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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 Pownal Center (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 Pownal Center. 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.

Name Variations for Pownal Center ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Pownal Center: Pownal Ctr. (or less commonly used: Pownal Cen., Pownal Cent. or Pownal Cntr.)

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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.

Pownal Center is located in Bennington County.

To see how the shape of Vermont's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Bennington County: Berkshire (MA), Franklin (MA), Rensselaer (NY), Washington (NY), Rutland, Windham & Windsor.

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

  • Bennington County     (The home county of Pownal Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pownal Center, with the one closest to Pownal Center listed first.
    • Pownal
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pownal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal
      • Pownal is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,386 people
    • Bennington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Bennington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennington
      • Bennington is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,897 people
    • Old Bennington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Bennington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Bennington
      • Old Bennington is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
    • Stamford
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stamford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamford
      • Stamford is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
    • Paper Mill Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paper Mill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paper Mill Village
      • Paper Mill Village is located in Bennington County
    • Stamford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Woodford Hollow
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • North Bennington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Woodford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
    • Woodford
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • South Shaftsbury
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Readsboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Readsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readsboro
      • Readsboro is located in Bennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 720 people
  • Windham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pownal Center, with the one closest to Pownal Center listed first.
    • Whitingham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitingham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitingham
      • Whitingham is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,271 people
    • Wilmington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Wilmington is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,786 people
    • Wilmington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Somerset
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Somerset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Somerset is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
    • Jacksonville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Whitingham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • West Dover
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • West Halifax
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Dover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,057 people
    • Podunk
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Halifax
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halifax have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
      • Halifax is located in Windham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
    • Goose City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goose City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose City
      • Goose City is located in Windham County
  • Berkshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pownal Center, with the one closest to Pownal Center listed first.
    • Williamstown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
      • Williamstown is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,631 people
    • Greylock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greylock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greylock
      • Greylock is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greylock
      • From Pownal Center to Greylock
    • North Adams
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Zylonite
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zylonite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zylonite
      • Zylonite is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zylonite
      • From Pownal Center to Zylonite
    • Renfrew
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Renfrew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renfrew
      • Renfrew is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Renfrew
      • From Pownal Center to Renfrew
    • New Ashford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Ashford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ashford
      • New Ashford is located in Berkshire County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
    • Adams
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Florida
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Arnoldville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Town Crest Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Town Crest Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Crest Village
      • Town Crest Village is located in Berkshire County (MA)
    • Drury
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Savoy Center
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cheshire
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Franklin County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pownal Center, with the one closest to Pownal Center listed first.
    • Monroe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Franklin County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Monroe Bridge
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Bridge
      • Monroe Bridge is located in Franklin County (MA)
    • Rowe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Heath
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • North Heath
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Charlemont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hawley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawley
      • Hawley is located in Franklin County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Buckland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckland
      • Buckland is located in Franklin County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,851 people
    • Elm Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • 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 Franklin County (MA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elm Grove
      • From Pownal Center to Elm Grove
    • Foundry Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foundry Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foundry Village
      • Foundry Village is located in Franklin County (MA)
    • Colrain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colrain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colrain
      • Colrain is located in Franklin County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,669 people
    • Griswoldville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Hampshire County (MA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pownal Center, with the one closest to Pownal Center listed first.
    • Plainfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Hampshire County (MA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
    • Cummington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Swift River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Worthington Corners
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Albany County (NY)
  • Columbia County (NY)
  • Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Saratoga County (NY)
  • Washington County (NY)

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

Cemeteries Near Pownal Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pownal Center.

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

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

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 Pownal Center had a population of 100 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Pownal
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pownal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal
    • Pownal is located in Bennington County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pownal <2>
  • North Pownal
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Pownal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Pownal
    • North Pownal is located in Bennington County
  • Williamstown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
    • Williamstown is located in Berkshire County (MA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,631 people
  • Bennington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Petersburg Junction
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • North Petersburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Petersburg
    • North Petersburg is located in Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Petersburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
    • Petersburg is located in Rensselaer County (NY)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petersburg <2>
  • Blackinton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackinton
    • Blackinton is located in Berkshire County (MA)
  • Greylock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greylock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greylock
    • Greylock is located in Berkshire County (MA)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Greylock
    • From Pownal Center to Greylock
  • Hoosick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sweets Corner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweets Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweets Corner
    • Sweets Corner is located in Berkshire County (MA)
  • North Adams
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Stamford
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • South Williamstown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Williamstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Williamstown
      • South Williamstown is located in Berkshire County (MA)
    • Briggsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
      • Briggsville is located in Berkshire County (MA)

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

Newspapers Published in Pownal Center ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pownal Center.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pownal Center, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pownal Center.

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 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 Pownal Center:

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

The official website for State of Vermont: https://www.vermont.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 Pownal Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Pownal Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pownal Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7972, Longitude: -73.2214    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025