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 Spring Valley (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 Spring Valley. 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.
Name Variations for Spring Valley ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Spring Valley: Spring Vly. (or less commonly used: Spring Vally. or Spring Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Spring Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spring Valley.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 hospitals 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.
Spring Valley is located in Colbert 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 Colbert County: Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence & Tishomingo (MS).
Below are the counties that are near Spring Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spring Valley:
- Colbert County (The home county of Spring Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- White House Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- White House Springs is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Springs
- Leighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Littleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- Muscle Shoals
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Nitrate City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Tuscumbia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Florence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Sheffield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Wilson Dam
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Ford City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Russellville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwood
- Churntown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Churntown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churntown
- Belgreen
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Belgreen is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgreen
- Spruce Pine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Spruce Pine is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Pine
- Slickrock Ford ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Slickrock Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slickrock Ford
- Phil Campbell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Site
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Site is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Site
- Burntout
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Burntout is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burntout
- Burntout has also been known as:
- Burn Out
- Burnout
- Burnt Out
- Hodges
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lauderdale County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Florence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Canaan ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Canaan is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan
- Bainbridge ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bainbridge is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainbridge
- Cypress Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Creek is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Creek
- Mars Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Mars Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Hill
- Killen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Florian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Green Tree ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Green Tree is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Tree
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- McGee Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- McGee Town is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGee Town
- Bailey Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Jacksonburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Jacksonburg is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacksonburg
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Edmond
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Hatton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Mount Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Hope is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Red Bank
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Wheeler Dam Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Courtland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- North Courtland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Camp Spring ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Camp Spring is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Spring
- Muck City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Muck City is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muck City
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Poplar Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Ripley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Lentzville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Cairo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Bear Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hackleburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hackleburg is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackleburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
- Morgan County
- Trinity
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Winston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Prebble ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Prebble is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prebble
- Pebble
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Pebble is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pebble
- Littleville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Littleville is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Haleyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Ashridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ashridge is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashridge
- Grayson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Grayson is located in Winston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Tishomingo County (MS)
- Oldham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Oldham is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oldham
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Iron City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Rascal Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Saint Joseph
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Loretto
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Cypress Inn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Corning ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spring Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Spring Valley.
Cemeteries Near Spring Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Valley.
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 Spring Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spring Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Bickley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Old Mt. Moriah Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ligon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Ricks Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Gunn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ligon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Young Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Aycock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- LaGrange Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Rand Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mayers Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (705 more) ...
- Glendale Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Morning Star Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Spring Valley had a population of 96 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spring Valley, with the one closest to Spring Valley listed first.
- Hunter ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hunter is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Littleville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Littleville is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littleville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 992 people
- Leighton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Bingham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bingham is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
- Tuscumbia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- South Florence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Edmond
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Sheffield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Florence
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Russellville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Waco
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Waco is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Newburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Newburg is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
- Concord
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Town Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spring Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spring Valley.
Newspapers Published in Spring Valley ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spring Valley, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Spring Valley.
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 Spring Valley:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Colbert County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Franklin County
- Lauderdale County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Marion County
- Morgan County
- Winston County
- Tishomingo County
- Lawrence County
- Wayne 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> | 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 Spring Valley, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Spring Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |