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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 Plainsville (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 Plainsville. 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 doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Plainsville is located in Luzerne 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 Luzerne County: Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan & Wyoming.

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

  • Luzerne County     (The home county of Plainsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Hilldale
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Hilldale is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
    • West Wyoming
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • West Wyoming is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wyoming
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,671 people
    • Port Blanchard
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Port Blanchard is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blanchard
    • Wyoming
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Plains
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Port Bowkley
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Port Bowkley is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Bowkley
    • Miners Mills
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Miners Mills is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Mills
    • Forty Fort
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Forty Fort is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forty Fort
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,025 people
    • Swoyersville
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Laflin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Laflin is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
    • Exeter
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Courtdale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Courtdale is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 711 people
  • Carbon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • East Side
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • East Side is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Side
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Leslie Run
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Leslie Run is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leslie Run
    • Mud Run
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Mud Run is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mud Run
    • Albrightsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Coxes Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Coxes Village is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxes Village
      • Coxes Village has also been known as:
      • Cross Village
    • Penn Haven Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Penn Haven Junction is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penn Haven Junction
    • Unionville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Unionville is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Weatherly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Beaver Meadows
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hudsondale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hudsondale is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudsondale
    • Meckesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Meckesville is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meckesville
    • Tresckow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Tresckow is located in Carbon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresckow
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Foundryville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Foundryville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundryville
    • Berwick
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jonestown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jonestown is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonestown
    • Jamison City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jamison City is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison City
    • Briar Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Briar Creek is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briar Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 672 people
    • Hetlerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hetlerville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hetlerville
    • Zaner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Zaner is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zaner
    • Benton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Stillwater
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Mifflinville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Waller
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Waller is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waller
  • Lackawanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Lawrenceville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Lawrenceville is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville
    • Old Forge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Belian Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Belian Village is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belian Village
    • Moosic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Moosic is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosic
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,813 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moosic <1>
    • Milwaukee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Milwaukee is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milwaukee
    • Minooka
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Minooka is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minooka
    • Taylor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Taylor is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,879 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Taylor <1>
    • Scranton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Brook
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Spring Brook is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Brook
    • Schultzville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Schultzville is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schultzville
    • Dunmore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Dunmore is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunmore <1>
    • Green Ridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Ridge is located in Lackawanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Locust Lakes Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Locust Lakes Village is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Lakes Village
    • Mount Pocono
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Tobyhanna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Pocono Pines
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Long Pond
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocono Summit
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Pike County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • La Anna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • La Anna is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Anna
    • South Sterling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Ledgedale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Ledgedale is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ledgedale
    • Panther
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Panther is located in Pike County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
  • Schuylkill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • McAdoo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • McAdoo is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McAdoo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McAdoo <1>
    • Kelayres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Kelayres is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelayres
    • Nuremberg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lofty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Lofty is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofty
    • Oneida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Oneida is located in Schuylkill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneida
    • Sheppton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sullivan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Bernice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bernice is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
    • Shinerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Shinerville is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinerville
  • Susquehanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Lenoxville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Lenoxville is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoxville
    • Springville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Royal
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Royal is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
    • Hop Bottom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Tyler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Tyler is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
    • Auburn Four Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Auburn Four Corners is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Four Corners
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Hollisterville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Hollisterville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollisterville
    • Maplewood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Maplewood is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
    • Sterling
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Tresslarville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tresslarville is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tresslarville
    • South Canaan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • South Canaan is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canaan
    • Waymart
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville listed first.
    • Mill City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mill City is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill City
    • Beaumont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Beaumont is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
    • Vernon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Vernon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
    • South Eaton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • South Eaton is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Eaton
    • Evans Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Evans Falls is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evans Falls
    • Jenks
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jenks is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenks
    • Noxen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Winola
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Osterhout
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Osterhout is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osterhout
    • Dixon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Dixon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
    • Tunkhannock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Factoryville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Plainsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plainsville.

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 Plainsville - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Plainsville, with the one closest to Plainsville 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Plainsville had a population of 217 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Forty Fort
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Forty Fort is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forty Fort
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,025 people
  • Port Bowkley
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Port Bowkley is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Bowkley
  • Plains
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Miners Mills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Miners Mills is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miners Mills
  • Hudson
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Hudson is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
  • Port Blanchard
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Port Blanchard is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Blanchard
  • Wyoming
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Parsons
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Parsons is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
  • Laflin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Laflin is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laflin
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,435 people
  • Inkerman
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Inkerman is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inkerman
  • Sebastopol
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Sebastopol is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebastopol
  • Port Griffith
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Griffith is located in Luzerne County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Griffith
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Exeter
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Luzerne
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Kingston
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Plainsville ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Plainsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Plainsville, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Plainsville.

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 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 Plainsville:

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 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.
<3>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 Plainsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Plainsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.