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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 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.

Forest Highlands is located in Walton 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 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)
    • Portland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Portland is located in Walton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
    • 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)
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
    • Freeport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Union is located in Walton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • 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)
    • Four Mile Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Four Mile Village is located in Walton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile Village
    • Santa Rosa Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
  • Holmes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Highlands, with the one closest to Forest Highlands listed first.
    • Ponce de Leon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cerrogordo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
  • 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)
      • Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • 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)
      • Svea is located in Okaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
    • 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)
      • Eglin Village is located in Okaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eglin Village
    • Cannon Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
    • Lake Lorraine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Lorraine is located in Okaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lorraine
    • Shalimar
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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)
      • Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town
  • 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)
      • Florala is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florala
      • 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)
      • Lockhart is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
    • Wing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
    • Falco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
    • Red Oak
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Red Oak is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
  • Escambia County (AL)
    • Bradley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bradley is located in Escambia County (AL)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley

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

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 Forest Highlands - one of the links might be able to help.

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)
  • Old Dorcas Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olive Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Hart Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Springhill Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • New Home Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Live Oak Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Reeder Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Rock Hill Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Sweeney Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Early Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (57 more) ...
    • Rocky Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Black Oak Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hewas Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)

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>

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)
    • Ealum is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ealum
  • Gordon
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Gordon is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
  • Portland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Portland is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
  • Freeport
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Eucheeanna
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Eucheeanna is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucheeanna
  • Argyle
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Florala
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Florala is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florala
    • 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)
    • Union is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Knox Hill
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Knox Hill is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
  • Beda
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Beda is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beda
  • Ponce de Leon
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Otahite ‑ Historic
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Otahite is located in Okaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otahite
  • Redbay
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Redbay is located in Walton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redbay

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.

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]<4>. 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 begin with 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:

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 Forest Highlands, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Forest Highlands) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.