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 Polk (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 Polk. 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.
Polk is located in Dallas 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 Dallas County: Autauga, Chilton, Lowndes, Marengo, Perry & Wilcox.
Below are the counties that are near Polk. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Polk:
- Dallas County (The home county of Polk)
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Old Town
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Old Town is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Tyler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Casey
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Casey is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casey
- Sardis
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Kings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Belknap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Cahawba ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cahawba is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahawba
- Burnsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burnsville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Selma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Mill Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sunset Mill Village is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Mill Village
- Minter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Minter is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
- Autauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Jones Bluff Dam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Bluff Dam is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Bluff Dam
- Statesville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Statesville is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesville
- Autaugaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Autaugaville is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Autaugaville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 882 people
- Fremont
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Fremont is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fremont
- Independence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Independence is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Jones
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Jones is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Vine Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Vine Hill is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vine Hill
- Booth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Booth is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth
- Gibbons ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gibbons is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbons
- Haynes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Haynes is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
- Melmar
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Melmar is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmar
- Billingsley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Butler County
- Forest Home
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Chilton County
- Riderville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Riderville is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riderville
- Lowndes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Benton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Benton is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Petronia
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Petronia is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petronia
- Collirene
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Collirene is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collirene
- White Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- White Hall is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- Gordonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gordonville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Mosses
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mosses is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosses
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- Lowndesboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Bragg's
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bragg's is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg's
- Hayneville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Burkville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Burkville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkville
- Letohatchee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Letohatchee is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letohatchee
- Fort Deposit
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Catoma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Catoma is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoma
- Stone's
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stone's is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone's
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Augustin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Augustin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augustin
- Suttle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Suttle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttle
- Vilula
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Vilula is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilula
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Furman
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Furman is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Snow Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Snow Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Ackerville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ackerville is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackerville
- McBrydes
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- McBrydes is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBrydes
- Boykin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boykin is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
- Oak Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Estelle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Estelle is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Pine Apple
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Apple is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Apple
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Caledonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Caledonia is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Schuster
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Schuster is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schuster
- Rehoboth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rehoboth is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehoboth
- Alberta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Alberta is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Polk, see our County-by-County Page for Polk.
Cemeteries Near Polk ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Polk.
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 Polk - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Polk covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Town Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek Cemetery
- The Town Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hardy Family Cemetery
- Old Town Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26710 <2>
- Moore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Moore Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sister Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Robert Rives Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Good Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Underwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mt. Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rives Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dunklin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (261 more) ...
- Dunklin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Gilead Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mt. Gillard Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Polk had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Benton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Benton is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Tyler
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Kings
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Pleasant Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Collirene
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Collirene is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collirene
- Berlin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Berlin is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Belknap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Pleasant Hill Station
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- White Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- White Hall is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- King's Landing
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- King's Landing is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King's Landing
- Dawson's
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dawson's is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson's
- Cahawba ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Cahawba is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahawba
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Burnsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Burnsville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Farmersville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Farmersville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersville
- Gordonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gordonville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Polk. See our List of 1890's Communities around Polk.
Newspapers Published in Polk ...
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 Polk.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Polk, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Polk.
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 Polk:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Dallas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Butler County
- Chilton County
- Lowndes County
- Montgomery County
- Perry County
- Wilcox 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 Polk, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Polk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |