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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 Rapid City (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 Rapid City. 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.

Rapid City is located in Pennington 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 Pennington County: Custer, Haakon, Jackson, Lawrence, Meade, Oglala Lakota & Weston (WY).

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

  • Pennington County     (The home county of Rapid City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid City, with the one closest to Rapid City listed first.
    • Sioux Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Rapid Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Wildwood Addition
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Ashland Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Murphy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Green Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Colonial Pine Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Ridgeland Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridgeland Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland Heights
      • Ridgeland Heights is located in Pennington County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 11 people
    • South Canyon Country Estates
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Canyon Country Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Canyon Country Estates
      • South Canyon Country Estates is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 364 people
    • Box Elder
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Stratosphere Bowl
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Johnson Siding
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Custer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid City, with the one closest to Rapid City listed first.
    • Hermosa
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Spokane ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 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 Rapid City to Spokane
    • State Game Lodge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Fairburn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Custer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lawrence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapid City, with the one closest to Rapid City listed first.
    • Nemo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Tomahawk
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Merritt
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Greenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Diamond City ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Roubaix
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Galena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Gregory ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Woodville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Lawrence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodville
      • From Rapid City to Woodville
    • Dumont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Meade County

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

Cemeteries Near Rapid City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rapid City.

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rapid City had a population of 2,128 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rapid City had a population of 78,864 people.

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

  • Blackhawk
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Rockerville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Piedmont
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pactola ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 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 Rapid City to Pactola
  • Sheridan ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Bend
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Hayward ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • 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
  • Nemo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hermosa
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Silver City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver City
    • Silver City is located in Pennington County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
  • Merritt
    (17 miles [27.4 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
  • Spokane ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 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 Rapid City to Spokane
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Farmingdale
      (18 miles [29 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
    • Tilford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tilford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilford
      • Tilford is located in Meade County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tilford
      • From Rapid City to Tilford
    • Hill City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rapid City ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rapid City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rapid City. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rapid City and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rapid City.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5> of Rapid City.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Rapid City:

The official website for Rapid City: www.rcgov.org/

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rapid City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rapid City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0828, Longitude: -103.2245    
<6>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 Rapid City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025