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The Commemorative Quarter for Louisiana





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 Homer (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 Homer. 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 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 southwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next parish to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the parish to the south.

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 west contained birth and death records; the parish to the south 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.

Homer is located in Claiborne Parish and is the Parish Seat.

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

The following parishes adjoin and form the boundaries of Claiborne Parish: Columbia (AR), Union (AR), Bienville, Lincoln, Union & Webster.

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

  • Claiborne Parish     (The home parish of Homer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Arizona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arizona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
      • Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arizona
      • From Homer to Arizona
    • Holly Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Blackburn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Athens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lisbon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lisbon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Lisbon is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisbon <2>
    • Haynesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haynesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynesville
      • Haynesville is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,000 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haynesville <2>
    • Darley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Darley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
      • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Darley
      • From Homer to Darley
    • Gordon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gordon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gordon
      • From Homer to Gordon
    • Dykesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sugar Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sugar Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
      • Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sugar Creek
      • From Homer to Sugar Creek
    • Summerfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Weldon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weldon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weldon
      • Weldon is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Weldon
      • From Homer to Weldon
    • Wards Mill ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wards Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wards Mill
      • Wards Mill is located in Claiborne Parish
  • Bienville Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Gibsland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibsland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibsland
      • Gibsland is located in Bienville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibsland <2>
    • Taylor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Arcadia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Lebanon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Lebanon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
      • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Lebanon
      • From Homer to Mount Lebanon
    • Bryceland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bryceland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryceland
      • Bryceland is located in Bienville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Sparta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sparta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
      • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sparta
      • From Homer to Sparta
    • Bienville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Bossier Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Ivan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ivan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
      • Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ivan
      • From Homer to Ivan
    • Bellevue
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bellevue. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
      • Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bellevue
      • From Homer to Bellevue
    • Princeton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <2>
  • Lincoln Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Vining Mills ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vining Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining Mills
      • Vining Mills is located in Lincoln Parish
    • Hico
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Simsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Dubach
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dubach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dubach
      • Dubach is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dubach <2>
    • Unionville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Unionville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
      • Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Unionville
      • From Homer to Unionville
    • Grambling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Vienna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vienna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
      • Vienna is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
    • Ruston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Cane Ridge ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cane Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Ridge
      • Cane Ridge is located in Union Parish
    • Bernice
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Lillie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lillie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lillie
      • Lillie is located in Union Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lillie <2>
    • Pisgah
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Spearsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spearsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spearsville
      • Spearsville is located in Union Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spearsville <2>
  • Webster Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Shongaloo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Minden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Dixie Inn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dixie Inn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
      • Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Dubberly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dubberly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dubberly
      • Dubberly is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dubberly <2>
    • Cotton Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Valley
      • Cotton Valley is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cotton Valley <2>
    • Sibley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Sibley is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <2>
    • Sarepta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cullen
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cullen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cullen
      • Cullen is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,056 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cullen <2>
    • Heflin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heflin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heflin
      • Heflin is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Heflin <2>
    • Yellow Pine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Springhill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springhill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springhill
      • Springhill is located in Webster Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,684 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Springhill <2>
    • Buckhorn ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckhorn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
      • Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
    • Doyline
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Columbia County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Emerson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Western
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Horsehead
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Horsehead. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
      • Horsehead is located in Columbia County (AR)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Horsehead
      • From Homer to Horsehead
    • Welcome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Welcome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
      • Welcome is located in Columbia County (AR)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Welcome
      • From Homer to Welcome
    • Calhoun
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Macedonia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Union County (AR)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
    • Dodge City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodge City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
      • Dodge City is located in Union County (AR)
    • Junction City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Junction City is located in Union County (AR)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
    • Scotland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Homer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Homer.

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 Homer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Homer had a population of 1,132 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Homer had a population of 2,789 people.

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

  • Arizona
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arizona. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
    • Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Arizona
    • From Homer to Arizona
  • Holly Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Langston
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Langston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
    • Langston is located in Claiborne Parish
  • Athens
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Aycock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aycock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aycock
    • Aycock is located in Claiborne Parish
  • Antioch
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Antioch have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Antioch is located in Claiborne Parish
  • Blackburn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Marsalis
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marsalis have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsalis
    • Marsalis is located in Claiborne Parish
  • Lisbon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lisbon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
    • Lisbon is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lisbon <2>
  • Darley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Darley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
    • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Darley
    • From Homer to Darley
  • Haynesville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haynesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haynesville
    • Haynesville is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,000 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haynesville <2>
  • Sugar Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sugar Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
    • Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sugar Creek
    • From Homer to Sugar Creek
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Homer ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Homer.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Homer. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Homer and those printed in the larger area surrounding Homer.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Homer.

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 Homer:

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

The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Homer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Homer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Homer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.7919, Longitude: -93.0554    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025