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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Willow Springs. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Willow Springs to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Willow Springs, please Contact Us.

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 Willow Springs (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 Willow Springs. 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 Willow Springs ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Willow Springs: Willow Spgs. (or less commonly used: Willow Spngs. or Willow Sprngs.)

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.

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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Willow Springs is historic, it would have been located within present day Kern County.

To see how the shape of California's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kern County: Inyo, Kings, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare & Ventura.

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

  • Kern County     (The home county of Willow Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Rosamond
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Actis Gardens ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Actis Gardens
      • Actis Gardens is located in Kern County
    • Actis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Actis
      • Actis is located in Kern County
      • Former names for Actis:
      • Gloster
      • Highberg
      • Rummington
    • Reefer City ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reefer City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reefer City
      • Reefer City is located in Kern County
    • Gold Town ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gold Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Town
      • Gold Town is located in Kern County
    • Mojave
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Summit
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Kern County
    • Tehachapi
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Edwards
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Golden Hills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Hills
      • Golden Hills is located in Kern County
    • Old Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Kern County
    • Stallion Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallion Springs
      • Stallion Springs is located in Kern County
  • Los Angeles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Springs, with the one closest to Willow Springs listed first.
    • Antelope Acres
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antelope Acres
      • Antelope Acres is located in Los Angeles County
    • Del Sur
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Sur
      • Del Sur is located in Los Angeles County
    • Lancaster
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Quartz Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lake Hughes
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Leona Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Neenach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neenach
      • Neenach is located in Los Angeles County
    • Green Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
      • Green Valley is located in Los Angeles County
    • Desert View Highlands
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Desert View Highlands
      • Desert View Highlands is located in Los Angeles County
    • Palmdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmdale
      • Palmdale is located in Los Angeles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150,498 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmdale <2>
    • Harold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
      • Harold is located in Los Angeles County
    • Agua Dulce
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Willow Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Springs.

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

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

  • Islamic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • James Foley Gravesite
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the James Foley Gravesite
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the James Foley Gravesite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the James Foley Gravesite is located 10 miles [16.1 km]<5> to the east of Mojave.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188029 <6>
  • Good Shepherd Catholic Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • East Kern Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Kern Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the East Kern Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Mojave.
    • The East Kern Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mojave Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1990430 <6>
  • Lancaster Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Joshua Memorial Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Sand Canyon Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Tehachapi Public Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tehachapi Public Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tehachapi Public Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Tehachapi.
    • The Tehachapi Public Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tehachapi Eastside Cemetery
    • Tehachapi Protestant Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2137484 <6>
  • Tehachapi Westside Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tehachapi Westside Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tehachapi Westside Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Tehachapi.
    • The Tehachapi Westside Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tehachapi Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2137488 <6>
  • Old Tehachapi Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Tejon Indian Settlement Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Palmdale Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palmdale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palmdale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Desert Lawn Memorial Park
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • California City Memorial Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Acton Community Cemetery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Acton Community Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Acton Community Cemetery is located outside and to the north of Acton.

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.

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

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

  • Rosamond
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Fairmont
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairmont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
    • Fairmont is located in Los Angeles County
  • Del Sur
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Del Sur
    • Del Sur is located in Los Angeles County
  • Mojave
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lancaster
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Neenach
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neenach
    • Neenach is located in Los Angeles County
  • Tehachapi
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Palmdale
    (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmdale
    • Palmdale is located in Los Angeles County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 150,498 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmdale <2>
  • Alpine ‑ Historic
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Alpine is located in Los Angeles County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Harold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harold
      • Harold is located in Los Angeles County
    • Girard ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Girard. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
      • Girard is located in Kern County
    • Vincent
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
      • Vincent is located in Los Angeles County
    • Acton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Keene
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Rowen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowen
      • Rowen is located in Kern County

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

Newspapers Published in Willow Springs ...

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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Springs, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow Springs.

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 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 Willow Springs:

The official website for Kern County: www.co.kern.ca.us/

The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Willow Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Willow Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willow Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8783, Longitude: -118.2967       In this case, the coordinates for Willow Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025