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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 Decatur (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 Decatur. 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 southwest 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 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.

Decatur is located in Benton County.

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 Benton County: Carroll, Madison, Washington, Barry (MO), McDonald (MO), Adair (OK) & Delaware (OK).

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

  • Benton County     (The home county of Decatur)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Gallatin
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Gallatin is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallatin
    • Pactolus ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Pactolus is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactolus
    • Gentry
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Gravette
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Springtown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Springtown is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Mason Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Cherokee City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Rome City ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Rome City is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome City
    • Highfill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Highfill is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 916 people
    • Centerton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hiwasse
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Maysville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hico is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
  • Washington County
  • McDonald County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • Noel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Noel is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Noel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,808 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Noel <1>
    • South West City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pineville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Jane
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ginger Blue
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Ginger Blue is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginger Blue
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Lanagan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Lanagan is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lanagan <1>
    • Anderson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Wylie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Tiff City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Tiff City is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiff City
    • Powell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Powell is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
    • Erie
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Goodman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Goodman is located in McDonald County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,258 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodman <1>
    • May
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Adair County (OK)
  • Cherokee County (OK)
  • Delaware County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Decatur, with the one closest to Decatur listed first.
    • West Siloam Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Colcord
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sycamore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Sycamore is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore
    • Beckwith
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Dripping Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Dripping Springs is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dripping Springs
    • Cloud Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Brush Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Brush Creek is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
    • Dodge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Dodge is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
    • Flint Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Flint Creek is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Creek
    • Jay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Kansas
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Kansas is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kansas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 803 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kansas <1>
    • Eucha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • New Eucha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • New Eucha is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Eucha

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

Cemeteries Near Decatur ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Decatur.

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

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

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

  • Decatur Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Falling Springs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bozarth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Ward Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Callum Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gentry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Springtown Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Georgia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cherokee City Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Bloomfield Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Flint Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (250 more) ...
    • Coffelt Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Parn Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Dow Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 in 1895, Decatur had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Decatur had a population of 1,790 people.

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

  • Clementine ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Clementine is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clementine
  • Gallatin
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Gallatin is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallatin
  • Pond ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Pond is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond
  • Pactolus ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pactolus is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pactolus
  • Bloomfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomfield is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield
  • Springtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Springtown is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springtown
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Nebo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Nebo is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebo
  • Mason Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Parn ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Parn is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parn
  • Cherokee City
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Flint ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Flint is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint
  • Beaty
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Beaty is located in Benton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaty
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Seba
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Seba is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seba
    • Maysville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Crump ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Crump is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crump

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Decatur ...

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 131 newspapers that have been published in the area around Decatur.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Decatur. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Decatur and those printed in the larger area surrounding Decatur.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> of Decatur.

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 Decatur:

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' (or 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- Decatur) 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 Decatur, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.