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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 Towanda (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 Towanda. 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 Towanda ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Towanda was referred to as Towanda Courthouse.

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

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 northwest 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 north.

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

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

Towanda is located in Bradford County and is the County Seat.

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 Bradford County: Chemung (NY), Tioga (NY), Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga & Wyoming.

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

  • Bradford County     (The home county of Towanda)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • East Towanda
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • East Towanda is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Towanda
    • Macedonia
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Macedonia is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Monroe
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Monroe is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
    • Monroeton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Uhdey
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Uhdey is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uhdey
    • Standing Stone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Standing Stone is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standing Stone
    • Saco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Saco is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco
    • Ulster
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Asylum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Asylum is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asylum
    • Marshview
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Marshview is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshview
    • Franklindale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklindale is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklindale
    • Luthers Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Luthers Mills is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luthers Mills
  • Luzerne County
    • Ricketts ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Ricketts is located in Luzerne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricketts
  • Lycoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Chemung
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Chemung is located in Lycoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemung
    • Ellenton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Ellenton is located in Lycoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellenton
    • Proctor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Proctor is located in Lycoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
  • Sullivan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Dushore
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Millview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Millview is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millview
    • Shinerville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Shinerville is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shinerville
    • Bernice
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bernice is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bernice
    • Forksville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lincoln Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lincoln Falls is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Falls
    • Piatt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Piatt is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piatt
    • Laporte
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Eagles Mere
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hillsgrove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Long Brook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Long Brook is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Brook
    • Ogdonia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Ogdonia is located in Sullivan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdonia
  • Susquehanna County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Rushville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Rushville is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville
    • Little Meadows
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Auburn Four Corners
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Auburn Four Corners is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Four Corners
    • Elk Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Elk Lake is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Lake
    • Fairdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Fairdale is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Forest Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Forest Lake is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
    • Springville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Tyler
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Tyler is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
    • Choconut
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Choconut is located in Susquehanna County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choconut
    • South Montrose
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Tioga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Gleason
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Gleason is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gleason
    • Roseville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Roseville is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
    • Fallbrook ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Fallbrook is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallbrook
    • Mainesburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Mainesburg is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mainesburg
    • Ogdensburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Ogdensburg is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
    • Millerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Millerton is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
    • Morris Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Morris Run is located in Tioga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Run
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Laceyville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Skinners Eddy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Skinners Eddy is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skinners Eddy
    • Stowell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Stowell is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowell
    • Jenningsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jenningsville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenningsville
    • Forkston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Forkston is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forkston
    • Mehoopany Station
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Mehoopany Station is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehoopany Station
    • Meshoppen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Vosburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Vosburg is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vosburg
    • Avery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Avery is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
    • Lemon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Lemon is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon
    • Lake Carey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Carey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Carey
    • Tunkhannock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Broome County (NY)
    • Vestal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Chemung County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Chemung
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Owens Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Owens Mills is located in Chemung County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owens Mills
    • Wellsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Southport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Southport is located in Chemung County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southport
    • Pine City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Webb Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Webb Mills is located in Chemung County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb Mills
    • Elmira
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Elmira is located in Chemung County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmira
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,045 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elmira <1>
    • West Elmira
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Elmira is located in Chemung County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Elmira
    • Van Etten
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Tioga County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Towanda, with the one closest to Towanda listed first.
    • Waverly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Waverly is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,110 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waverly <1>
    • Hoopers Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hoopers Valley is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoopers Valley
    • Nichols
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Smithboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • East Nichols
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • East Nichols is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Nichols
    • Barton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lounsberry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Lounsberry is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lounsberry
    • South Owego
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • South Owego is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Owego
    • Lockwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Owego
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Owego is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owego
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Owego <1>
    • Apalachin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Campville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Campville is located in Tioga County (NY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville

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

Cemeteries Near Towanda ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Towanda.

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

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

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Cole Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pond Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Powell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hornbrook Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bradford County Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Ghent Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Gustin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Kellogg Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Mercur Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Luthers Mills Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (209 more) ...

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 Towanda had a population of 4,169 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Towanda had a population of 2,803 people.

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

  • North Towanda
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • North Towanda is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Towanda
  • Wysox
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Quarry Glen
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Quarry Glen is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quarry Glen
  • Monroe
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Monroe is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
  • Monroeton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Macedonia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Macedonia is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
  • Overshot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Overshot is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overshot
  • Highland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Highland is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
  • Powell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Powell is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
  • Hornbrook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hornbrook is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornbrook
  • Durell
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Durell is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durell
  • Standing Stone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Standing Stone is located in Bradford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standing Stone
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Myersburg
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Myersburg is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myersburg
    • Black
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Black is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black
    • Saco
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Saco is located in Bradford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saco

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Towanda ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Towanda.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Towanda. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Towanda and those printed in the larger area surrounding Towanda.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<4> of Towanda.

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 Towanda:

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