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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 Sand Hill (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 Sand Hill. 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 Sand Hill ...

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.

Another variation: Sandhill.

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 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.

Sand Hill 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 Sand Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sand Hill:

  • Walton County     (The home county of Sand Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Pleasant Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
      • Pleasant Grove is located in Walton County
    • Union
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Walton County
    • De Funiak Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mossy Head
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Argyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Paxton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Knox Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
      • Knox Hill is located in Walton County
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Portland is located in Walton County
    • Freeport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Santa Rosa Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Holmes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Ponce de Leon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cerrogordo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cerrogordo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
      • Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
    • Westville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Izagora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Izagora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Izagora
      • Izagora is located in Holmes County
    • Bonifay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Okaloosa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Svea
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
      • Svea is located in Okaloosa County
    • Laurel Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Garden City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Okaloosa County
    • Crestview
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Niceville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Milligan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Valparaiso
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cannon Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Town
      • Cannon Town is located in Okaloosa County
    • Baker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Coosada Old Town ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coosada Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coosada Old Town
      • Coosada Old Town is located in Washington County
    • Caryville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Five Points
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
      • Five Points is located in Washington County
    • Millers Ferry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millers Ferry. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millers Ferry
      • Millers Ferry is located in Washington County
  • Coffee County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Kinston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinston
      • Kinston is located in Coffee County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinston <2>
    • Alberton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberton
      • Alberton is located in Coffee County (AL)
  • Covington County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Florala
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 <2>
    • Lockhart
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
    • Onycha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onycha
      • Onycha is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
    • Red Oak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
      • Red Oak is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Beulah
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beulah have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Horn Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Horn Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horn Hill
      • Horn Hill is located in Covington County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
    • Wing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wing
      • Wing is located in Covington County (AL)
    • Falco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falco
      • Falco is located in Covington County (AL)
    • County Line
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for County Line have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for County Line
      • County Line is located in Covington County (AL)
  • Geneva County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Sand Hill, with the one closest to Sand Hill listed first.
    • Samson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samson
      • Samson is located in Geneva County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,853 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Samson <2>
    • Geneva
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Geneva County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,262 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneva <2>
    • Eunola ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eunola
      • Eunola is located in Geneva County (AL)
    • Costilla ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Costilla have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Costilla
      • Costilla is located in Geneva County (AL)
    • Coffee Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coffee Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee Springs
      • Coffee Springs is located in Geneva County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Black
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black
      • Black is located in Geneva County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
    • Chancellor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chancellor
      • Chancellor is located in Geneva County (AL)

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

Cemeteries Near Sand Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sand Hill.

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 Sand Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Ray Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ray Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miller Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Ridge Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Magnolia Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Padgett Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Padgett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Padgett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crowder Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crowder Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crowder Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Broxton Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Leonia Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leonia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leonia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Limestone Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Limestone Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Limestone Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Dorcas Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Dorcas Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Dorcas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (112 more) ...
    • Chapel Hill Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rock Hill Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rock Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rock Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Greenwood Memorial Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)

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

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

  • Ealum
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ealum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ealum
    • Ealum is located in Walton County
  • Gordon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gordon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
    • Gordon is located in Walton County
  • Mossy Head
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Union
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Union. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Union is located in Walton County
  • Argyle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Florala
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 <2>
  • Eucheeanna
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eucheeanna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucheeanna
    • Eucheeanna is located in Walton County
  • Ponce de Leon
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cerrogordo
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cerrogordo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerrogordo
    • Cerrogordo is located in Holmes County
  • Knox Hill
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox Hill
    • Knox Hill is located in Walton County
  • Westville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Vaughanville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vaughanville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughanville
    • Vaughanville is located in Geneva County (AL)
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Izagora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Izagora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Izagora
      • Izagora is located in Holmes County
    • Marl
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marl have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marl
      • Marl is located in Geneva County (AL)
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Portland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
      • Portland 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 Sand Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sand Hill.

Newspapers Published in Sand Hill ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sand Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sand Hill, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sand Hill.

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 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 Sand Hill:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Sand Hill. 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: https://www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>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 Sand Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sand Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sand Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.8371, Longitude: -86.1905       In this case, the coordinates for Sand Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Mar 2025