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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 Caputa (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 Caputa. 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 northwest 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 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.

Caputa is located in Pennington County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pennington County: Custer, Haakon, Jackson, Lawrence, Meade, Oglala Lakota & Weston (WY).

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

  • Pennington County     (The home county of Caputa)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caputa, with the one closest to Caputa listed first.
    • Farmingdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmingdale
      • Farmingdale is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 10 people
    • Green Valley
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
      • Green Valley is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 51 people
    • Murphy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
      • Murphy is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 482 people
    • New Underwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Underwood
      • New Underwood is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Underwood <2>
    • Box Elder
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Box Elder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Elder
      • Box Elder is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Box Elder <2>
    • Rapid Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ashland Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashland Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland Heights
      • Ashland Heights is located in Pennington County
    • Rapid City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sioux Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sioux Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Village
      • Sioux Village is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 262 people
    • Wildwood Addition
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Addition have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Addition
      • Wildwood Addition is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Creston ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Colonial Pine Hills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Pine Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Pine Hills
      • Colonial Pine Hills is located in Pennington County
    • Rockerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caputa, with the one closest to Caputa listed first.
    • Hermosa
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Spokane ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spokane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spokane
      • Spokane is located in Custer County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,237 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spokane
      • From Caputa to Spokane
    • Fairburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairburn
      • Fairburn is located in Custer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairburn <2>
    • State Game Lodge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Game Lodge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Game Lodge
      • State Game Lodge is located in Custer County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 29 people
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caputa, with the one closest to Caputa listed first.
    • Nemo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Merritt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merritt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merritt
      • Merritt is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 175 people
  • Meade County

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

Cemeteries Near Caputa ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Caputa.

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

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

  • Larsen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Larsen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Larsen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Lawn Memorial Park
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Lawn Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Viewfield Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Viewfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Viewfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elk Vale Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elk Vale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elk Vale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Owanka Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Owanka Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Owanka Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rockerville Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Blackhawk Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blackhawk Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blackhawk Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Fairburn Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairburn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairburn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scenic Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scenic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scenic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Piedmont Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 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.<5>

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

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

  • Farmingdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmingdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmingdale
    • Farmingdale is located in Pennington County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 10 people
  • Folsom
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Folsom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
    • Folsom is located in Custer County
  • Rapid City
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Hermosa
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Creston ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Viewfield
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Viewfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viewfield
    • Viewfield is located in Meade County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 44 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Viewfield
    • From Caputa to Viewfield
  • Bend
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bend
    • Bend is located in Meade County
  • Rockerville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Hayward ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
    • Hayward is located in Pennington County
  • Blackhawk
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Spokane ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spokane. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spokane
    • Spokane is located in Custer County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 3,237 people
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Spokane
    • From Caputa to Spokane
  • Fairburn
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairburn
    • Fairburn is located in Custer County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fairburn <2>
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Sheridan ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheridan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheridan
      • Sheridan is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 447 people
    • Pactola ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pactola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactola
      • Pactola is located in Pennington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pactola
      • From Caputa to Pactola
    • Piedmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Caputa ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Caputa.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Caputa. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Caputa and those printed in the larger area surrounding Caputa.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Caputa.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Caputa:

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

The official website for Pennington County: www.co.pennington.sd.us/

The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.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>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 Caputa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Caputa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Caputa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9947, Longitude: -102.9802    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025