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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 University Park (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 University Park. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

University Park is located in Centre 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 Centre County: Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Clinton, Huntingdon, Mifflin & Union.

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

  • Centre County     (The home county of University Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • State College
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Krumrine
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Krumrine is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krumrine
    • Lemont
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Houserville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Houserville is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
    • Panorama Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Panorama Village is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Village
    • Boalsburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bloomsdorf
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bloomsdorf is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomsdorf
    • Park Forest Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Park Forest Village is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest Village
    • Linden Hall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Linden Hall is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall
    • Waddle
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Waddle is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddle
    • Pine Grove Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Scotia
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Scotia is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotia
    • Fairbrook
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairbrook is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
  • Blair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Tyrone Forge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
    • Tyrone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Grazierville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Grazierville is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
    • Tipton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Culp
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Culp is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
    • Covedale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Covedale is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covedale
    • Bellwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin Forge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Franklin Forge is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Forge
    • Point View
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Point View is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point View
    • Springfield Junction
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Springfield Junction is located in Blair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield Junction
    • Williamsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cambria County
    • Lloydville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Kylertown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Chester Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Chester Hill is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • Morrisdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Osceola Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • West Decatur
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • West Decatur is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Decatur
      • West Decatur has also been known as:
      • Blue Ball
      • Decatur
    • Wallaceton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wallaceton is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Ashland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Ashland is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
    • Parsonsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Parsonsville is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsonsville
    • Keewaydin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Keewaydin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keewaydin
    • Brisbin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Brisbin is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 385 people
    • Pottersdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Pottersdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pottersdale
    • Shiloh
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Shiloh is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Ginter
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ginter is located in Clearfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
  • Clinton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Abdera
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Abdera is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abdera
    • Lamar
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Tylersville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Tylersville is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
    • Beech Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cedar Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Springs is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
    • Mill Hall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Salona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Salona is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salona
    • Greenburr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenburr is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenburr
    • Rote
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Rote is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rote
    • Flemington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Flemington is located in Clinton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flemington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,312 people
  • Huntingdon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Ennisville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Ennisville is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennisville
    • Neffs Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Neffs Mills is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neffs Mills
    • Dungarvin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
    • Seven Stars
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Donation
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Donation is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donation
    • Huntingdon Furnace
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
    • Pennington
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
    • Petersburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Birmingham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Alexandria
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Water Street
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
    • Huntingdon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mill Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Doyles Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Doyles Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyles Mills
    • Mifflin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mifflin is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Mifflintown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Reeds Gap
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Reeds Gap is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Gap
    • McCullochs Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • McCullochs Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCullochs Mills
    • Peru Mills
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Peru Mills is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peru Mills
    • Old Port
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Old Port is located in Juniata County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Port
    • Port Royal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Belleville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kishacoquillas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kishacoquillas is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kishacoquillas
    • Milroy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Menno
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Menno is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
    • Lumber City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lumber City is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
    • Reedsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Honey Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Honey Creek is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Creek
    • Allensville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Yeagertown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Burnham
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Highland Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Highland Park is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
    • Juniata Terrace
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Juniata Terrace is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata Terrace
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Lewistown Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Lewistown Junction is located in Mifflin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewistown Junction
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Bannerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Bannerville is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannerville
    • McClure
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from University Park, with the one closest to University Park listed first.
    • Cherry Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cherry Run is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
    • Pardee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Pardee is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardee

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

Cemeteries Near University Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of University Park.

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 University Park - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Slab Cabin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Pine Hall Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Centre County Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of State College.
    • The Shiloh Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Shiloh Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1885601 <2>
  • Benner Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Meyer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Williams Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Grays Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Rudy Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (200 more) ...
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Union Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Henderson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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>

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

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

  • Krumrine
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Krumrine is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krumrine
  • Houserville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Houserville is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houserville
  • Boalsburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fillmore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Fillmore is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
  • Pine Grove Mills
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Linden Hall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Linden Hall is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden Hall
  • Dale Summit
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dale Summit is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale Summit
  • Waddle
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Waddle is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waddle
  • Buffalo Run
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Buffalo Run is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Run
  • Fairbrook
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairbrook is located in Centre County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
  • Julian
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Gap
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Axemann
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Axemann is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axemann
    • Unionville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Gatesburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Gatesburg is located in Centre County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatesburg

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of University Park ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around University Park.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of University Park. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of University Park and those printed in the larger area surrounding University Park.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of University Park.

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 University Park:

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 University Park, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- University Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.