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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 Platte Colony (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 Platte Colony. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Platte Colony is located in Charles Mix 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 Charles Mix County: Boyd (NE), Knox (NE), Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Douglas, Gregory & Hutchinson.

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

  • Charles Mix County     (The home county of Platte Colony)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Academy
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Academy is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
    • Platte
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
    • Geddes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Aurora Center
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
    • White Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Brule County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Bijou Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Bijou Hills is located in Brule County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bijou Hills
    • Eagle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Eagle is located in Brule County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
    • Ola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Ola is located in Brule County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
      • Estimated population in 2014: 108 people
    • Kimball
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pukwana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Chamberlain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Lyonville is located in Brule County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 49 people
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Joubert
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • New Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Harrison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Gregory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Dixon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Dixon is located in Gregory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixon
      • Estimated population in 2014: 118 people
    • Burke
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gregory
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Herrick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dallas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Charles
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • East Gregory
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • East Gregory is located in Gregory County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Bonesteel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Lyman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte Colony, with the one closest to Platte Colony listed first.
    • Iona
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Oacoma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Tripp County
    • Hamill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Platte Colony ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Platte Colony.

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 Platte Colony - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • LaRoche Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Bijou Hills Union Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Lake George Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Eagle Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Swedish Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Vencels Bohemian National Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Castalia Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • National Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the National Cemetery is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the southwest of Kimball.
    • The National Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Bohemian Cemetery
    • St. Vencels Bohemian Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1983736 <2>
  • German Lutheran Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pleasant Grove Cemetery is located 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the south of Kimball.
    • The Pleasant Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Miller Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97389 <2>
  • Lucas Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Gabrielson Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (48 more) ...
    • Old Platte Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Swedish Lutheran Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Grandview Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 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.<4>

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

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

  • Bijou Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bijou Hills is located in Brule County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bijou Hills
  • Eagle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Eagle is located in Brule County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
  • Ola
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ola is located in Brule County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ola
    • Estimated population in 2014: 108 people
  • Platte
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
  • Kimball
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Pukwana
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Joubert
    (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Joubert is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
    • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Wheeler ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
  • Chamberlain
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • New Holland
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Oacoma
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • White Lake
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lyonville
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lyonville is located in Brule County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyonville
    • Estimated population in 2014: 49 people

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

Newspapers Published in Platte Colony ...

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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Platte Colony.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Platte Colony, 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 Platte Colony.

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 helpful 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 Platte Colony:

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