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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 Heber Springs (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 Heber Springs. 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 Heber Springs ...

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 have occurred.

Prior to its current name of Heber Springs, it was known as Sugar Loaf.

Another variation: Heber.

  • A typical abbreviation for Heber Springs: Heber Spgs. (or less commonly used: Heber Spngs. or Heber Sprngs.)

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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Heber Springs is located in Cleburne County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Cleburne County: Faulkner, Independence, Stone, Van Buren & White.

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

  • Cleburne County     (The home county of Heber Springs)
  • Conway County
    • Austin
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Austin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
      • Austin is located in Conway County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Austin <1>
  • Faulkner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs listed first.
    • Enders
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Vernon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Centerville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Guy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guy
      • Guy is located in Faulkner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 792 people
    • Enola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Twin Groves
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Groves have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Groves
      • Twin Groves is located in Faulkner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Greenbrier
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Faulkner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 586 people
    • Vilonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vilonia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vilonia
      • Vilonia is located in Faulkner County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,725 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vilonia <1>
  • Independence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs listed first.
    • Floral
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Plains
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Plains
      • Pleasant Plains is located in Independence County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
    • Locust Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
      • Locust Grove is located in Independence County
    • Bethesda
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bethesda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethesda
      • Bethesda is located in Independence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bethesda
      • From Heber Springs to Bethesda
    • Desha
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Southside
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Southside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southside
      • Southside is located in Independence County
    • Denieville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denieville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denieville
      • Denieville is located in Independence County
    • Salado
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salado have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salado
      • Salado is located in Independence County
    • Batesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cushman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Rosie
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Izard County
    • Guion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guion have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guion
      • Guion is located in Izard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs listed first.
    • Marcella
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcella have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcella
      • Marcella is located in Stone County
    • Pleasant Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Stone County
    • Fox
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox
      • Fox is located in Stone County
    • Mountain View
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Timbo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs listed first.
    • Chalk ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chalk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk
      • Chalk is located in Van Buren County
    • Fairfield Bay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Eglantine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Morganton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morganton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganton
      • Morganton is located in Van Buren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Morganton
      • From Heber Springs to Morganton
    • Shirley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shirley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
      • Shirley is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shirley <1>
    • Gravesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Green Tree
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bee Branch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bee Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee Branch
      • Bee Branch is located in Van Buren County
    • Choctaw
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw
      • Choctaw is located in Van Buren County
    • Damascus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Damascus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
      • Damascus is located in Van Buren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 384 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Damascus <1>
    • Clinton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Formosa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • White County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs listed first.
    • Pangburn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Rose Bud
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Letona
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Letona have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letona
      • Letona is located in White County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
    • Clay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clay. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
      • Clay is located in White County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clay
      • From Heber Springs to Clay
    • Romance
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Center Hill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Davenport ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davenport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davenport
      • Davenport is located in White County
    • Sunnydale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Floyd
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Floyd. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floyd
      • Floyd is located in White County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Floyd
      • From Heber Springs to Floyd
    • Bliss ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bliss have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bliss
      • Bliss is located in White County
    • Searcy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searcy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searcy
      • Searcy is located in White County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,543 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Searcy <1>
    • El Paso
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Heber Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Heber Springs.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Heber Springs, with the one closest to Heber Springs 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Heber Springs had a population of 322 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Heber Springs had a population of 6,906 people.

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

  • Yuba
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yuba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
    • Yuba is located in Cleburne County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Yuba
    • From Heber Springs to Yuba
  • Shiloh ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shiloh. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Shiloh is located in Cleburne County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Shiloh
    • From Heber Springs to Shiloh
  • Ida
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ida have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
    • Ida is located in Cleburne County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ida <1>
  • Hiram
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hiram have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiram
    • Hiram is located in Cleburne County
  • Rose Bud
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Pangburn
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Tyler ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyler
    • Tyler is located in Cleburne County
  • Quitman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Turnip ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turnip have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnip
    • Turnip is located in White County
  • Chalk ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chalk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk
    • Chalk is located in Van Buren County
  • Wolf Bayou
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Enders
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clay
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clay. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
      • Clay is located in White County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clay
      • From Heber Springs to Clay
    • Banner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
      • Banner is located in Cleburne County
    • Little Red
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Red have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Red
      • Little Red is located in White County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Heber Springs ...

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 Heber Springs.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Heber Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Heber Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Heber Springs.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<5> of Heber Springs.

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 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 Heber Springs:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Heber Springs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Arkansas: https://portal.arkansas.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Heber Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Heber Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4915, Longitude: -92.0303    
<6>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 Heber Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025