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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 Smithland (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 Smithland. 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 ...

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

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next parish to the west. 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 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 north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Smithland is located in Pointe Coupee Parish.

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 Pointe Coupee Parish: Avoyelles, Concordia, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Saint Landry, Saint Martin, West Baton Rouge & West Feliciana.

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

  • Pointe Coupee Parish     (The home parish of Smithland)
  • Avoyelles Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Odenburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Odenburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
      • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Odenburg
      • From Smithland to Odenburg
    • Simmesport
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simmesport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmesport
      • Simmesport is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Simmesport <2>
    • Dupont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hamburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bordelonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Plaucheville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plaucheville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plaucheville
      • Plaucheville is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plaucheville <2>
    • Moreauville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moreauville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreauville
      • Moreauville is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 849 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moreauville <2>
    • Hickory
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Cottonport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Mansura
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Enterprise
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Evergreen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evergreen <2>
    • Marksville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marksville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marksville
      • Marksville is located in Avoyelles Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,271 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marksville <2>
  • Concordia Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Bougere
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bougere have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bougere
      • Bougere is located in Concordia Parish
    • Acme
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
      • Acme is located in Concordia Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acme <2>
    • Fairview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Concordia Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairview
      • From Smithland to Fairview
  • East Baton Rouge Parish
    • Port Hudson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Port Hudson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Hudson
      • Port Hudson is located in East Baton Rouge Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Port Hudson
      • From Smithland to Port Hudson
  • East Feliciana Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Jackson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in East Feliciana Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,707 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackson <2>
    • Lindsay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bells Store ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bells Store have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Store
      • Bells Store is located in East Feliciana Parish
  • Iberville Parish
    • Maringouin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maringouin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maringouin
      • Maringouin is located in Iberville Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 966 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maringouin <2>
  • Saint Landry Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Elba
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
      • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elba
      • From Smithland to Elba
    • Melville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Bayou Jack
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Half Moon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Palmetto
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmetto have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
      • Palmetto is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmetto <2>
    • Swayze Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Immaculata
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Immaculata have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Immaculata
      • Immaculata is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Lebeau
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lebeau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebeau
      • Lebeau is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lebeau <2>
    • Rosa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Morrow
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morrow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrow
      • Morrow is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Morrow <2>
    • Krotz Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Krotz Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Krotz Springs
      • Krotz Springs is located in Saint Landry Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Krotz Springs <2>
    • Boretta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Port Barre
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • West Baton Rouge Parish
  • West Feliciana Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Tunica
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tunica have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunica
      • Tunica is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tunica <2>
    • Angola
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Weyanoke
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Converse ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Converse have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Converse
      • Converse is located in West Feliciana Parish
    • Wakefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Saint Francisville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Francisville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Francisville
      • Saint Francisville is located in West Feliciana Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,589 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Francisville <2>
    • Rogillioville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Wilkinson County (MS)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland listed first.
    • Artonish
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Artonish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artonish
      • Artonish is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
    • Turnbull
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Turnbull. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnbull
      • Turnbull is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Turnbull
      • From Smithland to Turnbull
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Smithland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Smithland.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Smithland, with the one closest to Smithland 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 Smithland had a population of 425 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Red River Landing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red River Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red River Landing
    • Red River Landing is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Rowes Landing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowes Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowes Landing
    • Rowes Landing is located in West Feliciana Parish
  • Angola
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Merrick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrick
    • Merrick is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Legonier
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Legonier. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legonier
    • Legonier is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Legonier
    • From Smithland to Legonier
  • Odenburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Odenburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odenburg
    • Odenburg is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Odenburg
    • From Smithland to Odenburg
  • Raccourci ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raccourci have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raccourci
    • Raccourci is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Simmesport
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simmesport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmesport
    • Simmesport is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,032 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Simmesport <2>
  • Bayou Current
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bayou Current have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Current
    • Bayou Current is located in Saint Landry Parish
  • Elba
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elba. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elba
    • Elba is located in Saint Landry Parish
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Elba
    • From Smithland to Elba
  • Viva
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Viva have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viva
    • Viva is located in Pointe Coupee Parish
  • Pinckneyville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinckneyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinckneyville
    • Pinckneyville is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Fort Adams
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Adams have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Adams
      • Fort Adams is located in Wilkinson County (MS)
    • Big Bend
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
      • Big Bend is located in Avoyelles Parish
    • Red Fish
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Fish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Fish
      • Red Fish is located in Avoyelles Parish

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

Newspapers Published in Smithland ...

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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Smithland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Smithland, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Smithland.

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 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 Smithland:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Smithland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Smithland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.9112, Longitude: -91.6636       In this case, the coordinates for Smithland have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Smithland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025