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 Courtland Downs (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 Courtland Downs. 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 and hospitals 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.
Courtland Downs is located in Lawrence County.
To see how the shape of Alabama's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lawrence County: Colbert, Cullman, Franklin, Limestone, Morgan & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Courtland Downs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Courtland Downs:
- Lawrence County (The home county of Courtland Downs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Courtland
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- North Courtland
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Town Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Red Bank
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Mountain Home
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Hillsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wheeler Dam Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Hatton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Edmond
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Chalybeate Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Concord
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Muck City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Leighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Ford City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Nitrate City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Muscle Shoals
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wilson Dam
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Littleville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- South Florence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- White House Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Russellville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Churntown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Churntown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churntown
- Rockwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Spruce Pine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spruce Pine is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Pine
- Phil Campbell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Dells Vista Shores
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dells Vista Shores is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dells Vista Shores
- Rogersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Elgin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Confluence
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Confluence is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Confluence
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Estep ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Estep is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estep
- Cedar Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Corum ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Anderson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Killen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Comer
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Ripley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Poplar Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Lentzville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Cairo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Harris Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harris Station is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Station
- Orrville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Orrville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrville
- Tanner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Athens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Country Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Lester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Belle Mina
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Belle Mina is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Mina
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Hay's Mill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Trinity
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Moulton Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Simpson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Decatur
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Russell Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Russell Village is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Village
- Danville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Flint City is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint City
- Burningtree Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Burningtree Mountain is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burningtree Mountain
- Priceville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hartselle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Plains
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Plains is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Plains
- Leesdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Leesdale is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesdale
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Grayson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Grayson is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Ellaville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ellaville is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellaville
- Upshaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Upshaw is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upshaw
- Pebble
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pebble is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble
- Prebble ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Prebble is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prebble
- Ashridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ashridge is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashridge
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Minor Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Rascal Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Appleton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Liberty Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Saint Joseph
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Iron City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Loretto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Busby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Courtland Downs, see our County-by-County Page for Courtland Downs.
Cemeteries Near Courtland Downs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Courtland Downs.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Courtland Downs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Courtland Downs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Bynum Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Garth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ashford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Courtland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ashford Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Owens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Graham Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mayes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Gilchrist Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sykes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sykes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Sykes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (770 more) ...
- Byrd Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Rocky Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Courtland Downs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Courtland Downs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Courtland Downs, with the one closest to Courtland Downs listed first.
- Courtland
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Town Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mountain Home
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Edmond
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Hatton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Hillsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bingham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bingham is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
- Rogersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Concord
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Leighton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Moulton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Ripley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Landersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Landersville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landersville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Courtland Downs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Courtland Downs.
Newspapers Published in Courtland Downs ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Courtland Downs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Courtland Downs, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Courtland Downs.
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 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 Courtland Downs:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lawrence County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Franklin County
- Lauderdale County
- Limestone County
- Morgan County
- Winston County
- Giles County
- Lawrence County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Courtland Downs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Courtland Downs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |