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 Ponderosa Lake (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 Ponderosa Lake. 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 Ponderosa Lake ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Ponderosa Lake: Ponderosa Lk.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Ponderosa Lake is located in Peach County.
To see how the shape of Georgia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Peach County: Bibb, Crawford, Houston, Macon & Taylor.
Below are the counties that are near Ponderosa Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ponderosa Lake:
- Peach County (The home county of Ponderosa Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Washington Square
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Washington Square is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Square
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,963 people
- Fort Valley
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Taylors Mill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Taylors Mill is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylors Mill
- Estimated population in 2019: 224 people
- Miami Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Miami Valley is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miami Valley
- Lakeview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Byron
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Echeconnee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Echeconnee is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echeconnee
- Bibb County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Walden
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Walden is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walden
- Estimated population in 2019: 964 people
- West Point
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- West Point is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Point
- Lizella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rutland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rutland is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
- Estimated population in 2019: 842 people
- Bloomfield Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomfield Park is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomfield Park
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,686 people
- Vinson Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vinson Village is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinson Village
- Brookhaven
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brookhaven is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookhaven
- Estimated population in 2019: 55,554 people
- Macon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Payne
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Payne is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Payne
- Wheeler Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wheeler Heights is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler Heights
- Cross Keys
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Keys is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- East Macon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- East Macon is located in Bibb County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Macon
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Lee Pope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lee Pope is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Pope
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,055 people
- Zenith
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Zenith is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zenith
- Knoxville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Roberta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Musella
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dooly County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Dooling
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Dooling is located in Dooly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Unadilla
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Byromville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pinehurst
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lilly
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Vienna
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Perry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Woodard Estates
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Woodard Estates is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodard Estates
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,352 people
- Bonaire
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Kathleen
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Warner Robins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Clinchfield
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elko
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stathams Landing
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Stathams Landing is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stathams Landing
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,839 people
- Elberta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Elberta is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberta
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,329 people
- Jones County
- Belvedere Manor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Belvedere Manor is located in Jones County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere Manor
- Population from the 2010 Census: 15,152 people
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Marshallville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oglethorpe
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ideal
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Culloden
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Russellville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Russellville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
- Bolingbroke
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pulaski County
- Hawkinsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Schley County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Concord is located in Schley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ellaville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- La Crosse
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- La Crosse is located in Schley County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Sumter County
- Andersonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Andersonville is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Former name for Andersonville:
- Anderson
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Andersonville <1>
- Talbot County
- Prattsburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Prattsburg is located in Talbot County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prattsburg
- Taylor County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Reynolds
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Butler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rupert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Five Points
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Five Points is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
- Carsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Carsonville is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
- Howard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Howard is located in Taylor County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard
- Mauk
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Twiggs County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Huber
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Huber is located in Twiggs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huber
- Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Marion is located in Twiggs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Dry Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Upson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Salem is located in Upson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Yatesville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ponderosa Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Ponderosa Lake.
Cemeteries Near Ponderosa Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ponderosa Lake.
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 Ponderosa Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ponderosa Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Willow Lake Memorial Gardens
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Oaklawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaklawn Cemetery
- The Oaklawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- City Cemetery
- Ft. Valley Cemetery
- Oak Lawn Cemetery
- Williams Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Marshallville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Cool Spring Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Miami Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Diamond Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Thomas Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Gordon Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ross Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (275 more) ...
- Harris Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Benevolence Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Ponderosa Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ponderosa Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ponderosa Lake, with the one closest to Ponderosa Lake listed first.
- Marshallville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lee Pope
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lee Pope is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Pope
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,055 people
- Winchester
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Winchester is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Perry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Reynolds
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Barrons Lane
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Barrons Lane is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrons Lane
- Heard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Heard is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard
- Tharpe ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Tharpe is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tharpe
- Garden Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Garden Valley is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley
- Henderson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson
- Knoxville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Roberta
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Echeconnee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Echeconnee is located in Peach County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echeconnee
- Sandy Point
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sandy Point is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Point
- Elko
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ponderosa Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ponderosa Lake.
Newspapers Published in Ponderosa Lake ...
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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ponderosa Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ponderosa Lake, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ponderosa Lake.
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 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 Ponderosa Lake:
- Websites specific to Georgia
- Pages specific to Peach County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bibb County
- Crawford County
- Dooly County
- Houston County
- Jones County
- Macon County
- Monroe County
- Pulaski County
- Schley County
- Sumter County
- Talbot County
- Taylor County
- Twiggs County
- Upson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Georgia
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 Ponderosa Lake, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ponderosa Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |