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 Springfield (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 Springfield. 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 and hospitals 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.
Springfield is located in Elmore 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 Elmore County: Autauga, Chilton, Coosa, Macon, Montgomery & Tallapoosa.
Below are the counties that are near Springfield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Springfield:
- Elmore County (The home county of Springfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Robinson Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Robinson Springs is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Springs
- Coosada
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elmore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Prattville Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Prattville Junction is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattville Junction
- Deatsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Adkin Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Adkin Hill is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adkin Hill
- Adkin Hill has also been known as:
- Atkins Hill
- Holtville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Holtville is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holtville
- Holtville has also been known as:
- Slapout
- Wetumpka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Blue Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Blue Ridge is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Lightwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lightwood is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightwood
- Titus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Fusihatchi ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fusihatchi is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fusihatchi
- Autauga County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Millbrook
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Prattville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Level
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Level is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
- Melmar
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Melmar is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melmar
- Booth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Booth is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booth
- Marbury
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gibbons ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gibbons is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbons
- White City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- White City is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Autaugaville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Autaugaville is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Autaugaville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 882 people
- Haynes
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Haynes is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes
- Independence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Independence is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Billingsley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Chilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Mountain Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Creek is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Creek
- Verbena
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Verbena is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verbena
- Clanton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Adams
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Adams is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Coosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Pentonville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Pentonville is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentonville
- Equality
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Equality is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Dollar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Dollar is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dollar
- Nixburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Nixburg is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixburg
- Rockford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Cottage Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cottage Grove is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Hissop
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hissop is located in Coosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hissop
- Dallas County
- Burnsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Burnsville is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Lowndes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Burkville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burkville is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkville
- Lowndesboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- White Hall
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- White Hall is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 737 people
- Hayneville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Letohatchee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Letohatchee is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letohatchee
- Benton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Benton is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
- Mosses
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mosses is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosses
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- Petronia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Petronia is located in Lowndes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petronia
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Tysonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Tysonville is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tysonville
- Shorter
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Calebee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Calebee is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calebee
- Hornady
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Hornady is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornady
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Boylston
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Boylston is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
- New Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Town is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Capitol Heights
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Capitol Heights is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol Heights
- Madison
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Madison is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Montgomery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gibbs Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Gibbs Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibbs Village
- Highland Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Highland Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Stone's
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stone's is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone's
- Young Forte Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Young Forte Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Young Forte Village
- Sunshine Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sunshine Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine Village
- Catoma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Catoma is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoma
- English Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- English Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- East Tallassee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- East Tallassee is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Tallassee
- Tallapoosa City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Tallapoosa City is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallapoosa City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Springfield, see our County-by-County Page for Springfield.
Cemeteries Near Springfield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Springfield.
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 Springfield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Springfield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Robinson Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- McKeithen Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Coosada Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Ross Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jackson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Jackson Cemetery is located in Coosada.
- The Jackson Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jackson Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1981539 <2>
- Bibbs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- County Line Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rocky Mount Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rives Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Glenn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Prattville Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (363 more) ...
- Mt. Hebron West Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Hill African Methodist (AME) Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- New Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
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 Springfield in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Springfield.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Robinson Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Robinson Springs is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson Springs
- Elmore
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Deatsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Prattville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jackson's Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jackson's Lake is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson's Lake
- Holtville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Holtville is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holtville
- Holtville has also been known as:
- Slapout
- Coosa River
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Coosa River is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosa River
- Wetumpka
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Montgomery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wadsworth
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wadsworth is located in Autauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadsworth
- Stone's
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stone's is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone's
- Titus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Lightwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Lightwood is located in Elmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lightwood
- Catoma
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Catoma is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoma
- Mountain Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Creek is located in Chilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Springfield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Springfield.
Newspapers Published in Springfield ...
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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Springfield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Springfield, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Springfield.
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 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 Springfield:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Elmore County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Autauga County
- Chilton County
- Coosa County
- Dallas County
- Lowndes County
- Macon County
- Montgomery County
- Tallapoosa 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 Springfield, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Springfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |