RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Henry County >> BalkumIndex...

Welcome to Balkum ...

Balkum is located in Henry County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Balkum, you might consider that their post office opened in 1883.

Balkum is 370 feet [113 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Balkum lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Note: If you travel east from Balkum (for example, toward Blakely (GA)), you will soon leave Central Time and cross into the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT).

Area Codes for Balkum: 334 & 483<3>

Communities near Balkum ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Balkum.

  • Dothan
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cedar Springs
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Headland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Blakely
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Blakely is located in Early County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blakely
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,491 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blakely <4>
  • Abbeville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Midland City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Kinsey
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Kinsey is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
  • Ashford
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Cowarts
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Webb
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Webb is located in Houston County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,479 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webb <4>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Balkum. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Balkum.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Balkum. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Balkum.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Balkum. See our Newspapers Page for Balkum.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Balkum ...

Looking for more information about Balkum? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Balkum, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Balkum.

Adding Balkum to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Balkum in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Balkum was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Balkum post office opened in 1883. The Balkum post office closed in 1903.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Balkum.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Henry, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Balkum - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 334 code has been Overlayed with the 483 area code. New phone numbers in the Balkum area will be assigned with one of these codes: 334 or 483. As a result, placing a call in the Balkum area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/