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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 Placid (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 Placid. 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.

Placid is located in McCulloch 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 McCulloch County: Brown, Coleman, Concho, Mason, Menard & San Saba.

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

  • McCulloch County     (The home county of Placid)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Placid, with the one closest to Placid listed first.
    • Rochelle
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Milburn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
    • Lohn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Brady
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Brady is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
    • Waldrip
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
    • Pear Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Voca
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Camp San Saba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
    • Doole ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Doole is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doole
    • Melvin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Salt Gap ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Salt Gap is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Gap
    • Calf Creek ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Calf Creek is located in McCulloch County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calf Creek
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Placid, with the one closest to Placid listed first.
    • Keys Crossing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Keys Crossing is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keys Crossing
    • Brookesmith
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Indian Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
    • Bangs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Brownwood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ricker ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Ricker is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricker
  • Coleman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Placid, with the one closest to Placid listed first.
    • Whon ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Whon is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whon
    • Rockwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Trickham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Trickham is located in Coleman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
      • Former name for Trickham:
      • Trick'em
    • Gouldbusk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Santa Anna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Voss
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Mason County
  • Mills County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Placid, with the one closest to Placid listed first.
    • Regency ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Regency is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
    • Buffalo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Buffalo is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Ebony ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ebony is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebony
    • Ridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridge is located in Mills County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge
  • San Saba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Placid, with the one closest to Placid listed first.
    • Holt ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Holt is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Richland Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Locker ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Locker is located in San Saba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locker
    • San Saba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Placid ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Placid.

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

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

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

  • Cowboy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Rochelle Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holt Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • McCarty Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Beasley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Cox Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Winchell Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Adams Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Fife Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Vargy Chapel Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Whon Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Lohn Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (55 more) ...
    • Rice Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Rice Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the west of Brookesmith.
    • Richland Springs Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Bowser Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)

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>

While we didn't find Placid in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Placid.

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

  • Rochelle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Milburn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Milburn is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburn
  • Richland Springs
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Brady
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brady is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brady
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,178 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brady <1>
  • Rockwood
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Waldrip
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Waldrip is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrip
  • Indian Creek
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Indian Creek is located in Brown County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Creek
  • Trickham
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Trickham is located in Coleman County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trickham
    • Former name for Trickham:
    • Trick'em
  • Regency ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Regency is located in Mills County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency
  • Voca
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Camp San Saba
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Camp San Saba is located in McCulloch County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp San Saba
  • Fredonia
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Bangs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Katemcy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Katemcy is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Katemcy
    • San Saba
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Placid ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around Placid.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Placid, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Placid.

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 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 Placid:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Placid) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Placid, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.