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 Ravinia (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 Ravinia. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Ravinia 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 Ravinia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ravinia:
- Charles Mix County (The home county of Ravinia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Lake Andes
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wagner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pickstown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Marty
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dante
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Geddes
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Platte
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Aurora County
- Aurora Center
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
- Bon Homme County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Avon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Perkins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Perkins is located in Bon Homme County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
- Kingsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kingsburg is located in Bon Homme County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsburg
- Estimated population in 2014: 697 people
- Tyndall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Douglas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Armour
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Delmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas City ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Douglas City is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
- Corsica
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- New Holland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Joubert
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- Hillside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hillside is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
- Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
- Gregory County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Fort Randall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Randall is located in Gregory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
- East Gregory
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- East Gregory is located in Gregory County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
- Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
- Fairfax
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Bonesteel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hutchinson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Tripp
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Parkston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kaylor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Boyd County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Gross
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gross is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2 people
- Bristow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lynch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Monowi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Monowi is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monowi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1 people
- Spencer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Anoka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Anoka is located in Boyd County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anoka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Butte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Holt County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Redbird
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Redbird is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbird
- Paddock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
- Knox County (NE)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Verdel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Verdel is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30 people
- Pishelville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pishelville is located in Knox County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pishelville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ravinia, see our County-by-County Page for Ravinia.
Cemeteries Near Ravinia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ravinia.
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 Ravinia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ravinia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Cedar Presbyterian Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Lake Andes Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Lake View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Old Ft. Randall Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- West Lake Andes Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cohee Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- German Reform Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- St. Paul Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Randall Valley Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- United Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (109 more) ...
- St. Paul Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Gross Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Ravinia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ravinia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ravinia, with the one closest to Ravinia listed first.
- Armour
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Greenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Greenwood is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 7 people
- Delmont
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Grandview ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Grandview is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Harrison
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Avon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Bristow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lynch
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Spencer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Holland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Joubert
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Joubert is located in Douglas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
- Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Tripp
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Butte
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paddock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Paddock is located in Holt County (NE)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ravinia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ravinia.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ravinia ...
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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ravinia.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ravinia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ravinia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ravinia.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Ravinia.
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 websites either 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 Ravinia:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Charles Mix County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Aurora County
- Bon Homme County
- Douglas County
- Gregory County
- Hutchinson County
- Boyd County
- Holt County
- Knox County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
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> | 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 Ravinia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Ravinia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |