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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 Cordova (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 Cordova. 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 Cordova ...

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.

Cordova was originally named Dent

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 hospitals 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.

Cordova is located in Walker County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Walker County: Blount, Cullman, Fayette, Jefferson, Marion, Tuscaloosa & Winston.

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

  • Walker County     (The home county of Cordova)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Dovertown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Barney
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
      • Barney is located in Walker County
    • Red Star
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Star have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
      • Red Star is located in Walker County
    • America
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Dora
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Parrish
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Burnwell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
      • Burnwell is located in Walker County
    • Oakahalla
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Goodsprings
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodsprings have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
      • Goodsprings is located in Walker County
    • Red Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
      • Red Rock is located in Walker County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Rock
      • From Cordova to Red Rock
    • Jasper
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Reeds Ferry
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Blount County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Red Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
      • Red Hill is located in Blount County
    • Warrior
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warrior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior
      • Warrior is located in Blount County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,190 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warrior <2>
    • Reid's
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Reid's. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reid's
      • Reid's is located in Blount County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Reid's
      • From Cordova to Reid's
    • Smoke Rise
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smoke Rise have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Rise
      • Smoke Rise is located in Blount County
    • Blount Springs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • County Line
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Hayden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Bangor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Selfville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selfville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
      • Selfville is located in Blount County
    • Dallas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dallas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
      • Dallas is located in Blount County
  • Cullman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Ardell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Arkadelphia
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arkadelphia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
      • Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arkadelphia
      • From Cordova to Arkadelphia
    • Baltimore ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baltimore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
      • Baltimore is located in Cullman County
    • Bremen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Colony
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • The Colony
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
      • The Colony is located in Cullman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Black Bottom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Damascus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Crane Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Dodge City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
      • Dodge City is located in Cullman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
    • Trimble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Logan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Logan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
      • Logan is located in Cullman County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Logan <2>
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Alta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
      • Alta is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alta
      • From Cordova to Alta
    • Berry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bankston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Robbins Crossroads
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Media
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • West Jefferson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Jefferson
      • West Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
    • Sayre
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sayre have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayre
      • Sayre is located in Jefferson County
    • Corner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner
      • Corner is located in Jefferson County
    • Black Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Black Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Black Creek is located in Jefferson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Black Creek
      • From Cordova to Black Creek
    • Graysville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graysville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysville
      • Graysville is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,066 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graysville <2>
    • Short Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Alden
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
      • Alden is located in Jefferson County
    • Cardiff
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cardiff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
      • Cardiff is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Pinkney City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinkney City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney City
      • Pinkney City is located in Jefferson County
    • Adamsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Tuscaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Bull City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bull City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
      • Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Kellerman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kellerman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
      • Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kellerman
      • From Cordova to Kellerman
    • New Lexington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Winston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova listed first.
    • Falls City ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Falls City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
      • Falls City is located in Winston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Falls City
      • From Cordova to Falls City
    • Arley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Slick Ford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Slick Ford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slick Ford
      • Slick Ford is located in Winston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Slick Ford
      • From Cordova to Slick Ford
    • Houston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
      • Houston is located in Winston County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houston <2>
    • Lynn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Double Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Farriss
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Farriss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farriss
      • Farriss is located in Winston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Farriss
      • From Cordova to Farriss
    • Addison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Cordova ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cordova.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cordova, with the one closest to Cordova 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 Cordova had a population of 86 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cordova had a population of 1,820 people.

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

  • Parrish
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dora
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Jasper
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Robbins Crossroads
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • South Lowell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Powellville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Gamble
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gamble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gamble
    • Gamble is located in Walker County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Gamble
    • From Cordova to Gamble
  • Porter
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Porter is located in Jefferson County
  • Linn Crossing
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linn Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linn Crossing
    • Linn Crossing is located in Jefferson County
  • Edgil
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Edgil. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgil
    • Edgil is located in Walker County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Edgil
    • From Cordova to Edgil
  • Coal Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coal Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Valley
    • Coal Valley is located in Walker County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Coal Valley
    • From Cordova to Coal Valley
  • Sloan
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sloan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sloan
    • Sloan is located in Blount County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cordova ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cordova.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Cordova. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Cordova and those printed in the larger area surrounding Cordova.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6> of Cordova.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Cordova:

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

The official website for Walker County: www.walkercounty.com/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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 Cordova, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cordova) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cordova. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.7601, Longitude: -87.1836    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025