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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 Blowout (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 Blowout. 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 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.

Blowout is located in Blanco County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Blanco County: Burnet, Comal, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Llano & Travis.

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

  • Blanco County     (The home county of Blowout)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blowout, with the one closest to Blowout listed first.
    • Sandy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Round Mountain
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hye
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Johnson City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cypress Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Flugrath ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Flugrath is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flugrath
    • Blanco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Burnet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blowout, with the one closest to Blowout listed first.
    • Granite Shoals
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Highland Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Highland Haven is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Haven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
    • Cottonwood Shores
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Shovel Mountain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
    • Meadowlakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Meadowlakes is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,733 people
    • Marble Falls
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
      • Mormon Mill has also been known as:
      • Mormon Colony
    • Spicewood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Silver Creek Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Silver Creek Village is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek Village
    • Burnet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Gillespie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blowout, with the one closest to Blowout listed first.
    • Willow City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Eckert
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Eckert is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckert
    • Stonewall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Albert
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Albert is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albert
    • Blumenthal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Blumenthal is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blumenthal
    • Fredericksburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Luckenbach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cain City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cain City is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cain City
    • Grapetown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Grapetown is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapetown
    • Morris Ranch ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Morris Ranch is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Ranch
  • Hays County
    • Henly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Henly is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
  • Kendall County
    • Bankersmith
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bankersmith is located in Kendall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bankersmith
  • Llano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Blowout, with the one closest to Blowout listed first.
    • Click ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Click is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Click
    • Sunrise Beach Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Horseshoe Bay
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Kingsland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Buchanan Dam
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Llano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lone Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Lone Grove is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Grove
    • Bluffton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Buchanan Lake Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Castell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Baby Head ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Baby Head is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baby Head
    • Tow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Mason County
    • Loyal Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Loyal Valley is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyal Valley

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

Cemeteries Near Blowout ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blowout.

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

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

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

  • Davis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Roberts / Shelley / Hardin Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Comanche Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Martin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Youngs Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Willow City Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Smith Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Eckert Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Sandy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Post Oak Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Pecan Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (110 more) ...
    • Honey Creek Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Round Mountain Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Rode 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Blowout had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Willow City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sandy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Click ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Click is located in Llano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Click
  • Round Mountain
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Oxford ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Oxford is located in Llano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
  • Hye
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Stonewall
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Johnson City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Shovel Mountain
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
  • Cypress Mill
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Marble Falls
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Fredericksburg
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Luckenbach
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Llano
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Fairland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairland is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland

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

Newspapers Published in Blowout ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blowout.

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

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 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 Blowout:

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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blowout) 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 Blowout, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.