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 Columbia (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 Columbia. 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.
Columbia is located in Fayette County .
To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries .
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fayette County : Franklin , Henry , Rush , Union & Wayne .
Below are the counties that are near Columbia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Columbia:
Fayette County (The home county of Columbia)
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Nulltown (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Nulltown is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nulltown Alpine (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Alpine is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine Orange (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Orange is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Connersville (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
Everton (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Everton is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everton Harrisburg (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
Harrisburg is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg Springersville (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
Springersville is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springersville Fairview (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Fairview is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Bentonville (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
Bentonville is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bentonville Dearborn County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Lawrenceville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Lawrenceville is located in Dearborn County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceville Saint Leon (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
Saint Leon is located in Dearborn County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leon Population from the 2020 Census: 669 people
New Alsace (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
New Alsace is located in Dearborn County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Alsace Logan (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Logan is located in Dearborn County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan Yorkville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Yorkville is located in Dearborn County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville West Harrison (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Decatur County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Clarksburg (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
Clarksburg is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksburg Saint Maurice (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Saint Maurice is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Maurice Springhill ‑ Historic(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
Springhill is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhill New Point (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Greensburg (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
Knarr Corner (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Knarr Corner is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knarr Corner Saint Omer (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Saint Omer is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Omer Smyrna (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
Smyrna is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna Adams (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Adams is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Germantown (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Germantown is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown Saint Paul (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Harris City (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Harris City is located in Decatur County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris City Milford (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Franklin County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Laurel (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Andersonville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Andersonville is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville Metamora (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
Yellow Bank (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
Yellow Bank is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Bank Brookville (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Oak Forest (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Oak Forest is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Forest Oldenburg (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Enochsburg (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Enochsburg is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enochsburg Oak Tree Crossroads (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Oak Tree Crossroads is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Tree Crossroads Youngs Corner (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Youngs Corner is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Corner Bath (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Bath is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Cedar Grove (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Cedar Grove is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
Mount Carmel (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
Mount Carmel is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
Hancock County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Charlottesville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Charlottesville is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlottesville Shirley (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
Shirley is located in Hancock County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley Population from the 2020 Census: 906 people
Wilkinson (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Henry County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Straughn (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Lewisville (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Dunreith (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
New Lisbon (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
New Lisbon is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lisbon Ogden (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Ogden is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden Spiceland (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Corwin (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Corwin is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwin Knightstown (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
Millville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Millville is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville Greensboro (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Greensboro is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensboro Population from the 2020 Census: 137 people
New Castle (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
Grant City (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
Grant City is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant City Messick (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
Messick is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Messick Parke County
Stumptown (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Stumptown is located in Parke County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown Ripley County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Batesville (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Morris (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Morris is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morris Penntown (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
Penntown is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Penntown Sunman (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Lookout (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Lookout is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout Napoleon (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Stumpke Corner (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Stumpke Corner is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumpke Corner Delaware (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
Delaware is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delaware Pierceville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Pierceville is located in Ripley County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierceville Rush County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Glenwood (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
Falmouth (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Falmouth is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth Gings (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
Gings is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gings Rushville (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
Raleigh (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
Raleigh is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh Milroy (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
Mays (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Mays is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mays Williamstown (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
Williamstown is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown Henderson (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Henderson is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henderson Gowdy (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Gowdy is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowdy Homer (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Homer is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer Moscow (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
Moscow is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow Arlington (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
Shelby County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Blue Ridge (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
Blue Ridge is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge Gwynneville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
Gwynneville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gwynneville Rays Crossing (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
Rays Crossing is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rays Crossing Waldron (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Waldron is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldron Morristown (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
Prescott (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Prescott is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott Knighthood Village (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Knighthood Village is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knighthood Village Geneva (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Geneva is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva Hildebrand Village (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Hildebrand Village is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hildebrand Village Riley Village (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Riley Village is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riley Village Shelbyville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Wilson Corner (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Wilson Corner is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson Corner Union County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Brownsville (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Brownsville is located in Union County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville Yankee Town (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Yankee Town is located in Union County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Town Billingsville (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Billingsville is located in Union County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billingsville Liberty (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Goodwins Corner (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
Goodwins Corner is located in Union County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Corner West College Corner (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
Contreras (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Contreras is located in Union County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Contreras Wayne County
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Beesons (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
Beesons is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beesons Milton (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Milton is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
Cambridge City (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Dublin (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Dublin is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin Population from the 2020 Census: 746 people
East Germantown (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
East Germantown is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Germantown Population from the 2020 Census: 351 people
Mount Auburn (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Mount Auburn is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Auburn Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
Abington (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Abington is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington Pennville (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Pennville is located in Wayne County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville Centerville (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
Boston (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Greens Fork (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Hagerstown (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Richmond (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Butler County (OH)
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Contreras (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Contreras is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Contreras Peoria (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
Peoria is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoria Scipio (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
Scipio is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scipio Oxford (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Reily (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Reily is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reily Saint Charles (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Saint Charles is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles Bunker Hill (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Bunker Hill is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill Alert (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Alert is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alert Okeana (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Auburn (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Auburn is located in Butler County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburn Somerville (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
Preble County (OH)
The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
College Corner (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Morning Sun (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Morning Sun is located in Preble County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Sun Corvin ‑ Historic(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Corvin is located in Preble County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corvin Lake Lakengren (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Lake Lakengren is located in Preble County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lakengren New Paris (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Camden (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
New Hope (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
New Hope is located in Preble County (OH) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Columbia, see our County-by-County Page for Columbia .
Cemeteries Near Columbia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbia.
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 Columbia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Columbia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Stevens Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Columbia Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Wadams Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
Klum Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the south)
Halstead Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Tullis Chapel Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
Conner Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Webb Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Nulltown Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Green Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Brumfiel Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
Murray Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Continue List (308 more) ...
Brownlee Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Tate Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Bever Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
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 Columbia had a population of 56 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
Alpine (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
Alpine is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine Nulltown (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
Nulltown is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nulltown Orange (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Orange is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Laurel (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Andersonville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Andersonville is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville Everton (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
Everton is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everton Glenwood (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
Harrisburg (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
Harrisburg is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisburg Mauzy (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
Mauzy is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauzy New Salem (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
New Salem is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem Alquina (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
Alquina is located in Fayette County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alquina Farmington (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
Farmington is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington Continue List (14 more) ...
Metamora (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
Blooming Grove (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
Blooming Grove is located in Franklin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove Falmouth (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Falmouth is located in Rush County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falmouth
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Columbia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Columbia .
Newspapers Published in Columbia ...
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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Columbia, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<3> Extended Newspaper List for Columbia.
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 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 Columbia:
Websites specific to Indiana Pages specific to Fayette County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Dearborn County Decatur County Franklin County Hancock County Henry County Parke County Ripley County Rush County Shelby County Union County Wayne County Butler County Preble County Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Columbia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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- Columbia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.