Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Portland. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Portland to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Portland, please Contact Us.
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 Portland (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 Portland. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Portland is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Portland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Portland:
- Dallas County (The home county of Portland)
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Richmond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Richmond is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- Crumptonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Crumptonia is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumptonia
- Carlowville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Carlowville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlowville
- Kings
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Belknap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Belknap is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Orrville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Minter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Minter is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
- Cahawba ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cahawba is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahawba
- Sardis
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Safford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Casey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Casey is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casey
- Central Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Central Mills is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Mills
- Autauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Jones Bluff Dam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Jones Bluff Dam is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Bluff Dam
- Statesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Statesville is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statesville
- Butler County
- Forest Home
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lowndes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Collirene
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Collirene is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collirene
- Bragg's
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bragg's is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg's
- Petronia
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Petronia is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petronia
- Benton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Benton is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Gordonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Gordonville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Mosses
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mosses is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosses
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- White Hall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- White Hall is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- Marengo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Flatwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Flatwood is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatwood
- Consul
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Consul is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Consul
- Crenshaw ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Crenshaw is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crenshaw
- Thomaston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Thomaston is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomaston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 383 people
- Magnolia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Magnolia is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Vineland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Vineland is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland
- Dayton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dayton is located in Marengo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Vredenburgh
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Vredenburgh is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vredenburgh
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Buena Vista is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Hybart
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hybart is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hybart
- Pineville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pineville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineville
- Beatrice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lovan ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Lovan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovan
- Natchez
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Natchez is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natchez
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Augustin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Augustin is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augustin
- Freetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Freetown is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freetown
- Suttle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Suttle is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suttle
- Vilula
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Vilula is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilula
- Ellawhite
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Ellawhite is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellawhite
- The Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- The Village is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village
- Uniontown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wilcox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Boykin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Boykin is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boykin
- Ackerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ackerville is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackerville
- Estelle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Estelle is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Rehoboth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rehoboth is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehoboth
- Camden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Millers Ferry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Millers Ferry is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
- Prairie Bluff ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Prairie Bluff is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Bluff
- Prairie Bluff has also been known as:
- Dale
- Daletown
- McBrydes
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- McBrydes is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBrydes
- Snow Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Furman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Furman is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furman
- Rockwest
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwest is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwest
- Alberta
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Alberta is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
- Gastonburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Gastonburg is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gastonburg
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Portland, see our County-by-County Page for Portland.
Cemeteries Near Portland ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portland.
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 Portland - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Portland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- McMillan Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Turner Field Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Molette Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Boykin Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Seale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Butler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Center Ridge Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Leveton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hotel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Providence Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (253 more) ...
- Athens Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McMillan Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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.
Portland itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 76 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Portland, with the one closest to Portland listed first.
- Tasso
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Tasso is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tasso
- Tilden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Tilden is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- Richmond
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Richmond is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
- King's Landing
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- King's Landing is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King's Landing
- Crumptonia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Crumptonia is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crumptonia
- Carlowville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Carlowville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlowville
- Dawson's
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Dawson's is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson's
- Pleasant Hill Station
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Kings
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Kings is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings
- Belknap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Belknap is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belknap
- Orrville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Minter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Minter is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minter
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Berlin
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Berlin is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlin
- Cahawba ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Cahawba is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahawba
- Rehoboth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Rehoboth is located in Wilcox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rehoboth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Portland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Portland.
Newspapers Published in Portland ...
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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portland.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Portland, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Portland.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Portland:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Dallas County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Butler County
- Lowndes County
- Marengo County
- Monroe County
- Perry County
- Wilcox County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Portland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Portland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |