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 Mars Hill (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 Mars Hill. 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 Mars Hill ...
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.
While the name of this community is Mars Hill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Mars Hill may originally have been Mar's Hill.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Mars Hill might be written as Mar Hill.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mars Hill. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mars Hill.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Mars Hill is located in Cleburne 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 Cleburne County: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Randolph, Talladega, Carroll (GA), Haralson (GA) & Polk (GA).
Below are the counties that are near Mars Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mars Hill:
- Cleburne County (The home county of Mars Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Oak Level
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Borden Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Fruithurst
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Muscadine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Grantley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Edwardsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Ai
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Hopewell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- Heflin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hightower
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hightower is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightower
- Ranburne
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Dailey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dailey is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
- Abernathy ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Abernathy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernathy
- Piedmont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nances Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Goshen ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Goshen is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- White Plains
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- White Plains is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
- Collins ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Collins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Iron City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Iron City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Merrellton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Jacksonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Choccolocco
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Choccolocco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choccolocco
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Tecumseh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Tecumseh is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tecumseh
- Spring Garden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Rock Run
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Exie
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Ball Flat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Noah
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Tucker Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tucker Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker Crossroads
- Moshat
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Howells Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Howells Crossroads is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howells Crossroads
- Howells Crossroads has also been known as:
- Howells Cross Roads
- Kirk's Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kirk's Grove is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirk's Grove
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Banner
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Ballplay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Hokes Bluff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- Hale ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hale is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hale
- Cobb City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Graham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Graham is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham
- Newell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Newell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Morrison Crossroad
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Morrison Crossroad is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison Crossroad
- Bartow County (GA)
- Taylorsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Carroll County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Jake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jake is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jake
- Estimated population in 2019: 146 people
- Bowdon Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Zion
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jonesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jonesville is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Temple
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bowdon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hart Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hart Town is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart Town
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,437 people
- Carrollton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairlawn Estates
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairlawn Estates is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 736 people
- Driskolls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Driskolls is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driskolls
- Tyus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Tyus is located in Carroll County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyus
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,525 people
- Roopville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Douglas County (GA)
- Villa Rica
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Floyd County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Cave Spring
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Brice
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Brice is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice
- Silver Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wax
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wax is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wax
- Lindale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Robealou Acres
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Robealou Acres is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robealou Acres
- Estimated population in 2019: 973 people
- Atlanta Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Atlanta Junction is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta Junction
- Rosemont Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rosemont Park is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont Park
- Coosa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oreburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Oreburg is located in Floyd County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oreburg
- Haralson County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Tallapoosa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Felton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Tabernacle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Tabernacle is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabernacle
- Budapest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Budapest is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budapest
- Buchanan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Waco
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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 <2>
- Bremen
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Morgan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Morgan is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Paulding County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Braswell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Braswell is located in Paulding County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braswell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 386 people
- Hanlin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hanlin is located in Paulding County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlin
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,298 people
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Esom Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
- Cedartown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Grady ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Grady is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Estimated population in 2019: 290 people
- Rockmart
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Seney
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Seney is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seney
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,412 people
- Aragon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mars Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Mars Hill.
Cemeteries Near Mars Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mars Hill.
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 Mars Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mars Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Mt. Perry Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Roe Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cherry Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Steadman Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Poplar Springs Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Littlecreek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlecreek Cemetery
- The Littlecreek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Little Creek Cemetery
- Mt. Zion West Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mann Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Salem Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (408 more) ...
- New Canaan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Hutching Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edmondson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Mars Hill in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mars Hill.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mars Hill, with the one closest to Mars Hill listed first.
- Oak Level
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Coldwater
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Coldwater is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Little Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Little Creek is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Creek
- Poplar Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Poplar Springs is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Springs
- Muscadine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Hooper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hooper is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Palestine
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Borden Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Esom Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Grantley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Tallapoosa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Dugdown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Dugdown is located in Haralson County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdown
- Felton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Walthrall ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Walthrall is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walthrall
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mars Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mars Hill.
Newspapers Published in Mars Hill ...
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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mars Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mars Hill, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mars Hill.
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 either 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 Mars Hill:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Cleburne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cherokee County
- Etowah County
- Randolph County
- Bartow County
- Carroll County
- Douglas County
- Floyd County
- Haralson County
- Paulding County
- Polk County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Mars Hill, 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- Mars Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |