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 Johnston (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 Johnston. 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/Parishes ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.
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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Johnston is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Lafayette, Nevada, Ouachita, Union, Claiborne (LA) & Webster (LA).
Below are the counties/parishes that are near Johnston. For each of these counties/parishes, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Johnston:
- Columbia County (The home county of Johnston)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Calhoun
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Calhoun is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Magnolia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Village is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village
- McNeil
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Milner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Milner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Waldo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Macedonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Macedonia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Philadelphia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Philadelphia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philadelphia
- College Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- College Hill is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Hill
- Emerson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Emerson is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Horsehead
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Western
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Western is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
- Taylor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hempstead County
- Patmos
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Patmos is located in Hempstead County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patmos
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Lafayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Buckner
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Buckner is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- McKamie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- McKamie is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKamie
- Stamps
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lewisville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Old Town
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Old Town is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
- Kress City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Kress City is located in Lafayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kress City
- Bradley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nevada County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Willisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Willisville is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
- Rosston
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rosston is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
- Bodcaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bodcaw is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bodcaw
- Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
- Cale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Cale is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
- Zama ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Zama is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zama
- Laneburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Laneburg is located in Nevada County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneburg
- Ouachita County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Stephens
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pace City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pace City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
- Lufra ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lufra is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufra
- Liberty
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Louann
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Louann is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louann
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Cullendale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cullendale is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullendale
- Bragg City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
- Camden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Joyce City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Joyce City is located in Ouachita County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joyce City
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Mount Holly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lisbon
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lisbon is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Dodge City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dodge City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Dumas City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dumas City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
- Smackover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sandy Land
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sandy Land is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Land
- Scotland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Scotland is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- El Dorado
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Norphlet
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Norphlet is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norphlet
- Population from the 2020 Census: 772 people
- Junction City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Junction City is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- Claiborne Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Haynesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Gordon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Dykesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
- Blackburn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish (LA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Webster Parish (LA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Shongaloo
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Springhill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cullen
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sarepta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Johnston, see our County-by-County Page for Johnston.
Cemeteries Near Johnston ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Johnston.
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 Johnston - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Johnston covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Magnolia Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Old Bethel / St. John Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Free Hope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jameson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Magnolia Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Marks Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- St. Matthews Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Hope Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- New Bethel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hartsfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (247 more) ...
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Kings Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Johnston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Johnston.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Johnston, with the one closest to Johnston listed first.
- Calhoun
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Calhoun is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Magnolia
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- McNeil
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Village is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village
- Laughlin
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laughlin is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
- Brister
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Brister is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brister
- Milner ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Milner is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
- Macedonia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Macedonia is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Spotville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Spotville is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spotville
- Waldo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- College Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- College Hill is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Hill
- Lumber
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lumber is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Horsehead
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Atlanta
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Atlanta is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta
- Mount Holly
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Johnston. See our List of 1890's Communities around Johnston.
Newspapers Published in Johnston ...
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 23 newspapers that have been published in the area around Johnston.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Johnston, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Johnston.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Johnston:
- Websites specific to Arkansas
- Pages specific to Columbia County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Hempstead County
- Lafayette County
- Nevada County
- Ouachita County
- Union County
- Claiborne Parish
- Webster Parish
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Arkansas
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 Johnston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Johnston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |