Pennsylvania Gazetteers

Online Gazetteers

 * FamilySearch Places
 * GeoNames Gazetteer
 * Wiki - Pennsylvania Counties and Former Counties
 * A gazetteer of the State of Pennsylvania Thomas F Gordon. A Gazetteer of the State of Pennsylvania : a part first, contains a general description of the state, its situation and extent, general geological construction, canals, and rail-roads, bridges, revenue, expenditures, public debt, &c. &c. ; part second, embraces ample descriptions of counties, towns... Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : T. Belknap, 1832
 * Post Offices in the United State as of January 1851 Post Offices in the United States as of January 1851. Washington, W. & J.C. Greer, Printers, 1851

Print Only Gazetteers

 * Pennsylvania Place Names Abraham Howry Espenshade. Pennsylvania Place Names. State College, Pennsylvania : Pennsylvania State College, [c1925]
 * Pennsylvania Gazetteer Pennsylvania Gazetteer. Wilmington, Delaware : American Historical Publications, c1989
 * Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania. New York, New York : Somerset Publishers, c1983
 * Alphabetical listing of cities and towns of Pennsylvania and their county locations, 1961 Dept of Agri Econo and Rural Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University. Alphabetical Listing of Cities and Towns of Pennsylvania and their County Locations, 1961. [S.l.] : Pennsylvania State University, 1961
 * Dictionary of Pennsylvania place names Sandy Nestor. Dictionary of Pennsylvania Place Names. Apollo, Pennsylvania : Closson Press, c2012
 * Indian Places Names in Pennsylvania George Patterson Donehoo. Indian Place Names in Pennsylvania. Baltimore, Maryland : Gateway Press, 1977 [c1928]

Why Use Gazetteers
A gazetteer is a dictionary of place-names. Gazetteers list or describe towns and villages, parishes, states, populations, rivers and mountains, and other geographical features. They usually include only the names of places that existed at the time the gazetteer was published. Within a specific geographical area, the place-names are listed in alphabetical order, similar to a dictionary. You can use a gazetteer to locate the places where your family lived and to determine the civil and religious jurisdictions over those places.

There are many places within a state with similar or identical place-names. You will need to use a gazetteer to identify the specific town where your ancestor lived, the state the town was or is in, and the jurisdictions where records about the person was kept.

Gazetteer Contents
Gazetteers may also provide additional information about towns, such as:


 * Different religious denominations
 * Schools, colleges, and universities
 * Major manufacturers, canals, docks, and railroad stations
 * The population size.
 * Boundaries of civil jurisdiction.
 * Ecclesiastical jurisdiction(s)
 * Longitude and latitude.
 * Distances and direction from other from cities.
 * Schools, colleges, and universities.
 * Denominations and number of churches.
 * Historical and biographical information on some individuals (usually high-ranking or famous individuals)