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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 Fairbanks (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 Fairbanks. 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 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 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.

Fairbanks is located in Alachua County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Alachua County: Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam & Union.

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

  • Alachua County     (The home county of Fairbanks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Gainesville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Waldo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Windsor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Windsor is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
    • Earleton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rochelle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
    • Campville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Campville is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
    • Rutledge
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
    • Hague
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Hague is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
    • La Crosse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Arredondo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
    • Melrose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Burnetts Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Burnetts Lake is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnetts Lake
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Graham
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Brooker
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Starke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lawtey
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Keystone Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lake Geneva
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kingsley Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingsley Lake is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Lake
    • Kingsley Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingsley Village is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley Village
    • Kingsley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingsley is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsley
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Lulu
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort White
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gilchrist County
    • Waters Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Waters Lake is located in Gilchrist County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Lake
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Raleigh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • East Williston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
    • Williston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Meredith
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Meredith is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • East Bronson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • East Bronson is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bronson
    • Bronson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • McIntosh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Orange Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Paynes Town ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Paynes Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynes Town
    • Irvine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Irvine is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
    • Citra
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Heijahs Town ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Heijahs Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heijahs Town
    • Reddick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Orange Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Lowell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Sparr
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Fort McCoy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Putnam Hall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Grandin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Edgar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Florahome
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Keuka
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Keuka is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keuka
    • Interlachen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Mannville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Mannville is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mannville
    • Hollister
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairbanks, with the one closest to Fairbanks listed first.
    • Worthington Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Butler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Raiford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Fairbanks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairbanks.

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

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

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

  • Fairbanks Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Patrick Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patrick Memorial Gardens
    • The Patrick Memorial Gardens has also been known as:
    • Patrick Cemetery
  • Alachua Hillcrest Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Meadows Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Forest Meadows Memorial Park
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Saluda Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saluda Cemetery
    • The Saluda Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Saluda - Orange Heights Cemetery
  • Laurel Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Freedom Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (149 more) ...
    • Morning Star Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Free Canaan Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)

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 Fairbanks had a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Paradise
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Paradise is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
  • Gainesville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Windsor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Windsor is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
  • Orange Heights
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Orange Heights is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Heights
  • Waldo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rutledge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Rutledge is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
  • Rochelle
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
  • Campville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Campville is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campville
  • Earleton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Grove Park
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Grove Park is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
  • Hague
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hague is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hague
  • Arredondo
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • La Crosse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Melrose
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Hampton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Fairbanks ...

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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairbanks.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairbanks, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairbanks.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Fairbanks:

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 Fairbanks, 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' (or 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- Fairbanks) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.