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 Ridgewood (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 Ridgewood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Ridgewood 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 Ridgewood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgewood:
- Jefferson County (The home county of Ridgewood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Clay
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Palmerdale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Pinson
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Village Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Chalkville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Grayson Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Grayson Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson Valley
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Center Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ayres
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Cahaba Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cahaba Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahaba Village
- Crosston
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Breakstone Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Dale ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Dale is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dale
- Compton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Remlap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Selfville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- County Line
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- County Line is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Dallas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Adville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Locust Fork
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Warrior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Little Warrior
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Hayden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Deavers
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- Black Bottom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Colony
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- Garden City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Arkadelphia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- The Colony
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Damascus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Hanceville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- White City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Bremen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dodge City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Good Hope
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Good Hope is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,393 people
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Nix ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Altoona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Parsons
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Margaret
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Acmar
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Springville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Moody
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Woodland Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Woodland Village is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Brompton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brompton is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brompton
- Branchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Dunnavant
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Bridgeton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Vandiver
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Purdy
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Shoal Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Inverness
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Inverness is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inverness
- Meadowbrook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Meadowbrook is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Sterrett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Chelsea
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Indian Springs Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- 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
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Logan Martin Dam
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Logan Martin Dam is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Martin Dam
- Colony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- East Bend
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Bend is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bend
- Windsong Island
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Lincoln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Creel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Sumiton
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- 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>
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Oakahalla
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Oakahalla is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakahalla
- Quinton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyatt
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wyatt is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyatt
- Yerkwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Yerkwood is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yerkwood
- Burnwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Burnwell is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnwell
- Dora
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Twilley Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twilley Town
- Sipsey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Sipsey is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sipsey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgewood, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgewood.
Cemeteries Near Ridgewood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgewood.
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 Ridgewood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgewood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Pinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Chalkville
- The Taylor Memorial UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Taylors Chapel Cemetery
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Reed Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is located outside and to the northwest of Ayres.
- Old Compton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hughes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Nebo Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trussville Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trussville Cemetery
- The Trussville Cemetery has also been known as:
- Cahawba Baptist Cemetery
- First Baptist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #26737 <2>
- Creel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Castle Heights Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jefferson Memorial Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (324 more) ...
- Argo Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Higgins Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 Ridgewood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ridgewood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Clay
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Chalkville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Bradford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Woodward
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodward is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
- Ayres
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Trussville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cunningham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cunningham is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cunningham
- New Castle
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Castle is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Castle
- Huffman
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Huffman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Argo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Remlap
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Compton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Selfville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- McCombs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- McCombs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCombs
- Morris
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Morris is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,182 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgewood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgewood.
Newspapers Published in Ridgewood ...
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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgewood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgewood, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgewood.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Ridgewood:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Jefferson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega 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 Ridgewood, 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 from Point A (ie- Ridgewood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |