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 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 Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County: Colbert, Lawrence, Limestone, Tishomingo (MS), Giles (TN), Hardin (TN), Lawrence (TN) & Wayne (TN).
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:
- Lauderdale County (The home county of Springfield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Elgin
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Elgin is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
- Comer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Corum ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Corum is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corum
- Cedar Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Arkdell
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Arkdell is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkdell
- Belleview ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Belleview is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belleview
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Slabtown ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Slabtown is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
- Rogersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Anderson is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Atlas ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Atlas is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Colbert County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Ford City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ford City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford City
- Davidsons Cross Roads ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Nitrate City is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nitrate City
- Wilson Dam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Dam is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Dam
- Leighton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Muscle Shoals
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Florence is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Florence
- Campbell Settlement ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell Settlement is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell Settlement
- Sheffield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Furnace Hill is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furnace Hill
- Spring Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Colbert County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Tuscumbia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Wheeler Dam Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wheeler Dam Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Dam Village
- Red Bank
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Red Bank is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Town Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Courtland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- North Courtland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- North Courtland is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Courtland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 621 people
- Edmond
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Edmond is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmond
- Hillsboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Hatton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hatton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
- Mountain Home
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mountain Home is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Mehama ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mehama is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehama
- Chalybeate Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Chalybeate Springs is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate Springs
- Limestone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Cairo
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Cairo is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cairo
- Lentzville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
- Lester
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lester is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Poplar Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Poplar Creek is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Creek
- Clifton ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Clifton is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Ripley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ripley is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ripley
- Elkmont
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hay's Mill is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hay's Mill
- Athens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Pettusville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pettusville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettusville
- Tanner
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Country Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Country Village is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Village
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Trinity
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Moulton Heights is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moulton Heights
- Austinville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austinville
- Decatur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Decatur is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,381 people
- Former names for Decatur:
- Albany
- New Decatur
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Decatur <1>
- Simpson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Simpson is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Giles County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Minor Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Minor Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
- Stella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stella is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Anthony Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Anthony Hill is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony Hill
- Prospect
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Green Field is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Field
- Bodenham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bodenham is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodenham
- Gordon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gordon is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,192 people
- Weakley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Weakley is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weakley
- Pulaski
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dickson Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Dickson Town is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickson Town
- Elkmont Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elkmont Springs is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont Springs
- Elkton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Giles County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
- Lawrence County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Rascal Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Rascal Town is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rascal Town
- Liberty Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Liberty Grove is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Grove
- Estimated population in 2014: 7,825 people
- Saint Joseph
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Appleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Loretto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Iron City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Iron City is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron City
- Busby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Busby is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busby
- Westpoint
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Westpoint is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westpoint
- Leoma
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Fall River
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Fall River is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall River
- Lawrenceburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- New Prospect
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- New Prospect is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Estimated population in 2014: 6,880 people
- Wayne County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Springfield, with the one closest to Springfield listed first.
- Corning ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Corning is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corning
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,210 people
- Cypress Inn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cypress Inn is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cypress Inn
- Whittens Stand ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Whittens Stand is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittens Stand
- Collinwood
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Collinwood is located in Wayne County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 932 people
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.
- Wilson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Rice Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Barnett Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Butler Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barkley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barkley Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Barkley Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Elgin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #21402 <2>
- Harvey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Corum Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Barnett Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Cox Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Bluewater Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Crow Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Old Tanyard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (798 more) ...
- Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Belew Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
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.
- Comer
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Comer is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comer
- Beach Grove ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Beach Grove is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beach Grove
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rogersville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogersville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,293 people
- Former name for Rogersville:
- Rodgersville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogersville <1>
- Belew ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Belew is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belew
- Green Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Bailey Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Bailey Springs is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Springs
- Good Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Good Springs is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Springs
- Saint Joseph
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar
- Appleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Appleton is located in Lawrence County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Appleton
- Loretto
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Saint Florian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Saint Florian is located in Lauderdale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Florian
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Town Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lentzville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lentzville is located in Limestone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lentzville
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 5 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 14 miles [22.5 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 first turn to 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 Springfield:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lauderdale County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Colbert County
- Lawrence County
- Limestone County
- Morgan County
- Giles 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> | 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 '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- Springfield) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |