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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 Scranton (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 Scranton. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Scranton is located in Eastland 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 Eastland County: Brown, Callahan, Comanche, Erath, Palo Pinto, Shackelford & Stephens.

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

  • Eastland County     (The home county of Scranton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Nimrod ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
      • Nimrod is located in Eastland County
    • Cisco
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
      • Cisco is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
    • Mangum ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mangum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangum
      • Mangum is located in Eastland County
    • Carbon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
      • Carbon is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon <2>
    • Rising Star
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Okra
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Okra. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okra
      • Okra is located in Eastland County
    • Eastland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Olden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Kokomo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kokomo
      • Kokomo is located in Eastland County
    • Gorman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
      • Gorman is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorman <2>
    • Ranger
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ranger. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ranger
      • Ranger is located in Eastland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,354 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ranger <2>
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Cross Cut
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Cut
      • Cross Cut is located in Brown County
    • May
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for May have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May
      • May is located in Brown County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for May <2>
  • Callahan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Putnam
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cottonwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
      • Cottonwood is located in Callahan County
    • Cross Plains
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Belle Plain ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle Plain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plain
      • Belle Plain is located in Callahan County
    • Rowden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowden
      • Rowden is located in Callahan County
    • Baird
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baird
      • Baird is located in Callahan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,496 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baird <2>
    • Clyde
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clyde have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Clyde is located in Callahan County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,881 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <2>
    • Denton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denton
      • Denton is located in Callahan County
      • Denton has also been known as:
      • Denton Valley
    • Eula
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eula
      • Eula is located in Callahan County
  • Coleman County
  • Comanche County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Sipe Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipe Springs
      • Sipe Springs is located in Comanche County
    • Duster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Duster. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duster
      • Duster is located in Comanche County
    • Rucker
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rucker
      • Rucker is located in Comanche County
  • Shackelford County
    • Moran
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moran have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moran
      • Moran is located in Shackelford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moran <2>
  • Stephens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Scranton, with the one closest to Scranton listed first.
    • Eureka
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
      • Eureka is located in Stephens County
    • Gunsight ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
      • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
    • Eolian
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eolian
      • Eolian is located in Stephens County
    • Wayland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wayland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Stephens County
    • Necessity
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Necessity
      • Necessity is located in Stephens County

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

Cemeteries Near Scranton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Scranton.

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

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

  • Haskell Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haskell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haskell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pisgah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pisgah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pisgah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sabanno Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sabanno Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sabanno Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dothan Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dothan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dothan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Wayside Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wayside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wayside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oglesby Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oglesby Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oglesby Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salt Tank Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Caddo Peak Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caddo Peak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caddo Peak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (63 more) ...
    • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hart Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Burnt Branch Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burnt Branch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burnt Branch 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.<5>

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

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

  • Nimrod ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimrod
    • Nimrod is located in Eastland County
  • Putnam
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cottonwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
    • Cottonwood is located in Callahan County
  • Romney
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Romney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romney
    • Romney is located in Eastland County
  • Cisco
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cisco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cisco
    • Cisco is located in Eastland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,850 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cisco <2>
  • Cross Plains
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Pioneer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Pioneer is located in Eastland County
  • Belle Plain ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belle Plain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Plain
    • Belle Plain is located in Callahan County
  • Rising Star
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Carbon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carbon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
    • Carbon is located in Eastland County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carbon <2>
  • Baird
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baird
    • Baird is located in Callahan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,496 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baird <2>
  • Cross Cut
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Cut
    • Cross Cut is located in Brown County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Eastland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Gunsight ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunsight
      • Gunsight is located in Stephens County
    • Burkett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Scranton ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Scranton.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Scranton, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Scranton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Scranton:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Scranton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Eastland County: www.eastlandcountytexas.com/

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>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 Scranton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Scranton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Scranton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.3051, Longitude: -99.1070       In this case, the coordinates for Scranton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025