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 Paoli (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 Paoli. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Paoli is located in Orange County and is the County Seat.
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 Orange County: Crawford, Dubois, Lawrence, Martin & Washington.
Below are the counties that are near Paoli. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Paoli:
- Orange County (The home county of Paoli)
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Chambersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Mahan Crossing
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mahan Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahan Crossing
- Youngs Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Youngs Creek is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Creek
- Abydel
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Abydel is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
- Trotter Crossing
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trotter Crossing is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trotter Crossing
- Bromer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bromer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
- Orleans
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Prospect
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Prospect is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
- West Baden Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Baden Springs is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baden Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
- French Lick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Leipsic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
- Clark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Borden
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- New Providence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Providence is located in Clark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- English
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Marengo
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Taswell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Grantsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Grantsburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantsburg
- Pilot Knob
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pilot Knob is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Milltown
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Eckerty
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Riceville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Riceville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Magnolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Magnolia is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Carefree
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Carefree is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carefree
- Sulphur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Sulphur is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur
- West Fork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- West Fork is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fork
- Beechwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Beechwood is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood
- Davies's County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Alfordsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Alfordsville is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alfordsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
- Cannelburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cannelburg is located in Davies's County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Dubois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Hillham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Hillham is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillham
- Norton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Norton is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton
- Dubois
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Birdseye
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Celestine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Schnellville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Schnellville is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schnellville
- Kyana
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kyana is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyana
- Haysville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Haysville is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville
- Saint Anthony
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Jasper
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Portersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Portersville is located in Dubois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
- Ireland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Floyd County
- Greenville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greene County
- Owensburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Owensburg is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owensburg
- Harrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Depauw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Depauw is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Depauw
- Frenchtown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frenchtown is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
- Palmyra
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ramsey
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Ramsey is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Bradford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bradford is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
- Corydon Junction
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Corydon Junction is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon Junction
- New Salisbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crandall
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Crandall is located in Harrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Corydon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Medora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Vallonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Norman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lawrence County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Georgia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Georgia is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgia
- Mitchell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Spring Mill Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Spring Mill Village is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mill Village
- Stonington
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Stonington is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonington
- Lawrenceport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Lawrenceport is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawrenceport
- Bono
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bono is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bono
- Huron
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Huron is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron
- Hartleyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hartleyville is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartleyville
- Tunnelton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tunnelton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnelton
- Fort Ritner
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Fort Ritner is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Ritner
- Coxton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coxton is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coxton
- Williams
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Williams is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams
- Crawford
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Crawford is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Lacy
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lacy is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy
- Windom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Windom is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
- Shoals
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Loogootee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Burns City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Burns City is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burns City
- Perry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Saint Croix
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Siberia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Siberia is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siberia
- Branchville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Branchville is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branchville
- Sassafras
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sassafras is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassafras
- Apalona
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Apalona is located in Perry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apalona
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Livonia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Livonia is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livonia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
- Claysville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Claysville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
- Saltillo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saltillo is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saltillo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
- Hardinsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Campbellsburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Smedley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Smedley is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smedley
- Fredericksburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Salem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kossuth
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kossuth is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
- Plattsburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Plattsburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattsburg
- Harristown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Harristown is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harristown
- New Pekin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- New Pekin is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pekin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,392 people
- South Boston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- South Boston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Boston
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Paoli, see our County-by-County Page for Paoli.
Cemeteries Near Paoli ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Paoli.
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 Paoli - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Paoli covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Paoli Community Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Springer Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lewis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scott Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sulphur Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Youngscreek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Irvin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Little Africa Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Danners Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Copelin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Edward Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- IOOF Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (332 more) ...
- Old Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Fairview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mt. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Paoli had a population of 707 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Paoli had a population of 3,604 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Paoli, with the one closest to Paoli listed first.
- Lost River
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lost River is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost River
- Chambersburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Chambersburg is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chambersburg
- Stampers Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Stampers Creek is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stampers Creek
- Syria
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Syria is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syria
- Youngs Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Youngs Creek is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Youngs Creek
- Abydel
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Abydel is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abydel
- Orangeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Orangeville is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangeville
- Greenbrier
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greenbrier is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenbrier
- Bromer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bromer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromer
- Orleans
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- West Baden Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- West Baden Springs is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baden Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
- French Lick
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Valeene
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Valeene is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeene
- Rego
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rego is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rego
- Leipsic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leipsic is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leipsic
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Paoli. See our List of 1890's Communities around Paoli.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Paoli ...
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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Paoli.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Paoli. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Paoli and those printed in the larger area surrounding Paoli.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Paoli.
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 helpful 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 Paoli:
- Websites specific to Indiana
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clark County
- Crawford County
- Davies's County
- Dubois County
- Floyd County
- Greene County
- Harrison County
- Jackson County
- Lawrence County
- Martin County
- Perry 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 Paoli, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Paoli) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |