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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 Fountain (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 Fountain. 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.

Fountain is located in Monroe County.

To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Monroe County: Randolph, Saint Clair, Jefferson (MO), Saint Louis (MO) & Sainte Genevieve (MO).

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

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Fountain)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Valmeyer
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Foster Pond ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
    • Wartburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Wartburg is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
    • Waterloo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Columbia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Madonnaville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
    • Monroe City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Monroe City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe City
    • Maeystown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Burksville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Burksville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville
    • Chalfin Bridge
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Chalfin Bridge is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalfin Bridge
    • Mitchie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Mitchie is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchie
    • Burksville Station
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Burksville Station is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burksville Station
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Newport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Newport is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Venice
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Madison
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Granite City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Nameoki
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nameoki is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameoki
    • Collinsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pontoon Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mitchell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Mitchell is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
    • Brooks
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Brooks is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
    • Maryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Randolph County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Red Bud
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Prairie du Rocher
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Prairie du Rocher is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Rocher
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Prairie du Rocher has also been known as:
      • Prairie du Rocher village
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prairie du Rocher <1>
    • Ruma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ruma is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruma
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
    • Modoc
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Modoc is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Modoc
    • Baldwin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Evansville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Preston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Preston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
    • Houston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Houston is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
    • Walsh
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Walsh is located in Randolph County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walsh
  • Saint Clair County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Dupo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Dupo is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,845 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dupo <1>
    • East Carondelet
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Falling Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Falling Spring is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falling Spring
    • Millstadt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Imbs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Imbs is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbs
    • Cahokia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Cahokia is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cahokia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,742 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cahokia <1>
    • Smithton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Sauget
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Sauget is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauget
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sauget <1>
    • Centreville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Centreville is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centreville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,844 people
    • Alorton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Alorton is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alorton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alorton <1>
    • Gartside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Gartside is located in Saint Clair County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gartside
    • Belleville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Franklin County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Pacific
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Pacific is located in Franklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pacific
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,097 people
      • Former name for Pacific:
      • Franklin
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pacific <1>
    • Catawissa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hemker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hemker is located in Franklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemker
    • Robertsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Lonedell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Lonedell is located in Franklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonedell
    • Luebbering
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Luebbering is located in Franklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luebbering
    • Port Royal ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Port Royal is located in Franklin County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Royal
    • Saint Albans
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Gray Summit
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Kimmswick
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Flamm City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Flamm City is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flamm City
    • Imperial
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Arnold
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Arnold is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <1>
    • Barnhart
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Maxville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Maxville is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxville
    • Pevely
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Pevely is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <1>
    • Herculaneum
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Horine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Horine is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horine
    • Otto
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Otto is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
    • Festus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Festus is located in Jefferson County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <1>
  • Saint Charles County (MO)
    • Harvester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Saint Francois County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • French Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Blackwell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Blackwell is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
    • Silver Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Silver Springs is located in Saint Francois County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Springs
  • Saint Louis City (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Carondelet
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Carondelet is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carondelet
    • Cheltenham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Cheltenham is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheltenham
    • Saint Louis
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Tower Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Tower Grove is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tower Grove
    • University City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • University City is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,049 people
    • Baden
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Baden is located in Saint Louis City (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baden
  • Saint Louis County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Oakville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Oakville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Mattese
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mattese is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattese
    • Mehlville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mehlville is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mehlville
    • Concord
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Green Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Green Park is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
    • Ivory
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Ivory is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivory
    • Lemay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Lemay is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemay
    • Bella Villa
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Bella Villa is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bella Villa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 721 people
    • Lakeshire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Lakeshire is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeshire
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,385 people
    • Saint George
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Saint George is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
      • Estimated population in 2011: 1,336 people
    • Affton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Affton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Affton
    • Fenton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Fenton is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fenton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,027 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fenton <1>
  • Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain, with the one closest to Fountain listed first.
    • Brickeys
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Brickeys is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickeys
      • Former names for Brickeys:
      • Brickeys Gristmill
      • Brickeys Landing
    • Needmore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Needmore is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
    • Clement ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Clement is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
    • Kinsey
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Kinsey is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
    • Bloomsdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Bloomsdale is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomsdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 562 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bloomsdale <1>
    • Lawrenceton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Lawrenceton is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceton
    • Little Rock Landing ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Little Rock Landing is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Landing
    • Marlo ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Marlo is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlo
    • Rocky Ridge Ranch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rocky Ridge Ranch is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge Ranch
    • Rocky Ridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Rocky Ridge is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Ridge
    • Zell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Zell is located in Sainte Genevieve County (MO)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zell
    • Sainte Genevieve
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Fountain ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fountain.

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

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

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

  • Eagle Cliff Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Madonnaville Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bloyd Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Deer Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • New Hanover Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • McConkey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Liquori Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Wallace Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (402 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 Fountain in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fountain.

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

  • New Hanover
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • New Hanover is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hanover
  • Foster Pond ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Foster Pond is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Pond
  • White House
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • White House is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House
  • Wickes
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wickes is located in Jefferson County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wickes
  • Kimmswick
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sulphur Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Jefferson County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Bushburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bushburg is located in Jefferson County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushburg
  • Harrisonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Harrisonville is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
  • Wartburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wartburg is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wartburg
  • Cliff Cave
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Cliff Cave is located in Saint Louis County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliff Cave
  • Riverside
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverside is located in Jefferson County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
  • Madonnaville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Madonnaville is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Waterloo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Columbia
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Millstadt Junction
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Millstadt Junction is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstadt Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Fountain ...

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 83 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fountain.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fountain, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fountain.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Fountain:

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 Fountain, 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- Fountain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.