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 Colorado (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 Colorado. 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 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.
Colorado is located in Bastrop County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bastrop County: Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales, Lee & Travis.
Below are the counties that are near Colorado. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Colorado:
- Bastrop County (The home county of Colorado)
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Smithville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Smithville is located in Bastrop County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,664 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithville <2>
- Togo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Togo
- Togo is located in Bastrop County
- Kovar
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kovar
- Kovar is located in Bastrop County
- Upton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Upton is located in Bastrop County
- Rosanky
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bastrop
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bastrop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bastrop
- Bastrop is located in Bastrop County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,743 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bastrop <2>
- Paige
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paige have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paige
- Paige is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paige <2>
- Phelan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelan
- Phelan is located in Bastrop County
- Jeddo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jeddo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jeddo
- Jeddo is located in Bastrop County
- Camp Swift
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Swift
- Camp Swift is located in Bastrop County
- Red Rock
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bateman
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Delhi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
- Delhi is located in Caldwell County
- Pettytown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pettytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettytown
- Pettytown is located in Caldwell County
- Elm Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elm Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Grove
- Elm Grove is located in Caldwell County
- Taylorsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Taylorsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylorsville
- Taylorsville is located in Caldwell County
- McMahan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McMahan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMahan
- McMahan is located in Caldwell County
- Saint Johns Colony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Johns Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns Colony
- Saint Johns Colony is located in Caldwell County
- Dale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Dale is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dale <2>
- Tilmon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tilmon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilmon
- Tilmon is located in Caldwell County
- Lytton Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton Springs
- Lytton Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Seawillow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seawillow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seawillow
- Seawillow is located in Caldwell County
- Colorado County
- Weimar
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Kirtley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirtley
- Kirtley is located in Fayette County
- Stellar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stellar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stellar
- Stellar is located in Fayette County
- West Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- West Point is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Point <2>
- Plum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Plum is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <2>
- Muldoon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Cistern
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cistern
- Cistern is located in Fayette County
- Former names for Cistern:
- Cockrell's Hill
- Milton
- Whiteside's Prairie
- Warda
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Warda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warda
- Warda is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warda <2>
- Colony
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Colony. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Colony is located in Fayette County
- Hostyn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hostyn
- Hostyn is located in Fayette County
- La Grange
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Nechanitz
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nechanitz
- Nechanitz is located in Fayette County
- Freyburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Freyburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freyburg
- Freyburg is located in Fayette County
- Gonzales County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Waelder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Fork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Fork
- Sandy Fork is located in Gonzales County
- Lavaca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Moravia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moravia
- Moravia is located in Lavaca County
- Moulton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Komensky
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komensky
- Komensky is located in Lavaca County
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Serbin ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serbin
- Serbin is located in Lee County
- Giddings
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fedor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fedor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fedor
- Fedor is located in Lee County
- Lincoln
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Loebau
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loebau
- Loebau is located in Lee County
- Knobbs Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobbs Springs
- Knobbs Springs is located in Lee County
- Blue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue
- Blue is located in Lee County
- Lexington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Travis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Garfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Garfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Garfield is located in Travis County
- Webberville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Littig
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littig
- Littig is located in Travis County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Colorado, see our County-by-County Page for Colorado.
Cemeteries Near Colorado ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Colorado.
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 Colorado covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Colorado Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colorado Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colorado Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Thompson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Powell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Powell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Powell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Woods Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woods Prairie Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woods Prairie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Adams Thompson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adams Thompson Cemetery
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Adams Thompson Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Adams Thompson Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<4> to the northwest of Alum Creek.
- The Adams Thompson Cemetery has also been known as:
- Adams Morris Thompson Cemetery
- Thompson - Morris Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2306332 <5>
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Mt. Olive Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olive Cemetery is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> to the east of La Grange.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5401 <5>
- Plum Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plum Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plum Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Shiloh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shiloh Cemetery
- The Shiloh Cemetery has also been known as:
- Winchester Colored Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2390023 <5>
- Winchester Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Old Bartons Creek Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Young Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (165 more) ...
- Grays Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grays Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grays Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Williams Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Robbins Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robbins Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robbins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #6390 <5>
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>
While we didn't find Colorado in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Colorado.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Colorado, with the one closest to Colorado listed first.
- Smithville
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
- Smithville is located in Bastrop County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,664 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Smithville <2>
- Stellar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stellar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stellar
- Stellar is located in Fayette County
- West Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- West Point is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Point <2>
- Winchester
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winchester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Winchester is located in Fayette County
- Alum Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alum Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Creek
- Alum Creek is located in Bastrop County
- Upton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upton
- Upton is located in Bastrop County
- Plum
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum
- Plum is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plum <2>
- Hills Prairie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Prairie
- Hills Prairie is located in Bastrop County
- Cistern
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cistern
- Cistern is located in Fayette County
- Former names for Cistern:
- Cockrell's Hill
- Milton
- Whiteside's Prairie
- Muldoon
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Serbin ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serbin
- Serbin is located in Lee County
- Warda
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Warda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warda
- Warda is located in Fayette County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warda <2>
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Bastrop
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bastrop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bastrop
- Bastrop is located in Bastrop County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,743 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bastrop <2>
- String Prairie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for String Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for String Prairie
- String Prairie is located in Bastrop County
- O'Quinn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for O'Quinn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Quinn
- O'Quinn is located in Fayette County
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Colorado. See our List of 1890's Communities around Colorado.
Newspapers Published in Colorado ...
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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Colorado.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Colorado, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Colorado.
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 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 Colorado:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Bastrop County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Caldwell County
- Colorado County
- Fayette County
- Gonzales County
- Lavaca County
- Lee County
- Travis County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Colorado. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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> | 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- Colorado) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colorado. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 29.9858, Longitude: -97.1342 In this case, the coordinates for Colorado have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
<5> | 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. |
<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 Colorado, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |