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 Ridgecrest (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 Ridgecrest. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.
Ridgecrest is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Bibb, Blount, Saint Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa & Walker.
Below are the counties that are near Ridgecrest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgecrest:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Ridgecrest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Hoover
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Vestavia Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Homewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Oxmoor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oxmoor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxmoor
- Mountain Brook Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Cahaba Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Shannon
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Shannon is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon
- English Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- English Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Mountain Brook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Duncan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Duncan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Ishkooda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ishkooda is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ishkooda
- Mason City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mason City is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City
- West End
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- West End is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West End
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Eddings
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eddings is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddings
- Cane Creek ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cane Creek is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek
- Green Pond
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Belle Ellen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Belle Ellen is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Ellen
- Blocton Junction
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton Junction is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton Junction
- Blocton Junction has also been known as:
- Blockton Junc
- Seymour
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seymour is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
- Woodstock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nash Town ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nash Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash Town
- North Bibb
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- North Bibb is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bibb
- Brierfield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Italian Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Italian Town is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Town
- Ashby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Ashby is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
- Blocton ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Blocton is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blocton
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Warrior
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- County Line
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Compton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Remlap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Selfville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Chilton County
- Jemison
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Coosa County
- Aucheucaula ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Aucheucaula is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aucheucaula
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Woodland Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Vincent
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Brompton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Moody
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moody is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,292 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moody <1>
- Acmar
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Argo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Cook's Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cook's Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook's Springs
- Margaret
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Fountainrun ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fountainrun is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountainrun
- Easonville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Easonville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easonville
- Odenville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Indian Springs Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Springs Village is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Springs Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,628 people
- Inverness
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Lake Purdy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Tacoa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Falliston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Shoal Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Chelsea
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Helena
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Alabaster
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bamford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bamford is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamford
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Childersburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Bend
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Logan Martin Dam
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Bon Air
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bon Air is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bon Air
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Talladega Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Talladega Springs is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talladega Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
- Fayetteville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fayetteville is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Zubers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Zubers is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zubers
- Comerdale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Comerdale is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comerdale
- Tuscaloosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Tannehill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Tannehill is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannehill
- Lake View
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lake View is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Abernant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Abernant is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abernant
- Bull City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bull City is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull City
- Vance
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Kellerman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Kellerman is located in Tuscaloosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellerman
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Quinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Reeds Ferry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reeds Ferry is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Ferry
- Wyatt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Oakahalla
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Dora
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sumiton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sumiton is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumiton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,330 people
- Former names for Sumiton:
- Commercial
- Democrat
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sumiton <1>
- Red Star
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Red Star is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Star
- Barney
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Barney is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barney
- Creel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgecrest, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgecrest.
Cemeteries Near Ridgecrest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgecrest.
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 Ridgecrest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgecrest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Croft Acton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Bailey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bryan Memorial Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson Garden of Memories
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Indian Springs First Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Old Acton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Grace Community Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace Community Church Cemetery
- The Grace Community Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mars Hill Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
- Sulphur Springs Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2138568 <2>
- Southern Heritage Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southern Heritage Cemetery
- The Southern Heritage Cemetery has also been known as:
- Rideout Southern Heritage Cemetery
- Ridout Southern Heritage Cemetery
- Miller Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Allen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wise Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McDaniel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (354 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Cahaba Heights Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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 Ridgecrest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ridgecrest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgecrest, with the one closest to Ridgecrest listed first.
- Oxmoor
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oxmoor is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxmoor
- Spaulding
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Spaulding is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spaulding
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Powderly
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Powderly is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderly
- Ishkooda
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Ishkooda is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ishkooda
- Duncan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Duncan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Ware
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Ware is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
- Tacoa
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tacoa is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoa
- Bridgeton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Hillman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hillman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman
- Falliston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Falliston is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falliston
- Avondale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Avondale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avondale
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Woodward Junction
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Woodward Junction is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward Junction
- Birmingham
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Morgan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Morgan is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgecrest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgecrest.
Newspapers Published in Ridgecrest ...
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 1 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgecrest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgecrest, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgecrest.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Ridgecrest:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Blount County
- Chilton County
- Coosa County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Tuscaloosa County
- Walker 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 Ridgecrest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgecrest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |