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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 Magnolia (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 Magnolia. 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 Magnolia ...

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, Magnolia was referred to as Magnolia Courthouse.

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

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/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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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/parishes 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/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Magnolia is located in Columbia 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 Columbia County: Lafayette, Nevada, Ouachita, Union, Claiborne (LA) & Webster (LA).

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Magnolia)
  • Hempstead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magnolia, with the one closest to Magnolia listed first.
    • Patmos
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Patmos is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patmos
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Centerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shover Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Lafayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magnolia, with the one closest to Magnolia listed first.
    • Buckner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Buckner is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckner
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • McKamie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Stamps
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Lewisville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Kress City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Kress City is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kress City
    • Old Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Old Town is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
    • Bradley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Walnut Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gin City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Gin City is located in Lafayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gin City
  • Miller County
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magnolia, with the one closest to Magnolia listed first.
    • Willisville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Willisville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willisville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 139 people
    • Rosston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Bodcaw
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Cale
      (24 miles [38.6 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Ouachita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magnolia, with the one closest to Magnolia listed first.
    • Stephens
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Pace City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pace City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pace City
    • Lufra ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lufra is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lufra
    • Liberty
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Louann
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cullendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bragg City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Magnolia, with the one closest to Magnolia listed first.
    • Mount Holly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lisbon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Dodge City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Dodge City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
    • Dumas City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Dumas City is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas City
    • Smackover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Sandy Land
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Claiborne Parish (LA)
  • Webster Parish (LA)

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

Cemeteries Near Magnolia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Magnolia.

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

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

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

  • Magnolia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Magnolia Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Hartsfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Free Hope Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Scott Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Dickson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Waldo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rudd Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (226 more) ...
    • Kings Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Old Bethel / St. John Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Magnolia had a population of 1,486 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Magnolia had a population of 11,443 people.

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

  • Calhoun
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • McNeil
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Waldo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Macedonia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Laughlin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Laughlin is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
  • Lumber
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Lumber is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber
  • Brister
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Brister is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brister
  • Milner ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Milner is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milner
  • College Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Village
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Sharman
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sharman is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharman
  • Horsehead
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Delta
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Delta is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Spotville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Spotville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spotville
    • Atlanta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Atlanta is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlanta

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Magnolia ...

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 Magnolia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Magnolia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Magnolia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Magnolia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3> of Magnolia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Magnolia:

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>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 Magnolia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Magnolia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.