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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Hillside (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 Hillside. 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 southeast 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 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 east 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.

Hillside is located in Douglas County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Douglas County: Aurora, Charles Mix, Davison & Hutchinson.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Hillside)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Douglas City ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Douglas City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
    • Corsica
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Armour
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Delmont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Harrison
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • New Holland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Joubert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Stickney
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Aurora Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
    • Plankinton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Storla
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Storla is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Storla
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6 people
    • White Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Charles Mix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Ravinia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Wagner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Wagner is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wagner <1>
    • Lake Andes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Geddes
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Geddes is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geddes <1>
    • Dante
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Dante is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dante <1>
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Ethan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Vernon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • River Bluff Addition
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • River Bluff Addition is located in Davison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
    • Mitchell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Loomis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Hanson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Rockport Colony
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockport Colony is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 32 people
    • Alexandria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fulton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Plano
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Plano is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
    • Farwell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Farwell is located in Hanson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hillside, with the one closest to Hillside listed first.
    • Dimock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Parkston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • New Elm Springs Colony
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • New Elm Springs Colony is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elm Springs Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 600 people
    • Milltown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
    • Tripp
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Tripp is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripp
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 614 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripp <1>
    • Tschetter Colony
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Tschetter Colony is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tschetter Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 80 people
    • Kaylor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wolf Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wolf Creek is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
      • Estimated population in 2014: 195 people
  • Sanborn County
    • Letcher
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Hillside ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hillside.

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

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

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

  • St. John Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Roberts Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Friedhof Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Church of God Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Evangelic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Emsley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Old Ebenezer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (94 more) ...
    • Immanuel Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Neusatz Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Miller Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Grandview ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Grandview is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
  • Armour
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Parkston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ethan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Delmont
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Mount Vernon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Harrison
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Mitchell
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Tripp
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Tripp is located in Hutchinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripp
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 614 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripp <1>
  • Milltown
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Milltown is located in Hutchinson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
    • Estimated population in 2014: 115 people
  • New Holland
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Plankinton
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Joubert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • Alexandria
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fulton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Hillside ...

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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hillside.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hillside, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hillside.

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 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 Hillside:

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>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 Hillside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Hillside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.