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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 Custer (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 Custer. 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 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.

Custer is located in Custer County and is the County Seat.

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 Custer County: Fall River, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, Niobrara (WY) & Weston (WY).

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

  • Custer County     (The home county of Custer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Sanator
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sanator have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanator
      • Sanator is located in Custer County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,350 people
    • Fourmile
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fourmile have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourmile
      • Fourmile is located in Custer County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 70 people
    • State Game Lodge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Pringle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pringle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pringle
      • Pringle is located in Custer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pringle <2>
    • Spokane ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 Custer to Spokane
    • Fairburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Hermosa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Ivanhoe ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Custer County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 144 people
    • Buffalo Gap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Dewey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Fall River County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Erskine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Erskine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erskine
      • Erskine is located in Fall River County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Erskine
      • From Custer to Erskine
    • Hot Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cascade Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Oral
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oral have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oral
      • Oral is located in Fall River County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oral <2>
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Merritt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Diamond City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Diamond City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond City
      • Diamond City is located in Lawrence County
    • Gregory ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
      • Gregory is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,264 people
    • Nemo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Tomahawk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tomahawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
      • Tomahawk is located in Lawrence County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 36 people
  • Meade County
  • Pennington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Hill City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
      • Hill City is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,074 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hill City <2>
    • Keystone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Frenchtown ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
      • Frenchtown is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 276 people
    • Harney
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
      • Harney is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 64 people
    • Hayward ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Sheridan ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Rockerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratosphere Bowl
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratosphere Bowl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratosphere Bowl
      • Stratosphere Bowl is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 72 people
    • Mystic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Pactola ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • 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 Custer to Pactola
    • Colonial Pine Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Canyon City ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon City
      • Canyon City is located in Pennington County
  • Weston County (WY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Custer, with the one closest to Custer listed first.
    • Clifton ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Weston County (WY)
    • Hill View Heights
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill View Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill View Heights
      • Hill View Heights is located in Weston County (WY)
    • Spencer ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spencer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
      • Spencer is located in Weston County (WY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spencer
      • From Custer to Spencer
    • Newcastle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Custer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Custer.

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

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

  • Custer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Custer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Custer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pringle Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pringle Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pringle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mountain View Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockerville Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairburn Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hot Springs National Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hot Springs National Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hot Springs National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rochford Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rochford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rochford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buffalo Gap Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buffalo Gap Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buffalo Gap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Lawn Memorial Park
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Hines Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hines Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Blackhawk Cemetery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Custer had a population of 790 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Custer had a population of 1,926 people.

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

  • Berne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berne
    • Berne is located in Custer County
  • Oreville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oreville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreville
    • Oreville is located in Pennington County
  • Pringle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pringle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pringle
    • Pringle is located in Custer County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pringle <2>
  • Hill City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Hill City is located in Pennington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,074 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hill City <2>
  • Spokane ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • 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 Custer to Spokane
  • Hayward ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Sheridan ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Argyle
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argyle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argyle
    • Argyle is located in Custer County
  • Redfern
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redfern have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redfern
    • Redfern is located in Pennington County
  • Rockerville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ivanhoe ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivanhoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
    • Ivanhoe is located in Custer County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 144 people
  • Fairburn
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • 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   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Custer ...

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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Custer.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Custer:

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

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 Custer, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Custer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Custer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.7662, Longitude: -103.6003    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025