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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 Ocala Ridge (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 Ocala Ridge. 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 Ocala Ridge ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Ocala Ridge: Ocala Rdg. (or less commonly used: Ocala Rdge. or Ocala Ridg.)

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 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.

Ocala Ridge is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Alachua, Citrus, Lake, Levy, Putnam, Sumter & Volusia.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Ocala Ridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Ocala
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Ocala is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
    • Fellowship
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fellowship is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
    • York
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • York is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
    • Martin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Martin is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
    • Silver Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lowell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Anthony
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sparr
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairfield is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Heijahs Town ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Heijahs Town is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heijahs Town
    • Reddick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Belleview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alachua County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Island Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Evinston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Micanopy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lochloosa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rochelle
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Rochelle is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochelle
    • Hawthorne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Archer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Arredondo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Arredondo is located in Alachua County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arredondo
  • Citrus County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Holder
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Citrus Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hernando
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pine Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Pine Ridge is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Ridge
    • Beverly Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Citrus Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Citrus Hills is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citrus Hills
    • Inverness Highlands North
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Inverness
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Black Diamond
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Black Diamond is located in Citrus County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Diamond
    • Inverness Highlands South
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lecanto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Conant
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Conant is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conant
    • Lady Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlton Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carlton Village is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton Village
    • Fruitland Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitney
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitney is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
  • Levy County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Morriston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • East Williston
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • East Williston is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Williston
    • Williston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Raleigh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Raleigh is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
    • Williston Highlands
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Williston Highlands is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williston Highlands
    • East Bronson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • East Bronson is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bronson
    • Inglis
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Meredith
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Meredith is located in Levy County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith
    • Gulf Hammock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocala Ridge, with the one closest to Ocala Ridge listed first.
    • Oxford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • The Villages
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • The Villages is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Villages
    • Wildwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Coleman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Lake Panasoffkee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Orange Home
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Orange Home is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Home
    • Adamsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Adamsville is located in Sumter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adamsville

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

Cemeteries Near Ocala Ridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ocala Ridge.

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 Ocala Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Good Shepherd Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Watula Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Carter Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Agnew Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Tucker Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Lincoln Memorial Gardens of Ocala
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Forest Hills Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Temple Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Greenwood Cemetery Section
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (100 more) ...

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 Ocala Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ocala Ridge.

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

  • Martel
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Martel is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martel
  • Ocala
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Ocala is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocala
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61,669 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocala <1>
  • Kendrick
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kendrick is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendrick
  • Fellowship
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Fellowship is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fellowship
  • York
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • York is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
  • Cotton Plant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Cotton Plant is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Plant
  • Martin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Martin is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martin
  • Leroy ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leroy is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leroy
  • Montague
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Montague is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
  • Santos
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Santos is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santos
  • Silver Springs
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Anthony
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Lowell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Blitchton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Blitchton is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blitchton
    • Early Bird
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Early Bird is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Early Bird

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

Newspapers Published in Ocala Ridge ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ocala Ridge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ocala Ridge, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ocala Ridge.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Ocala Ridge:

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 Ocala Ridge, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Ocala Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.