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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 Benton (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 Benton. 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 Benton ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Benton was referred to as Benton Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Benton. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Benton.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 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.

Benton is located in Saline 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 Saline County: Garland, Grant, Hot Spring, Perry & Pulaski.

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

  • Saline County     (The home county of Benton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
    • Bauxite
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Bauxite is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauxite
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 555 people
    • Salem
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Salem is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Haskell
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Kentucky
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Congo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Bryant
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairplay ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Avilla
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Traskwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Shannon Hills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Shannon Hills is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,087 people
    • Rubicon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • East End
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • East End is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End
  • Faulkner County
  • Garland County
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
    • Tull
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Tull is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tull
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
    • Ico ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Ico is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ico
    • Poyen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Poyen is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poyen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Prattsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Turin ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Turin is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turin
    • Sheridan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dogwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ebb
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Center Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherry Grove ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Slabtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Slabtown is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
    • Leola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Hot Spring County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
    • Butterfield
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rockport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockport is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
    • Perla
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Perla is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
    • Magnet Cove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Magnet Cove is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet Cove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 5 people
    • Malvern
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Social Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lono
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Rolla
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Etta ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Etta is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etta
    • Saginaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Donaldson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Donaldson is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Midway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Midway is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
    • Redfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jefferson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Plum Bayou ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Wright
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Wright is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton listed first.
    • Little Italy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Fourche
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Fourche is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fourche
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 62 people
    • Bigelow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Pulaski County

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

Cemeteries Near Benton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Benton.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Benton, with the one closest to Benton 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Benton had a population of 647 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Benton had a population of 37,214 people.

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

  • Shaw
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairplay ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bryant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Traskwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Tull
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Tull is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tull
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
  • Collegeville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Collegeville is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collegeville
  • Avilla
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hurricane ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hurricane is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
  • Alexander
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Tatumville ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Tatumville is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tatumville
  • Bland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bland is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bland
  • Belfast
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Belfast is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfast
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Altharp ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Altharp is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altharp
    • Mabelvale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fenter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Fenter is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenter

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Benton ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Benton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Benton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Benton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Benton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<4> of Benton.

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 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 Benton:

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 Benton, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Benton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.