  • West Lebanon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Coheva
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coheva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coheva
    • Coheva is located in Lebanon County
  • Westmont
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Campbelltown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bachmanville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mount Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Hope. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
      • Mount Hope is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Hope
      • From Fontana to Mount Hope
    • Miners Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miners Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Village
      • Miners Village is located in Lebanon County
    • Cornwall Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Fontana ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fontana.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fontana, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fontana.

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 websites either 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 Fontana:

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

The official website for Lebanon County: www.lebcounty.org/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fontana) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fontana. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.2841, Longitude: -76.4988       In this case, the coordinates for Fontana have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Fontana, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025