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 West Point (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 West Point. 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 West Point ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Point: W. Point
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Point. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Point.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
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 south 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.
West Point is located in Calhoun 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 Calhoun County: Cherokee, Cleburne, Etowah, Saint Clair & Talladega.
Below are the counties that are near West Point. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Point:
- Calhoun County (The home county of West Point)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Angel
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Angel is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
- Germania Springs ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Germania Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germania Springs
- Booker T City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Booker T City is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker T City
- Mack ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Merrellton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Jacksonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Blue Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Springs
- Wellington
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wellington is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellington
- Colvins Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Weaver
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Weaver is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,030 people
- Alexandria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Ball Flat
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ball Flat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball Flat
- Ricks ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ricks is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ricks
- Spring Garden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Coloma ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Coloma is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
- Exie
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Exie is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exie
- Turkey Town ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Turkey Town is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Town
- Moshat
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Moshat is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshat
- Rock Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Run is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run
- Centre
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Leesburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Anderson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Noah
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Noah is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noah
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Elder
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Elder is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elder
- Delta
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Haynes Crossroad is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynes Crossroad
- Cleburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Grantley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Grantley is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantley
- Heflin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Level
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Oak Level is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Edwardsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Edwardsville is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
- Borden Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Borden Springs is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Springs
- Palestine
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Palestine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
- Abel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Abel is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abel
- Fruithurst
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Fruithurst is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruithurst
- Population from the 2020 Census: 284 people
- Ai
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ai is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ai
- Hollis Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hollis Crossroads is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis Crossroads
- Muscadine
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Muscadine is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscadine
- Hopewell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hopewell is located in Cleburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
- DeKalb County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Marcus ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marcus is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Collinsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cotnam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cotnam is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotnam
- Mount Zion ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Zion is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Rodentown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Rodentown is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodentown
- Mount Vernon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Mount Vernon is located in DeKalb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Etowah County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Cobb City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cobb City is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb City
- Glencoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hokes Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Banner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Banner is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Markton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Markton is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markton
- Burns Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Burns Park is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns Park
- Brannon Springs ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brannon Springs is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brannon Springs
- Pilgrims Rest
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pilgrims Rest is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrims Rest
- Ballplay
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Coato Bend ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Coato Bend is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coato Bend
- East Gadsden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- East Gadsden is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gadsden
- Edwardsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edwardsville is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsville
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Ragland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Steele
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Ashville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Riverside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Whitney Junction is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney Junction
- Coal City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coal City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Seddon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Seddon is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seddon
- Wattsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Talladega County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Coldwater
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Coldwater is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coldwater
- Silver Run
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Silver Run is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Run
- Kentuck
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Kentuck is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Grant Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Grant Town is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant Town
- Munford
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Lincoln
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- McElderry
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- McElderry is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McElderry
- Colony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colony is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony
- Ironaton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Ironaton is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironaton
- Windsong Island
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Windsong Island is located in Talladega County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Island
- Haralson County (GA)
- Tallapoosa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Polk County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Esom Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Greenway ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Greenway is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenway
- Etna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Etna is located in Polk County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
- Estimated population in 2019: 902 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Point, see our County-by-County Page for West Point.
Cemeteries Near West Point ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Point.
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 West Point - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Point covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Moore Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Tredagar - Boozer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Munger Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Hillcrest Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlawn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Carpenter Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Seven Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- McCain's Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCain's Chapel Cemetery
- The McCain's Chapel Cemetery has also been known as:
- McCain Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Cemetery
- McCain's Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #24288 <2>
- Ohatchee #2 Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jacksonville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Community Congregational Holiness Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wellborn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Continue List (325 more) ...
- Boozer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Landers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 West Point in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Point.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Point, with the one closest to West Point listed first.
- Mack ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mack is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Sulphur Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Jacksonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Merrellton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Merrellton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrellton
- Adelia ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Adelia is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelia
- Duke
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Duke is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duke
- Alexandria
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Colvins Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Colvins Gap is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colvins Gap
- Laney
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Laney is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laney
- Hebron ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hebron is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Jenkins
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jenkins is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
- Nances Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Nances Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nances Creek
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Reaves
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Reaves is located in Etowah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reaves
- Peek's Hill ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Peek's Hill is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peek's Hill
- Grayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Grayton is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Point. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Point.
Newspapers Published in West Point ...
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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Point.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Point, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Point.
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 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 West Point:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Cleburne County
- DeKalb County
- Etowah County
- Saint Clair County
- Talladega County
- Haralson County
- Polk 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 West Point, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Point) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |