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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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 West Ridge: W. Ridge
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Ridge.
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.
West Ridge is located in Lee 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 Lee County: Chambers, Macon, Russell, Tallapoosa, Harris (GA) & Muscogee (GA).
Below are the counties that are near West Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Ridge:
- Lee County (The home county of West Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Gwen Mill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gwen Mill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwen Mill
- Opelika
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Chewacla
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chewacla is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewacla
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Beauregard
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Beauregard is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauregard
- The Bottle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- The Bottle is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Bottle
- Auburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bleecker
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bleecker is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bleecker
- Ridgewood Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgewood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgewood Village
- Blanton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Blanton is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanton
- Prince Crossroads
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Prince Crossroads is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prince Crossroads
- Loachapoka
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Chambers County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Cusseta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Boyds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Boyds is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds
- Osanippa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Osanippa is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osanippa
- Huguley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Huguley is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huguley
- Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Eady City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eady City is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eady City
- River View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- River View is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Waverly
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Waverly is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
- Plant City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Plant City is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plant City
- LaFayette
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lanett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Blackman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Blackman is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackman
- Hale County
- Erie ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Erie is located in Hale County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Society Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Society Hill is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Society Hill
- Notasulga
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Liberty City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Liberty City is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty City
- Tuskegee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Hugley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hugley is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugley
- Crawford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crawford is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Ladonia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ladonia is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladonia
- Phenix City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Fontaine Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fontaine Village is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontaine Village
- Hatchechubbee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hatchechubbee is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchechubbee
- Seale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hurtsboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hurtsboro is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
- Fort Mitchell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tallapoosa County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Camp Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Dudleyville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dudleyville is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dudleyville
- Slaughters ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Slaughters is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slaughters
- Church Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Church Hill is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Church Hill
- Agricola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Agricola is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Agricola
- Dadeville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Reeltown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Reeltown is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeltown
- Matilda
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Matilda is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matilda
- Frog Eye
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Frog Eye is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frog Eye
- Susannah ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Susannah is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Susannah
- Tallapoosa City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Tallapoosa City is located in Tallapoosa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallapoosa City
- Chattahoochee County (GA)
- Fort Benning
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Harris County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Mountain Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mountain Hill is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 11,554 people
- Pine Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Lake is located in Harris County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lake
- Cataula
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hamilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Muscogee County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Twin Chapel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Twin Chapel is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Chapel
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,701 people
- Fortson
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bibb City
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bibb City is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bibb City
- Maridale Estates
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Maridale Estates is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maridale Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 60,867 people
- Glenns
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Glenns is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenns
- Estimated population in 2019: 5,020 people
- Lincoln Hills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lincoln Hills is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 833 people
- City Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- City Village is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City Village
- Columbus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hilton Heights
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hilton Heights is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Heights
- Estimated population in 2018: 324 people
- Wynnton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wynnton is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynnton
- East Edgewood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- East Edgewood is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Edgewood
- Estimated population in 2019: 569 people
- Baker Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Baker Village is located in Muscogee County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker Village
- Troup County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- West Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- North West Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- North West Point is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North West Point
- Pioneer Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pioneer Village is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
- Abbottsford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Abbottsford is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbottsford
- West Lake Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Lake Village is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lake Village
- Evansville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Evansville is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Vernon ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Vernon is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
- Rockwell Estates
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rockwell Estates is located in Troup County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell Estates
- LaGrange
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for West Ridge.
Cemeteries Near West Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Liberty Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Scott Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Memory Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rosemere Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Morris Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ross Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Garden Hills Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (348 more) ...
- Penn Young Gravesite
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pitts Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hephzibah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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 Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Opelika
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Chewacla
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Chewacla is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewacla
- Tuckersburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Tuckersburg is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckersburg
- Salem
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Bowery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Bowery is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bowery
- Cusseta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Auburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Beulah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Beulah is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
- Boyds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Boyds is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyds
- Gold Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Gold Hill is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Mechanicsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsville is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Moorefield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Moorefield is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moorefield
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Osanippa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Osanippa is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osanippa
- River View
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- River View is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Waverly
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Waverly is located in Chambers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Population from the 2020 Census: 143 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Ridge.
Newspapers Published in West Ridge ...
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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ridge, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ridge.
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 West Ridge:
- Websites specific to Alabama
- Pages specific to Lee County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chambers County
- Hale County
- Macon County
- Russell County
- Tallapoosa County
- Chattahoochee County
- Harris County
- Muscogee County
- Troup 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 Ridge, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- West Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |