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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 Plainview (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 Plainview. 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.

Plainview is located in Hale County and is the County Seat.

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 Hale County: Castro, Crosby, Floyd, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock & Swisher.

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

  • Hale County     (The home county of Plainview)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Seth Ward
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seth Ward
      • Seth Ward is located in Hale County
    • Hale City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hale City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale City
      • Hale City is located in Hale County
    • Edmonson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edmonson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonson
      • Edmonson is located in Hale County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edmonson <2>
    • Hale Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cotton Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Center
      • Cotton Center is located in Hale County
    • Petersburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Abernathy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
  • Briscoe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Whitney
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
      • Whitney is located in Briscoe County
    • Silverton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Castro County
    • Hart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Hart is located in Castro County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,016 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <2>
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Aiken
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aiken have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken
      • Aiken is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aiken <2>
    • Lockney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockney
      • Lockney is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lockney <2>
    • Sterley ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sterley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterley
      • Sterley is located in Floyd County
    • South Plains
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Della Plain ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Della Plain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Della Plain
      • Della Plain is located in Floyd County
    • Floydada
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floydada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floydada
      • Floydada is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,654 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Floydada <2>
    • Cedar Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
      • Cedar Hill is located in Floyd County
  • Lamb County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Olton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hart Camp ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart Camp
      • Hart Camp is located in Lamb County
    • Spade
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spade
      • Spade is located in Lamb County
    • Fieldton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fieldton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fieldton
      • Fieldton is located in Lamb County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fieldton <2>
  • Lubbock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Becton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becton
      • Becton is located in Lubbock County
    • Heckville ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heckville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heckville
      • Heckville is located in Lubbock County
  • Swisher County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Plainview, with the one closest to Plainview listed first.
    • Kress
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Claytonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claytonville
      • Claytonville is located in Swisher County
    • Tulia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulia
      • Tulia is located in Swisher County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,606 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tulia <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Plainview ...

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 Plainview.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Plainview. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Plainview and those printed in the larger area surrounding Plainview.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Plainview.

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 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 Plainview:

Cemeteries Near Plainview ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Plainview.

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

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

  • Plainview Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plainview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plainview Cemetery
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
  • Plainview Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Hale Center Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Kress Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kress Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kress Cemetery
  • Halfway Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Halfway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Halfway Cemetery
  • Wright Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wright Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wright Cemetery
  • Center Plains Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
  • Olton Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olton Cemetery
  • Strip / Pearce Chapel Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Strip / Pearce Chapel Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the west of Abernathy.
    • The Strip / Pearce Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pearce Chapel Cemetery
    • Strip Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strip / Pearce Chapel Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #7115 <5>
  • Petersburg Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Petersburg Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Petersburg.
    • The Petersburg Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Veterans Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Petersburg Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #150702 <5>
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Floydada Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Floydada Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Floydada Cemetery
    • Hart Cemetery
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Becton Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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, Plainview had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Plainview had a population of 19,670 people.

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

  • Hale City ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hale City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale City
    • Hale City is located in Hale County
  • Lockney
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockney
    • Lockney is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,619 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lockney <2>
  • Della Plain ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Della Plain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Della Plain
    • Della Plain is located in Floyd County
  • Tulia
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulia
    • Tulia is located in Swisher County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,606 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tulia <2>
  • Floydada
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floydada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floydada
    • Floydada is located in Floyd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,654 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Floydada <2>

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

The official website for Plainview: www.ci.plainview.tx.us/

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' (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- Plainview) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plainview. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.1918, Longitude: -101.7245    
<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 Plainview, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024