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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 Forest Highlands (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 Forest Highlands. 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 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.

Forest Highlands is located in Walton County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Walton County: Covington (AL), Geneva (AL), Bay, Holmes, Okaloosa & Washington.

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

  • Walton County     (The home county of Forest Highlands)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Highlands, with the one closest to Forest Highlands listed first.
    • Mossy Head
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • De Funiak Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Paxton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Argyle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Pleasant Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County
    • Freeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Miramar Beach
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Sandestin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • The Village of Baytowne Wharf
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Village of Baytowne Wharf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Village of Baytowne Wharf
      • The Village of Baytowne Wharf is located in Walton County
    • Four Mile Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Mile Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile Village
      • Four Mile Village is located in Walton County
    • Santa Rosa Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Knox Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
      • Knox Hill is located in Walton County
  • Holmes County
    • Ponce de Leon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Okaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Highlands, with the one closest to Forest Highlands listed first.
    • Crestview
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Garden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
    • Niceville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Valparaiso
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Milligan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Svea
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
      • Svea is located in Okaloosa County
    • Laurel Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Baker
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Eglin Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eglin Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eglin Village
      • Eglin Village is located in Okaloosa County
    • Cannon Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
      • Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
    • Lake Lorraine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Lorraine have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lorraine
      • Lake Lorraine is located in Okaloosa County
    • Holt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Santa Rosa County
  • Washington County
    • Coosada Old Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coosada Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town
      • Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County
  • Covington County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Highlands, with the one closest to Forest Highlands listed first.
    • Florala
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florala
      • Florala is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,891 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florala <1>
    • Lockhart
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
      • Lockhart is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
    • Wing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
      • Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Falco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
      • Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Red Oak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
      • Red Oak is located in Covington County (AL)
  • Escambia County (AL)
    • Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
      • Bradley is located in Escambia County (AL)

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

Newspapers Published in Forest Highlands ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Highlands.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Highlands, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Highlands.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Forest Highlands:

Cemeteries Near Forest Highlands ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Highlands.

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

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

  • Crowder Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crowder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crowder Cemetery
  • Old Dorcas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Dorcas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Dorcas Cemetery
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olive Cemetery
  • Hart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hart Cemetery
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • New Home Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Home Cemetery
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Live Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Live Oak Cemetery
  • Reeder Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reeder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reeder Cemetery
  • Rock Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rock Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rock Hill Cemetery
  • Sweeney Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sweeney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sweeney Cemetery
  • Early Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (57 more) ...
    • Rocky Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rocky Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rocky Cemetery
    • Black Oak Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Black Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Black Oak Cemetery
    • Hewas Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hewas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hewas Cemetery

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>

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

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

  • Mossy Head
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Ealum
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ealum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ealum
    • Ealum is located in Walton County
  • Gordon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Gordon is located in Walton County
  • Portland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
    • Portland is located in Walton County
  • Freeport
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Eucheeanna
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eucheeanna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucheeanna
    • Eucheeanna is located in Walton County
  • Argyle
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Florala
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florala
    • Florala is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,891 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florala <1>
  • Union
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Union is located in Walton County
  • Knox Hill
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
    • Knox Hill is located in Walton County
  • Beda
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beda
    • Beda is located in Covington County (AL)
  • Ponce de Leon
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Otahite ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Otahite. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
    • Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
  • Redbay
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redbay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbay
    • Redbay is located in Walton County

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

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

The official website for Walton County: www.co.walton.fl.us/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

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 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.
<3>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- Forest Highlands) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Forest Highlands. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.7071, Longitude: -86.3838       In this case, the coordinates for Forest Highlands have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Forest Highlands, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024