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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Saraland (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 Saraland. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Saraland is located in Mobile 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 Mobile County: Baldwin, Washington, George (MS), Greene (MS) & Jackson (MS).

Below are the counties that are near Saraland. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Saraland:

  • Mobile County     (The home county of Saraland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.
    • Satsuma
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Chickasaw
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Eight Mile
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Prichard
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Creola
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Creola is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
    • Axis
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Axis is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Axis
    • Chunchula
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
    • Country Club Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Country Club Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Village
    • Mobile
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Semmes
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Barry Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Barry Village is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry Village
    • Bucks
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Chastang
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Chastang is located in Mobile County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastang
  • Baldwin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.
    • Bromley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
    • Spanish Fort
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitehouse Forks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Whitehouse Forks is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Forks
    • Park City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Park City is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • Stockton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Daphne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bay Minette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Stapleton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Montrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Latham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Latham is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham
    • Fairhope
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Loxley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Point Clear
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.
    • Fairford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Fairford is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairford
    • Malcolm
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Malcolm is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcolm
    • Sims Chapel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Sims Chapel is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sims Chapel
    • Deer Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Deer Park is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
    • McIntosh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • George County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.
    • Howell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Howell is located in George County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Agricola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lucedale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Greene County (MS)
    • Brown Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Brown Town is located in Greene County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
  • Jackson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.
    • Hurley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Big Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Big Point is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Point
    • Wade
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Wade is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade
    • Americus ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Americus is located in Jackson County (MS)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Americus

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Saraland, see our County-by-County Page for Saraland.

Cemeteries Near Saraland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Saraland.

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 Saraland - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Saraland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.

  • Saraland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Baileys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Myers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Satsuma Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Baldwin Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mauvilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Elam Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Whispering Pines Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Whistler Colored Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Prichard Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Whistler Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (236 more) ...
    • Creola Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mauvilla Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Indian Springs Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 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.<2>

While we didn't find Saraland in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Saraland.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Saraland, with the one closest to Saraland listed first.

  • Kushla
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Kushla is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kushla
  • Whistler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Whistler is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whistler
  • Prichard
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Oak Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Plateau
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Plateau is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
  • Creola
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Creola is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creola
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
  • Chunchula
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Chunchula is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chunchula
  • Spring Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Spring Hill is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Mobile
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Cox
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cox is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox
  • Chastang
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Chastang is located in Mobile County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chastang
  • Bromley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bromley is located in Baldwin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Daphne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • D'Olive
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • D'Olive is located in Baldwin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for D'Olive
    • Stockton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Saraland. See our List of 1890's Communities around Saraland.

Newspapers Published in Saraland ...

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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around Saraland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Saraland, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Saraland.

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 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 Saraland:

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>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 Saraland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Saraland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.