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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Mertens (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 Mertens. 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 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.

Mertens is located in Hill 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 Hill County: Bosque, Ellis, Johnson, Limestone, McLennan & Navarro.

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

  • Hill County     (The home county of Mertens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • Brandon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Brandon is located in Hill County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <2>
    • Irene
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
      • Irene is located in Hill County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irene <2>
    • Bynum
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bynum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
      • Bynum is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bynum <2>
    • Malone
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malone
      • Malone is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malone <2>
    • Carl's Corner
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carl's Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl's Corner
      • Carl's Corner is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Penelope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Chatt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lovelace
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hillsboro
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Hubbard
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
      • Hubbard is located in Hill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,418 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbard <2>
    • Abbott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Itasca
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Peoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Ellis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • Milford
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Italy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italy
      • Italy is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,964 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Italy <2>
    • Avalon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avalon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
      • Avalon is located in Ellis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avalon <2>
    • Forreston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Nash
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Boz
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Howard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Maypearl
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maypearl have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maypearl
      • Maypearl is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,046 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maypearl <2>
    • Bardwell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bardwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardwell
      • Bardwell is located in Ellis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bardwell <2>
    • Auburn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Boyce
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Waxahachie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Ennis
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • Grandview
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,817 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grandview <2>
    • Parker
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cuba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
      • Cuba is located in Johnson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cuba
      • From Mertens to Cuba
    • Alvarado
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvarado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvarado <2>
    • Coyote Flats
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rio Vista
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Limestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • Delia ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delia
      • Delia is located in Limestone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delia
      • From Mertens to Delia
    • Coolidge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coolidge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolidge
      • Coolidge is located in Limestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 950 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coolidge <2>
    • Prairie Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Hill
      • Prairie Hill is located in Limestone County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie Hill <2>
    • Watt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Tehuacana
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • McLennan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • West
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
      • West is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,969 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West <2>
    • Tours
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Leroy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leroy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
      • Leroy is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leroy <2>
    • Ross
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Ross is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 272 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ross <2>
    • Axtell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Elm Mott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Elk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Gholson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gholson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gholson
      • Gholson is located in McLennan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,127 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gholson
      • From Mertens to Gholson
  • Navarro County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mertens, with the one closest to Mertens listed first.
    • Frost
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Blooming Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blooming Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
      • Blooming Grove is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blooming Grove <2>
    • Dresden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Spring Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Cryer Creek ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Navarro Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Barry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Dawson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dawson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <2>
    • Silver City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • 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 Navarro County
    • Purdon
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Emhouse
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emhouse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emhouse
      • Emhouse is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Oak Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Valley
      • Oak Valley is located in Navarro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 427 people
    • Pursley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pursley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pursley
      • Pursley is located in Navarro County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pursley
      • From Mertens to Pursley

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

Cemeteries Near Mertens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mertens.

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

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

  • Richland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Blanton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blanton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blanton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Brandon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Brandon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Blanton - Hooser Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blanton - Hooser Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blanton - Hooser Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Frost Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Graham Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graham Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walling Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walling Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walling Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pevehouse Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (151 more) ...
    • Pelham Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pelham Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pelham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lone Oak Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Oak Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Burross Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burross Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 in 1895, Mertens had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Mertens had a population of 131 people.

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

  • Brandon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
    • Brandon is located in Hill County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <2>
  • Irene
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irene
    • Irene is located in Hill County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irene <2>
  • Frost
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Milford
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Emmett
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmett
    • Emmett is located in Navarro County
  • Bynum
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bynum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Bynum is located in Hill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bynum <2>
  • Italy
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italy
    • Italy is located in Ellis County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,964 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Italy <2>
  • Blooming Grove
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blooming Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
    • Blooming Grove is located in Navarro County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blooming Grove <2>
  • Avalon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avalon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
    • Avalon is located in Ellis County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avalon <2>
  • Dresden
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Spring Hill
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillsboro
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Mertens ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mertens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mertens, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mertens.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Mertens:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mertens. 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>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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mertens) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mertens. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.0585, Longitude: -96.8969    
<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 Mertens, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025