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 Spring Lake (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 Spring Lake. 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 Spring Lake ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Spring Lake: Spring Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Spring Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spring Lake.
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 northwest corner of their home parish. During their lives, most doctors 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/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 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.
Spring Lake 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 Spring Lake. For each of these parishes/counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Spring Lake:
- Claiborne Parish (The home parish of Spring Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Homer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Arizona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
- Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Darley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
- Sugar Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Lisbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blackburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Haynesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Dykesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dykesville is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dykesville
- Gordon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Gordon is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
- Summerfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Summerfield is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerfield
- Bienville Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Gibsland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Taylor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Arcadia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Lebanon
(15 miles [24.1 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
- Bryceland
(20 miles [32.2 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
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Sparta is located in Bienville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Bienville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Jamestown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Liberty Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Liberty Hill is located in Bienville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Armistead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Armistead is located in Bienville Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armistead
- Ringgold
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bossier Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Bellevue
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bellevue is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Ivan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Ivan is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivan
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Fillmore
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore is located in Bossier Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fillmore
- Haughton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lincoln Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- 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
- Hico
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Hico is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hico
- Simsboro
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dubach
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Unionville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Unionville is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Grambling
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Vienna
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Vienna is located in Lincoln Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vienna
- Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
- Ruston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Union Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Cane Ridge ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cane Ridge is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Ridge
- Bernice
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Pisgah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pisgah is located in Union Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Lillie
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Spearsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Webster Parish
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Minden
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dubberly
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dixie Inn
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dixie Inn is located in Webster Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie Inn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Sibley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Shongaloo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Heflin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cotton Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Yellow Pine
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Yellow Pine is located in Webster Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Pine
- Buckhorn ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Buckhorn is located in Webster Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckhorn
- Doyline
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sarepta
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cullen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Columbia County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Emerson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Emerson is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
- Western
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Western is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
- Horsehead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Horsehead is located in Columbia County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horsehead
- Union County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Dodge City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Dodge City is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge City
- Junction City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Junction City is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 520 people
- Scotland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Scotland is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
- Blanchard Springs ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Blanchard Springs is located in Union County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchard Springs
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Spring Lake, see our Parish-by-Parish Page for Spring Lake.
Cemeteries Near Spring Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Lake.
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 Spring Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Spring Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Moreland Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cooksley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kimbell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Atkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. John Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. John Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. John Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the southeast of Homer.
- Arlington Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Paron Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Homer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Merritt Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Salem Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Tulip Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Pt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (274 more) ...
- Peterson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Union Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Holly Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Spring Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spring Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Spring Lake, with the one closest to Spring Lake listed first.
- Homer
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Athens
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Holly Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Holly Springs is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Langston
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Langston is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langston
- Arizona
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Arizona is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arizona
- Marsalis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marsalis is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marsalis
- Darley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Darley is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darley
- Aycock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Aycock is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aycock
- Sugar Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Creek is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Creek
- Lisbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Antioch
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Antioch is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
- Blackburn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Blackburn is located in Claiborne Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Taylor
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Gibsland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Arcadia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Spring Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Spring Lake.
Newspapers Published in Spring Lake ...
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 60 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spring Lake, 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 Spring Lake.
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 Spring Lake:
- Websites specific to Louisiana
- Pages specific to Claiborne Parish
- Genealogy information for nearby parishes
- Bienville Parish
- Bossier Parish
- Lincoln Parish
- Union Parish
- Webster Parish
- Columbia County
- Union County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Louisiana
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Spring Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Spring Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |