RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Claiborne Parish >> Old Athens >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Old Athens (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 Old Athens. 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 northeast corner of their home parish. During their lives, most 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.

Old Athens is located in Claiborne 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 Claiborne Parish: Columbia (AR), Union (AR), Bienville, Lincoln, Union & Webster.

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

  • Claiborne Parish     (The home parish of Old Athens)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Athens
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Darley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
    • Holly Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Sugar Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
    • Homer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Homer is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
    • Arizona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
    • Lisbon
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Blackburn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
    • Dykesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
    • Haynesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Summerfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Summerfield is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
    • Gordon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
  • Bienville Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Gibsland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Taylor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Lebanon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Arcadia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bryceland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Bryceland is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryceland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Sparta
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
    • Bienville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Jamestown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Liberty Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
    • Armistead
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Armistead is located in Bienville Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
    • Ringgold
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Castor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Bossier Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Princeton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Bellevue
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Fillmore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Fillmore is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
    • Haughton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Ivan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
    • Eastwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Eastwood is located in Bossier Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
  • Jackson Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Ansley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ansley is located in Jackson Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansley
    • Quitman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Lincoln Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Simsboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Vining Mills ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Vining Mills is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vining Mills
    • Grambling
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hico
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hico is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
    • Dubach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Vienna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Vienna is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
    • Unionville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
    • Ruston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cedarton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Cedarton is located in Lincoln Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarton
  • Union Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Cane Ridge ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cane Ridge is located in Union Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Ridge
    • Bernice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Pisgah
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Pisgah is located in Union Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
    • Lillie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Webster Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Old Athens, with the one closest to Old Athens listed first.
    • Dubberly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Minden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Sibley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Dixie Inn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
    • Heflin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Buckhorn ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
    • Yellow Pine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Yellow Pine is located in Webster Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
    • Doyline
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cotton Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Shongaloo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Sarepta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Union County (AR)
    • Dodge City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Dodge City is located in Union County (AR)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City

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

Cemeteries Near Old Athens ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Athens.

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 Old Athens - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Lower Old Athens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Upper Old Athens Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Caldwell Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Atkins Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Alexander Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Walker Community African-American Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cooksley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Craighead Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kimbell Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Paron Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Tulip Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulip Cemetery
    • The Tulip Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Tulip Methodist Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69173 <2>
  • Continue List   (263 more) ...

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>

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

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

  • Athens
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Darley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
  • Marsalis
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Marsalis is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsalis
  • Langston
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Langston is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
  • Taylor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Gibsland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holly Springs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
  • Mount Lebanon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Mount Lebanon is located in Bienville Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Lebanon
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
  • Aycock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Aycock is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aycock
  • Arcadia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sugar Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
  • Homer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Homer is located in Claiborne Parish
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,789 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homer <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Arizona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
    • Dubberly
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Minden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Old Athens ...

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 58 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Athens.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Athens, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Athens.

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 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 Old Athens:

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 Old Athens, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Old Athens) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.