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The Commemorative Quarter for Arkansas





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 Sims (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 Sims. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Sims 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 Sims. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sims:

  • Montgomery County     (The home county of Sims)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Pencil Bluff
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Whitetown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Oden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Washita
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Mount Ida
      (8 miles [12.9 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>
    • Story
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Fannie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Black Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Norman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Fir ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fir. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fir
      • Fir is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fir
      • From Sims to Fir
    • Ophir
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • 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 Sims to Ophir
    • Joplin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • 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 Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Gladstone ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 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
    • Meyers
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Royal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Royal is located in Garland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <2>
    • Pearcy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain Pine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Pine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Pine
      • Mountain Pine is located in Garland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain Pine <2>
  • Hot Spring County
    • Bonnerdale
      (25 miles [40.2 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
  • Logan County
    • Golden City ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Golden City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden City
      • Golden City is located in Logan County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Golden City
      • From Sims to Golden City
  • Pike County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Big Fork
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Board Camp
      (24 miles [38.6 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
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Little Texas
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Harvey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Nebraska ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 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
    • Parks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Boles
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cardiff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 Sims to Cardiff
    • Y City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • Gate ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Yell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sims, with the one closest to Sims listed first.
    • Chula
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Sims to Chula
    • Aly
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gravelly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Bluffton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Waltreak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Briggsville
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rover
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Sims, see our County-by-County Page for Sims.

Cemeteries Near Sims ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sims.

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

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

  • Lone Valley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Macedonia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • 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.
  • Barber Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Barber Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Barber Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grenade Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • 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.
  • Pencil Bluff Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
  • Amason Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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.
  • Amerson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amerson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amerson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forbes Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
  • Rocky Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Oden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (202 more) ...
    • Mt. Olive Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.
    • Piney Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Piney Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Piney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rocky Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • 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.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Sims had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Oden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Mount Ida
    (8 miles [12.9 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>
  • Washita
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Story
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Chula
    (11 miles [17.7 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 Sims to Chula
  • Black Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 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
  • Cedar Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 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
  • Aly
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Buck Knob
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Nebraska ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 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
  • Ophir
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • 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 Sims to Ophir
  • Plata
    (16 miles [25.7 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
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Sims ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sims.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sims, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sims.

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 Sims:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sims. 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>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>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 Sims, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sims) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sims. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6594, Longitude: -93.6912    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025