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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 Sonora (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 Sonora. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Sonora is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Benton, Crawford, Madison & Adair (OK).

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Sonora)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Bethel Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bethel Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel Heights
      • Bethel Heights is located in Benton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,970 people
    • Silver Springs ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
      • Silver Springs is located in Benton County
    • Lowell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell is located in Benton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,876 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <2>
    • War Eagle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Prairie Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rogers
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Cave Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Springs
      • Cave Springs is located in Benton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,737 people
    • Puckett ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Puckett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puckett
      • Puckett is located in Benton County
    • Avoca
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Little Flock
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Flock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Flock
      • Little Flock is located in Benton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,812 people
    • Bentonville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brightwater
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brightwater. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brightwater
      • Brightwater is located in Benton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brightwater
      • From Sonora to Brightwater
    • Highfill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highfill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfill
      • Highfill is located in Benton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 916 people
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Mundell ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mundell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mundell
      • Mundell is located in Carroll County
    • Eureka Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eureka Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Springs
      • Eureka Springs is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,084 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eureka Springs <2>
    • Winona Springs ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Gaskins ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gaskins. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaskins
      • Gaskins is located in Carroll County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gaskins
      • From Sonora to Gaskins
    • Beaver
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beaver <2>
    • Holiday Island
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Metalton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Berryville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Conway County
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Bidville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bidville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidville
      • Bidville is located in Crawford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bidville
      • From Sonora to Bidville
    • Winfrey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Whitener
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hindsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wesley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
      • Wesley is located in Madison County
    • Georgetown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Thompson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Thompson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Thompson is located in Madison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Thompson
      • From Sonora to Thompson
    • Huntsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Crosses
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Crosses. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosses
      • Crosses is located in Madison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Crosses
      • From Sonora to Crosses
    • Delaney
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Marble
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Witter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Witter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witter
      • Witter is located in Madison County
    • Combs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Brashears
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Paul
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Barry County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Seligman
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seligman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seligman
      • Seligman is located in Barry County (MO)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
    • Washburn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Eagle Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
      • Eagle Rock is located in Barry County (MO)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Rock <2>
  • McDonald County (MO)
  • Adair County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sonora, with the one closest to Sonora listed first.
    • Watts Community
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watts Community
      • Watts Community is located in Adair County (OK)
    • Watts
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Delaware County (OK)
    • West Siloam Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Siloam Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Siloam Springs
      • West Siloam Springs is located in Delaware County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Siloam Springs <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Sonora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sonora.

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

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

  • Head Family Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Joyce Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Joyce Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Joyce Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Butler Ford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oxford Bend Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oxford Bend Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oxford Bend Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hickory Creek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mayfield Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mayfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mayfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Phillips Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Phillips Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dibler Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dibler Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dibler Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (297 more) ...
    • Forest Park Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Park Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bluff Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Holcomb Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holcomb Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holcomb 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>

While we didn't find Sonora in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sonora.

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

  • Goshen
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goshen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Goshen is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goshen <2>
  • Creech
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Creech have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creech
    • Creech is located in Benton County
  • Springdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Johnson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wyman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wyman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyman
    • Wyman is located in Washington County
  • Spring Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Summit ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Summit is located in Washington County
  • Baldwin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baldwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
    • Baldwin is located in Washington County
  • Whitener
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Lowell
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
    • Lowell is located in Benton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,876 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <2>
  • Silver Springs ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
    • Silver Springs is located in Benton County
  • Fayetteville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Harris
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harris. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
      • Harris is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harris
      • From Sonora to Harris
    • Key ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Key have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Key
      • Key is located in Benton County
    • Hindsville
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Sonora. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sonora.

Newspapers Published in Sonora ...

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 125 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sonora.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sonora, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sonora.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Sonora:

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

The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.ar.us/

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sonora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sonora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1653, Longitude: -94.0454       In this case, the coordinates for Sonora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Sonora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025