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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 Fort Polk (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 Fort Polk. 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 Fort Polk ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Polk: Ft. Polk

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 Parishes/Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring parishes/counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring parishes/counties instead of the parish in which they lived:  their home parish contained property and probate records; the parish to the east contained birth and death records; the parish to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes/counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Fort Polk is located in Vernon Parish.

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

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Vernon Parish: Allen, Beauregard, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine & Newton (TX).

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

  • Vernon Parish     (The home parish of Fort Polk)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Pickering
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Pickering is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
    • Fort Polk North
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North
    • Billy Goat Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Billy Goat Hill is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billy Goat Hill
    • New Llano
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Elmwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
    • Fertitta Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
    • Leesville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Pinewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
    • Westwood Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Westwood Village is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westwood Village
    • Savage Fork
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Savage Fork is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Fork
    • Rosepine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cravens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cravens is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens
  • Allen Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Reids
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Reids is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reids
    • Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Marionville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Marionville is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marionville
    • Tenmile
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tenmile is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
    • Cherry Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Elizabeth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mab
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mab is located in Allen Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mab
    • Mittie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Ikes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
    • Ludington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
    • DeRidder
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sugartown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Dry Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Newlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Newlin is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlin
    • Merryville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Singer
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Longville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • Gorum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Sieper
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hineston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Mora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hemphill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hemphill is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
    • Otis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Rock ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock
    • Toro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Polk, with the one closest to Fort Polk listed first.
    • Toledo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • South Toledo Bend
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
    • Burkeville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Wiergate
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Shanklerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fort Polk, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Fort Polk.

Cemeteries Near Fort Polk ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Polk.

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 Fort Polk - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Cemetery #7
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Cemetery #6
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Zion Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cemetery #1
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Smart Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Mill Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Cooper Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Gill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Cyer Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Johnson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Watson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (129 more) ...
    • Franklin Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Marlow Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Leesville 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.<2>

While we didn't find Fort Polk in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fort Polk.

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

  • Elmwood
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
  • Leesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Caney
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Caney is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
  • Walnut Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
  • Hicks
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
  • Anacoco
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Simpson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Dido
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dido is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dido
  • Cora
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
  • Toledo
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
  • Kisatchie
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Kisatchie is located in Natchitoches Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kisatchie
  • Toro
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Fort Polk ...

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 6 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Polk.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Polk, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Polk.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Fort Polk:

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>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 Fort Polk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Fort Polk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.