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 Fairfax (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 Fairfax. 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 southeast 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 south.
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 south 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.
Fairfax is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Brown, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Morgan & Owen.
Below are the counties that are near Fairfax. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairfax:
- Monroe County (The home county of Fairfax)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Harrodsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Smithville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Clear Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Kirksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Bloomington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Highland Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Village is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Village
- Stanford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stanford is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanford
- Unionville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Dolan
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dolan is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolan
- Ellettsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stinesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Stinesville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Bartholomew County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Stony Lonesome
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stony Lonesome is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Lonesome
- North Ogilville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- North Ogilville is located in Bartholomew County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ogilville
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Story
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Story is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Story
- Nashville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Pikes Peak
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pikes Peak is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pikes Peak
- Becks Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Becks Grove is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becks Grove
- Helmsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Helmsburg is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helmsburg
- Beanblossom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Beanblossom is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beanblossom
- Beanblossom has also been known as:
- Bean Blossom
- Gnaw Bone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Liberty
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Liberty is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Liberty
- Spearsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spearsville is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
- Davies's County
- Odon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greene County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Hendricksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hendricksville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendricksville
- Owensburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Owensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
- Solsberry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Koleen
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Koleen is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koleen
- Newark
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Newark is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Mineral City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Mineral City is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral City
- Tulip
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Tulip is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip
- Calvertville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Calvertville is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvertville
- Scotland
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Scotland is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Bloomfield
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Elliston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Elliston is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliston
- Plummer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Plummer is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Norman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Houston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Houston is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston
- Kurtz
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Kurtz is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kurtz
- Freetown
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Medora
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Spraytown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Spraytown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spraytown
- Vallonia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Brownstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cortland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Cortland is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cortland
- New Elizabethtown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- New Elizabethtown is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Elizabethtown
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Peoga
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Peoga is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peoga
- Princes Lakes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Princes Lakes is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princes Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Guthrie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Judah
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Judah is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judah
- Heltonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Avoca
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Oolitic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Springville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Popcorn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Bedford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Erie
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Erie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
- Zelma
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Zelma is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zelma
- Fayetteville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fayetteville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
- Crawford
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Crawford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Mount Olive
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Crane
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Burns City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Shoals
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lacy
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lacy is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
- Morgan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Mahalasville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mahalasville is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahalasville
- Taggart Crossing ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Taggart Crossing is located in Morgan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taggart Crossing
- Paragon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Morgantown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Martinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Orange County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Orleans
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Leipsic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
- Bromer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bromer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
- Abydel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Abydel is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
- Prospect
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Prospect is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- Owen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Freedom
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Freedom is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Spencer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Gosport
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Arney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Arney is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arney
- Cuba
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cuba is located in Owen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Saltillo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Saltillo is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Campbellsburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Claysville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Claysville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
- Plattsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Plattsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Kossuth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kossuth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Smedley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Smedley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairfax, see our County-by-County Page for Fairfax.
Cemeteries Near Fairfax ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfax.
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 Fairfax - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairfax covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Hanson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Covey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Deckard Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Chambers Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Hayes Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Knights of Pythias Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Clover Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Lucas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Anderson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hawkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brinegar Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (343 more) ...
- Bailey Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Hillenburg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Todd Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Fairfax had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Guthrie
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Guthrie is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guthrie
- Bartlettsville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bartlettsville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartlettsville
- Harrodsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Harrodsburg is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrodsburg
- Logan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Logan is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
- Smithville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Victor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Victor is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
- Heltonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clear Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Creek
- Yellowstone
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Yellowstone is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellowstone
- Kirksville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kirksville is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirksville
- Springville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Springville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Dark Hollow
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dark Hollow is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dark Hollow
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Shawswick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Shawswick is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawswick
- Popcorn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Popcorn is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popcorn
- Buenavista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Buenavista is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buenavista
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fairfax. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairfax.
Newspapers Published in Fairfax ...
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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfax.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfax, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfax.
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 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 Fairfax:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bartholomew County
- Brown County
- Davies's County
- Greene County
- Jackson County
- Johnson County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Morgan County
- Orange County
- Owen County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Indiana
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 Fairfax, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fairfax) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |