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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 Ringgold (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 Ringgold. 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 Ringgold ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Ringgold was referred to as Ringgold Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Ringgold. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Ringgold.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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.

Ringgold is located in Catoosa County and is the County Seat.

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 Catoosa County: Walker, Whitfield & Hamilton (TN).

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

  • Catoosa County     (The home county of Ringgold)
  • Chattooga County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Euthtilloga ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Euthtilloga is located in Chattooga County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Euthtilloga
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 29,011 people
    • Trion
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Pennville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Wildwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Morganville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Morganville is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganville
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,835 people
    • Trenton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Rising Fawn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cole City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Cole City is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cole City
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 127 people
    • Stewart Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Stewart Town is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart Town
  • Gordon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Hill City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Hill City is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
    • Resaca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sugar Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Resaca Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Resaca Ferry is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Resaca Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2019: 803 people
    • Damascus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Soapstick
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Soapstick is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soapstick
      • Estimated population in 2019: 4,544 people
    • New Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • New Town is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Calhoun Ferry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Calhoun Ferry is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun Ferry
      • Estimated population in 2019: 17,271 people
    • Calhoun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Buff ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Buff is located in Gordon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buff
      • Estimated population in 2019: 15,522 people
  • Murray County
  • Walker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Rock Spring
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dewberry Town
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Dewberry Town is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewberry Town
    • Lytle
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Lytle is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytle
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 37,115 people
    • Park City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Park City is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
    • John Ross Estates
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • John Ross Estates is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John Ross Estates
      • Estimated population in 2018: 84,310 people
    • Chickamauga
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Fairview
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Orchard Hills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
      • Estimated population in 2019: 232 people
    • Warren Terrace
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Warren Terrace is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warren Terrace
      • Estimated population in 2019: 1,720 people
    • Rossville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fantasy Hills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Fantasy Hills is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fantasy Hills
      • Estimated population in 2019: 316 people
    • Happy Valley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Happy Valley is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
      • Estimated population in 2019: 192 people
    • Chattanooga Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Chattanooga Valley is located in Walker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chattanooga Valley
  • Whitfield County
  • DeKalb County (AL)
  • Jackson County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Eliza
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Bryant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Higdon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Bradley County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Mineral Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • McDonald
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Earnest ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Earnest is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earnest
    • Wildwood Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
    • South Cleveland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • South Cleveland is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
    • Bent Tree Acres
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
    • Cleveland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • East Cleveland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • East Cleveland is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
    • Countryside Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Countryside Village is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
    • Hopewell Estates
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
    • Hopewell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hopewell is located in Bradley County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Bellefounte
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Etola
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hamilton County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • East Brainerd
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • East Brainerd is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brainerd
    • Ryall Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Ryall Springs is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryall Springs
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,166 people
    • Apison
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Howardville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brainerd Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • East Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Auburn Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Auburn Hills is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Hills
      • Estimated population in 2014: 929 people
    • Collegedale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Ooltewah
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Milbro Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Milbro Heights is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milbro Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 7,834 people
    • Hillsboro Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hillsboro Heights is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro Heights
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 450 people
    • Ridgedale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridgeside
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ridgeside is located in Hamilton County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 446 people
  • Marion County (TN)
  • Meigs County (TN)
    • East View
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • East View is located in Meigs County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
      • Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
  • Polk County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ringgold, with the one closest to Ringgold listed first.
    • Oldfort
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ball Play
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Ocoee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Parksville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Parksville is located in Polk County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parksville
    • Chable ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Chable is located in Polk County (TN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chable

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

Cemeteries Near Ringgold ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ringgold.

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 Ringgold - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Ringgold had a population of 465 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ringgold had a population of 3,492 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ringgold ...

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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ringgold.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ringgold. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ringgold and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ringgold.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> of Ringgold.

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 Ringgold:

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>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 Ringgold, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Ringgold) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.