Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Viola. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Viola to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Viola, please Contact Us.
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 Viola (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 Viola. 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.
Although our information shows that the community of Viola is historic, it would have been located within present day Blount 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 Blount County: Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, Marshall, Saint Clair, Walker & Winston.
Below are the counties that are near Viola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Viola:
- Blount County (The home county of Viola)
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Allgood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Allgood is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allgood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Little Warrior
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Remlap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Deavers
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Deavers is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deavers
- Compton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Adville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Dallas
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Dallas is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Locust Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Selfville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Highland Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Highland Lake is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
- Oneonta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Nectar
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Nectar is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nectar
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Macon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Macon is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macon
- Cochran Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cochran Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochran Springs
- Ohatchee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Southside
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bruner ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bruner is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruner
- Cullman County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Garden City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
- Hanceville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Black Bottom
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Black Bottom is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Bottom
- Damascus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
- Baltimore ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Baltimore is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltimore
- White City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- White City is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Colony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Estimated population in 2015: 273 people
- The Colony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- The Colony is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Colony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Baileytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Baileytown is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileytown
- Holly Pond
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Dodge City
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Arkadelphia
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Arkadelphia is located in Cullman County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arkadelphia
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Altoona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Nix ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Nix is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nix
- Clear Springs ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Springs
- Gallant
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gallant is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallant
- Walnut Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
- Howelton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Howelton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howelton
- Benson ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Benson is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benson
- Ivalee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ivalee is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivalee
- Aurora
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Aurora is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Egypt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Egypt is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egypt
- Attalla
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greer ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Greer is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Ayres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Masseyline
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Masseyline is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masseyline
- Village Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Village Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Springs
- Palmerdale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Palmerdale is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerdale
- Clay
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bradford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Trafford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Crosston
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Crosston is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosston
- Majestic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Majestic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Majestic
- Pinson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Breakstone Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Breakstone Village is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breakstone Village
- Chalkville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Chalkville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalkville
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Reedbrake ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Reedbrake is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedbrake
- Douglas
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Big Spring ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Big Spring is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Bowen ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bowen is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowen
- Horton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Horton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Bartlett ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bartlett is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlett
- Hyatt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hyatt is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyatt
- Whitesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Whitesville is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Askea Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Askea Grove is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Askea Grove
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Springville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Argo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Saint Clair Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Clair Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair Springs
- Margaret
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Turnbough Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Turnbough Town is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbough Town
- Whitney Junction
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Branchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Branchville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Odenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ashville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Acmar
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Acmar is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acmar
- Parsons
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Parsons is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parsons
- Moody
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- 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 <2>
- Shelby County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Dunnavant
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dunnavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnavant
- Dunavant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Dunavant is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunavant
- Vandiver
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sterrett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bridgeton is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeton
- Shoal Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Shoal Creek is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoal Creek
- Calcis
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Calcis is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calcis
- Lake Purdy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lake Purdy is located in Shelby County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Purdy
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Lincoln
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Walker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Creel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Creel is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creel
- Empire
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Empire is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Black Warrior Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Black Warrior Town is located in Walker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Warrior Town
- Sumiton
(29 miles [46.7 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 <2>
- Sipsey
(30 miles [48.3 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 Viola, see our County-by-County Page for Viola.
Cemeteries Near Viola ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Viola.
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 Viola - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Viola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Clear Springs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Crump Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Remlap Methodist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lees Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Tidwell Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Brown - Hudson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Bluff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hooper Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chitwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Old Compton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell UMC Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greens Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (352 more) ...
- Oakhill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lilly Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Love Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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.
Viola itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 76 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Remlap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Little Warrior
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Little Warrior is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Warrior
- Chepultepec
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chepultepec is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chepultepec
- Compton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Compton is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Compton
- Adville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Adville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adville
- Selfville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Selfville is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selfville
- Springville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oneonta
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ayres
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ayres is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayres
- Champion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Champion is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champion
- Cleveland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bradford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bradford is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Continue List (21 more) ...
- Clay
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Argo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Argo is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,278 people
- Caldwell
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Caldwell is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Viola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Viola.
Newspapers Published in Viola ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Viola.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Viola, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Viola.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Viola:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Blount County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Cullman County
- Etowah County
- Jefferson County
- Marshall County
- Saint Clair County
- Shelby County
- Talladega County
- Walker County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Alabama
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Viola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Viola) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |