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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 Smiths Grove (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 Smiths Grove. 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 Smiths Grove ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Smiths Grove: Smiths Grv.
  • While the name of this city is Smiths Grove, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Smiths Grove may originally have been Smith's Grove.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Smiths Grove might be written as Smith Grove.

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.

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.

Smiths Grove is located in Warren County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Warren County: Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Logan & Simpson.

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

  • Warren County     (The home county of Smiths Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Oakland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
    • Martinsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Gotts
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Plum Springs
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plum Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Springs
      • Plum Springs is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 542 people
    • Claypool
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Claypool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool
      • Claypool is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Claypool
      • From Smiths Grove to Claypool
    • Anna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Alvaton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvaton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvaton
      • Alvaton is located in Warren County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alvaton <4>
    • Bowling Green
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Richardsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Springhill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springhill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhill
      • Springhill is located in Warren County
    • Drake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Drake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drake
      • Drake is located in Warren County
    • Rockland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Hadley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hadley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadley
      • Hadley is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hadley
      • From Smiths Grove to Hadley
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Meador
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meador. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
      • Meador is located in Allen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meador
      • From Smiths Grove to Meador
    • Yesse
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Halifax
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Halifax. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halifax
      • Halifax is located in Allen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Halifax
      • From Smiths Grove to Halifax
    • Cedar Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Halfway
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Halfway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway
      • Halfway is located in Allen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Halfway
      • From Smiths Grove to Halfway
    • Scottsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsville
      • Scottsville is located in Allen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsville <4>
    • Trammel
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trammel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trammel
      • Trammel is located in Allen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Trammel
      • From Smiths Grove to Trammel
    • Pope
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Red Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Oak Forest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Mount Aerial
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Petroleum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Petroleum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petroleum
      • Petroleum is located in Allen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Petroleum
      • From Smiths Grove to Petroleum
    • Holland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Allen County
  • Barren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Park City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Barren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 564 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park City <4>
    • Beckton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocky Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Highland Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oil City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oil City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
      • Oil City is located in Barren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oil City
      • From Smiths Grove to Oil City
    • Cave City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lucas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Lucas is located in Barren County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucas <4>
    • Glasgow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Austin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Coral Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hiseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Slick Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Etoile
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Etoile have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etoile
      • Etoile is located in Barren County
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Jetson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jetson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jetson
      • Jetson is located in Butler County
    • Whittinghill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodbury
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
      • Woodbury is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 88 people
    • Brooklyn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Butler County
    • Richelieu
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Welch's Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Welch's Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch's Creek
      • Welch's Creek is located in Butler County
    • Aberdeen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgantown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Edmonson County
  • Grayson County
  • Hardin County
    • Spurrier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Spurrier. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurrier
      • Spurrier is located in Hardin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Spurrier
      • From Smiths Grove to Spurrier
  • Hart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Horse Cave
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Dogcreek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Cub Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cub Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cub Run
      • Cub Run is located in Hart County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cub Run <4>
    • Logsdon Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Winesap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Winesap. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
      • Winesap is located in Hart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Winesap
      • From Smiths Grove to Winesap
    • Rowletts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rowletts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowletts
      • Rowletts is located in Hart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rowletts
      • From Smiths Grove to Rowletts
    • Munfordville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munfordville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munfordville
      • Munfordville is located in Hart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munfordville <4>
    • Bunnell Crossing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Priceville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Three Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Hardyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardyville
      • Hardyville is located in Hart County
    • Bonnieville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonnieville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnieville
      • Bonnieville is located in Hart County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonnieville <4>
    • Pascal
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pascal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pascal
      • Pascal is located in Hart County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pascal
      • From Smiths Grove to Pascal
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • South Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Auburn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Metcalfe County
  • Monroe County
  • Simpson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Gold City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gold City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold City
      • Gold City is located in Simpson County
    • Salmons
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Franklin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sumner County (TN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove listed first.
    • Sugar Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Fairfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Smiths Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smiths Grove.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smiths Grove, with the one closest to Smiths Grove 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Smiths Grove had a population of 390 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Smiths Grove had a population of 817 people.

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

  • Oakland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Oakland is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
  • Hays
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hays have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
    • Hays is located in Warren County
  • Rocky Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Sunnyside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunnyside is located in Warren County
  • Hydro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hydro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydro
    • Hydro is located in Warren County
  • Pig
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pig have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pig
    • Pig is located in Edmonson County
  • Polkville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polkville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
    • Polkville is located in Warren County
  • Three Forks
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Forks
    • Three Forks is located in Warren County
  • Bristow
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bristow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristow
    • Bristow is located in Warren County
  • Girkin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Girkin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girkin
    • Girkin is located in Warren County
  • Hardcastle
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hardcastle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardcastle
    • Hardcastle is located in Warren County
  • Motley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Motley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
    • Motley is located in Warren County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Smiths Grove ...

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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smiths Grove.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Smiths Grove. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Smiths Grove and those printed in the larger area surrounding Smiths Grove.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<7> of Smiths Grove.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Smiths Grove:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Smiths Grove. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.
<6>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 Smiths Grove, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Smiths Grove) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smiths Grove. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.0522, Longitude: -86.2068    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025