RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Clark County >> Okolona >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Okolona (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 Okolona. 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 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 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.

Okolona is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Dallas, Hot Spring, Montgomery, Nevada, Ouachita & Pike.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of Okolona)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Beirne
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Beirne is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beirne
    • Gurdon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Curtis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Curtis is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
    • Gum Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Gum Springs is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Alpine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Alpine is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Whelen Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Arkadelphia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Amity
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Amity is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 674 people
    • Caddo Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Caddo Valley is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caddo Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Griffithtown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Joan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Vaden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Dalark
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Sparkman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Garland County
  • Hempstead County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Blevins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • McCaskill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • McCaskill is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCaskill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • Perrytown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Perrytown is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrytown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
    • Tokio
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Oakhaven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Oakhaven is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakhaven
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Ozan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Ozan is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ozan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 79 people
    • Doyle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Washington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Clow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Hope
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Shover Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Hot Spring County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Bismarck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Friendship
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Friendship is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
    • Bonnerdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Midway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Midway is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Donaldson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Donaldson is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donaldson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Saginaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Howard County
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Hickory Station ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hickory Station is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Station
    • Mazarn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Boughton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Prescott
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Emmet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Emmet is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
    • Laneburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Bluff City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Zama ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Zama is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zama
    • Cale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Cale is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
    • Rosston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Bodcaw
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Ouachita County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okolona, with the one closest to Okolona listed first.
    • Reader
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Chidester
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Chidester is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chidester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Wyloe ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wyloe is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyloe
    • Bragg City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bragg City is located in Ouachita County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bragg City
  • Pike County

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

Cemeteries Near Okolona ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Okolona.

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

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

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

  • Wier Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Okolona Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Ross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Pettus Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Peeples Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Old Rome Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Rome Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Clear Spring Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Wimbley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Antoine Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (208 more) ...
    • Sloan Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • McAlly Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lamb Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Okolona had a population of 400 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Okolona had a population of 135 people.

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

  • Dobyville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Dobyville is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobyville
  • Clear Spring
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Clear Spring is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Spring
  • Antoine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hollywood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollywood is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
  • Bowen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Boughton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Beirne
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Beirne is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beirne
  • Gurdon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Smithton ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Smithton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithton
  • Arcadia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Arcadia is located in Hempstead County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Prescott
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Curtis
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Curtis is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Hearn ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hearn is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hearn
    • Wallaceburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wallaceburg is located in Hempstead County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceburg
    • Gum Springs
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Gum Springs is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people

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

Newspapers Published in Okolona ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Okolona.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Okolona, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Okolona.

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 either 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 Okolona:

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 Okolona, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Okolona) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.