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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 Oden (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 Oden. 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 northwest 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 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.

Oden is located in Montgomery County.

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 Montgomery County: Clark, Garland, Howard, Pike, Polk, Scott & Yell.

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

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Oden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Whitetown
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Pencil Bluff
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pencil Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pencil Bluff
      • Pencil Bluff is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pencil Bluff <2>
    • Sims
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Ida
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Ida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ida
      • Mount Ida is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,005 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Ida <2>
    • Black Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Springs
      • Black Springs is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • Cox Spring
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Norman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
      • Norman is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norman <2>
    • Washita
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Story
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Ophir
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ophir. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
      • Ophir is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ophir
      • From Oden to Ophir
    • Manfred
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manfred. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manfred
      • Manfred is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Manfred
      • From Oden to Manfred
    • Caddo Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Fannie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Calhoun County
  • Clark County
    • Amity
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Amity is located in Clark County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
  • Garland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Meyers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Gladstone ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gladstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
      • Gladstone is located in Garland County
    • Pearcy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hot Spring County
    • Bonnerdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonnerdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnerdale
      • Bonnerdale is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonnerdale <2>
  • Howard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Athens
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Umpire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Umpire have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpire
      • Umpire is located in Howard County
  • Pike County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Big Fork
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Board Camp
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Board Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Board Camp
      • Board Camp is located in Polk County
    • Dallas
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Mena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Potter Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Harvey
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
      • Harvey is located in Scott County
    • Little Texas
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Parks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Nebraska ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nebraska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebraska
      • Nebraska is located in Scott County
    • Y City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Y City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Y City
      • Y City is located in Scott County
    • Boles
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Cardiff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cardiff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
      • Cardiff is located in Scott County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cardiff
      • From Oden to Cardiff
    • Gate ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gate
      • Gate is located in Scott County
    • Waldron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Winfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Yell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oden, with the one closest to Oden listed first.
    • Chula
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chula. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chula
      • Chula is located in Yell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chula
      • From Oden to Chula
    • Gravelly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Aly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Bluffton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Waltreak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Briggsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
      • Briggsville is located in Yell County
    • Wing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rover have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rover
      • Rover is located in Yell County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rover <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Oden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oden.

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 Oden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Oden Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brewer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brewer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brewer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forbes Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forbes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forbes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mullenix Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mullenix Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mullenix Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pencil Bluff Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pencil Bluff Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pencil Bluff Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grenade Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grenade Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grenade Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brushy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brushy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brushy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Goodner Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Macedonia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Macedonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilhite Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilhite Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilhite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (200 more) ...
    • Shirley Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rocky Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rocky Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rocky Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Amason Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amason Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amason Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 in 1895, Oden had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Oden had a population of 215 people.

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

  • Sims
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mount Ida
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Ida have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Ida
    • Mount Ida is located in Montgomery County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,005 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Ida <2>
  • Black Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Springs
    • Black Springs is located in Montgomery County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
  • Buck Knob
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Knob have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Knob
    • Buck Knob is located in Scott County
  • Cedar Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Cedar Creek is located in Scott County
  • Big Fork
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Washita
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Ophir
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ophir. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ophir
    • Ophir is located in Montgomery County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ophir
    • From Oden to Ophir
  • Story
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Manfred
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manfred. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manfred
    • Manfred is located in Montgomery County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Manfred
    • From Oden to Manfred
  • Chula
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chula. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chula
    • Chula is located in Yell County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Chula
    • From Oden to Chula
  • Parks
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Caddo Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Plata
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plata have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plata
      • Plata is located in Montgomery County
    • Nebraska ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nebraska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nebraska
      • Nebraska is located in Scott County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Oden ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oden.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Oden. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Oden and those printed in the larger area surrounding Oden.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Oden.

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 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 Oden:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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- Oden) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6191, Longitude: -93.7773    
<5>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.
<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 Oden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025