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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 Arkadelphia (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 Arkadelphia. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Arkadelphia is located in Clark County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Arkansas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Clark County: Dallas, Hot Spring, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita & Pike.

Below are the counties that are near Arkadelphia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Arkadelphia:

  • Clark County     (The home county of Arkadelphia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.
    • Caddo Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Caddo Valley is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caddo Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Gum Springs
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Gum Springs is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Joan
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Griffithtown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Curtis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Curtis is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
    • Gurdon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Vaden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Beirne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Beirne is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beirne
    • Okolona
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Alpine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Alpine is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Whelen Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Amity
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Amity is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.
    • Dalark
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Manning
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sparkman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Carthage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Carthage is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carthage
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
  • Garland County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.
    • Leola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Poyen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Poyen is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poyen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
  • Hot Spring County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.
    • Friendship
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Friendship is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Midway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Midway is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Donaldson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Saginaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bismarck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Etta ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Etta is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etta
    • Social Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rolla
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lono
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Malvern
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Malvern is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malvern
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,788 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malvern <1>
    • Perla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Perla is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Magnet Cove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Magnet Cove is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet Cove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 5 people
    • Rockport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Rockport is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
  • Montgomery County
  • Nevada County
  • Ouachita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.
    • Reader
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wyloe ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Wyloe is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyloe
    • Chidester
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Chidester is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chidester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
  • Pike County
  • White County

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Arkadelphia, see our County-by-County Page for Arkadelphia.

Cemeteries Near Arkadelphia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arkadelphia.

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 Arkadelphia - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Arkadelphia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Arkadelphia had a population of 2,455 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Arkadelphia had a population of 10,628 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Arkadelphia, with the one closest to Arkadelphia listed first.

  • Daleville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Daleville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daleville
  • Gum Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gum Springs is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
  • Witherspoon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Witherspoon is located in Hot Spring County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witherspoon
  • Joan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hearn ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Hearn is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearn
  • Friendship
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendship is located in Hot Spring County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
  • Curtis
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Curtis is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
  • Hollywood
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hollywood is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
  • Dalark
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Donaldson
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Donaldson is located in Hot Spring County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
  • Dobyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dobyville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobyville
  • Smithton ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Smithton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithton
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Fairview
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairview is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Bismarck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Sanders ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Sanders is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanders

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Arkadelphia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Arkadelphia.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Arkadelphia ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arkadelphia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Arkadelphia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Arkadelphia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Arkadelphia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<2> of Arkadelphia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Arkadelphia:

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>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- Arkadelphia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Arkadelphia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.