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 Gold Ridge (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 Gold Ridge. 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 Gold Ridge ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Gold Ridge: Gold Rdg. (or less commonly used: Gold Rdge. or Gold Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Gold Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Gold Ridge.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Gold Ridge is located in Randolph 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 Randolph County: Chambers, Clay, Cleburne, Tallapoosa, Carroll (GA), Heard (GA) & Troup (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Gold Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Gold Ridge:
- Randolph County (The home county of Gold Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Graham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Newell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Morrison Crossroad
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Woodland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sewell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sewell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Cambridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Rockdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Milner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Corbin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Corbin is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin
- Wedowee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- West
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- West is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West
- Christiana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Christiana is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christiana
- High Shoals
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- High Shoals is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Iron City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Choccolocco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- De Armanville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- De Armanville is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Armanville
- Friendship
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Friendship is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- White Plains
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Chinnabee ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Chinnabee is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinnabee
- Fort McClellan ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fort McClellan is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort McClellan
- Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Anniston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oxanna is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxanna
- Hobson City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hobson City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Blue Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blue Mountain is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Clackville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clackville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clackville
- Doublehead
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Doublehead is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doublehead
- McCosh Mill ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- McCosh Mill is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCosh Mill
- Abanda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Abanda is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abanda
- Red Level
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Red Level is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Level
- Standing Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Standing Rock is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Standing Rock
- Evansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Evansville is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Milltown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Milltown is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Stroud
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stroud is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stroud
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Delta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Barfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barfield is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfield
- Haynes Crossroad
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Elder
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Cragford
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Lineville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,872 people
- Mellow Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mellow Valley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mellow Valley
- Motley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Motley is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Hightower
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Ranburne
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Micaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Hopewell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Ai
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Hollis Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Heflin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fruithurst
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Muscadine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Edwardsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Abel
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Oak Level
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Grantley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Kentuck
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Silver Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Tallapoosa County
- Truett
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Truett is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truett
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Bowdon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Tyus
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tyus is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyus
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,525 people
- Jonesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Jonesville is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Roopville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Jake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Mount Zion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fairlawn Estates
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn Estates is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 736 people
- Carrollton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bowdon Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lowell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lowell is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Bowers Ferry
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bowers Ferry is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 485 people
- Temple
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whitesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Coweta County (GA)
- Sargent
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Douglas County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Hannah
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hannah is located in Douglas County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hannah
- Tyree
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tyree is located in Douglas County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyree
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Budapest
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Waco
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Waco is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 532 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waco <1>
- Bremen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tabernacle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Buchanan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Morgan is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Felton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Heard County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Ephesus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ephesus is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Yates Crossroads
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Yates Crossroads is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates Crossroads
- Estimated population in 2019: 360 people
- Roosterville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Roosterville is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roosterville
- Frolona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frolona is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frolona
- Centralhatchee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Centralhatchee is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralhatchee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 377 people
- Franklin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riverside is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- O'Neals Crossroad
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- O'Neals Crossroad is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neals Crossroad
- Glenn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Houston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Houston is located in Heard County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Population from the 2010 Census: 110 people
- Troup County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Graysons Landing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Graysons Landing is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graysons Landing
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,452 people
- Evansville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Evansville is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Gold Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Gold Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Gold Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gold Ridge.
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 Gold Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Gold Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Goldridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Rice Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Old Shiloh Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bethena Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cleburne Memorial Garden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<2> to the northwest of Ranburne.
- The Crumley's Chapel Church of God Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crumbleys Chapel Cemetery
- Crumley's Chapel Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254824 <3>
- Williams Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Gilread Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Unity Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Midway Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sandy Flat Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sardis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Gold Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Gold Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Gold Ridge, with the one closest to Gold Ridge listed first.
- Hightower
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Lofty
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lofty is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lofty
- Newell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Graham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Lamar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lamar is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar
- Cambridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cambridge is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
- Sewell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sewell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Joel
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Joel is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
- Bowdon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Micaville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Micaville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micaville
- Rockdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rockdale is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Milner
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Milner is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Victory
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Victory is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
- Hopewell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Waldrep
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Waldrep is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldrep
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Gold Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Gold Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Gold Ridge ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gold Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gold Ridge, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gold Ridge.
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 Gold Ridge:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Randolph County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Chambers County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- Talladega County
- Tallapoosa County
- Carroll County
- Coweta County
- Douglas County
- Haralson County
- Heard County
- Troup 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Gold Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Gold Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |