RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Louisiana >> Vernon Parish >> Westwood Village >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Louisiana

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 Westwood Village (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 Westwood Village. 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 Westwood Village ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Westwood Village: Westwood Vlg. (in Canada, 'Vlge.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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.

Westwood Village is located in Vernon 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 Vernon Parish: Allen, Beauregard, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine & Newton (TX).

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

  • Vernon Parish     (The home parish of Westwood Village)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Fertitta Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fertitta Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertitta Park
      • Fertitta Park is located in Vernon Parish
    • Leesville
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • New Llano
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Billy Goat Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Billy Goat Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Billy Goat Hill
      • Billy Goat Hill is located in Vernon Parish
    • Fort Polk North
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fort Polk North. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk North
      • Fort Polk North is located in Vernon Parish
    • Pickering
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickering have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
      • Pickering is located in Vernon Parish
    • Anacoco
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anacoco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anacoco
      • Anacoco is located in Vernon Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anacoco <2>
    • Fort Polk
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Polk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Polk
      • Fort Polk is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Polk <2>
    • Savage Fork
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savage Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage Fork
      • Savage Fork is located in Vernon Parish
    • Slagle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Slagle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slagle
      • Slagle is located in Vernon Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Slagle <2>
    • Pinewood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinewood
      • Pinewood is located in Vernon Parish
    • Hornbeck
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hornbeck have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornbeck
      • Hornbeck is located in Vernon Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 436 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hornbeck <2>
  • Beauregard Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Ikes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ikes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ikes
      • Ikes is located in Beauregard Parish
    • Ludington
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ludington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludington
      • Ludington is located in Beauregard Parish
    • DeRidder
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeRidder have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeRidder
      • DeRidder is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,521 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeRidder <2>
    • Sugartown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugartown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugartown
      • Sugartown is located in Beauregard Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugartown <2>
    • Merryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Natchitoches Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Gorum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gorum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorum
      • Gorum is located in Natchitoches Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gorum <2>
    • Vowells Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vowells Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vowells Mill
      • Vowells Mill is located in Natchitoches Parish
  • Rapides Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Mora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mora
      • Mora is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mora <2>
    • Sieper
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sieper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sieper
      • Sieper is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sieper <2>
    • Flatwoods
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sabine Parish
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Toro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
      • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
    • Florien
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florien have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florien
      • Florien is located in Sabine Parish
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florien <2>
    • Fisher
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Negreet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Negreet have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Negreet
      • Negreet is located in Sabine Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Negreet <2>
  • Newton County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Toledo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toledo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
    • South Toledo Bend
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Toledo Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Toledo Bend
      • South Toledo Bend is located in Newton County (TX)
    • Burkeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Wiergate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiergate have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiergate
      • Wiergate is located in Newton County (TX)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiergate <2>
    • Shanklerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanklerville
      • Shanklerville is located in Newton County (TX)
  • Sabine County (TX)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westwood Village, with the one closest to Westwood Village listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount
      • Fairmount is located in Sabine County (TX)
    • Mason
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Sabine County (TX)

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

Newspapers Published in Westwood Village ...

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 Westwood Village.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westwood Village, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Westwood Village.

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 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 Westwood Village:

Cemeteries Near Westwood Village ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westwood Village.

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

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

  • Leesville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leesville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leesville Cemetery
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
  • Gill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gill Cemetery
  • Smart Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smart Cemetery
  • Anacoco Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Anacoco Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Anacoco Cemetery
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Hill Cemetery
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
  • Smart Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smart Cemetery
  • Kay Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kay Cemetery
  • Smith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
  • Cemetery #1
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cemetery #1 have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cemetery #1
  • Continue List   (147 more) ...
    • Cooper Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cooper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cooper Cemetery
    • Franklin Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Franklin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Franklin Cemetery
    • Self Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Self Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Self Cemetery

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>

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

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

  • Leesville
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Caney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caney
    • Caney is located in Vernon Parish
  • Elmwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elmwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
    • Elmwood is located in Vernon Parish
  • Anacoco
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anacoco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anacoco
    • Anacoco is located in Vernon Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 777 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anacoco <2>
  • Walnut Hill
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
    • Walnut Hill is located in Vernon Parish
  • Hicks
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks
    • Hicks is located in Vernon Parish
  • Toledo
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toledo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
    • Toledo is located in Newton County (TX)
  • Simpson
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simpson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
    • Simpson is located in Vernon Parish
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Simpson <2>
  • Toro
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toro
    • Toro is located in Sabine Parish
  • Kisatchie
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kisatchie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kisatchie
    • Kisatchie is located in Natchitoches Parish
  • Burkeville
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Cora
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cora
    • Cora is located in Vernon Parish
  • Continue List   (9 more) ...
    • Mora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mora
      • Mora is located in Rapides Parish
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mora <2>
    • Corleyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corleyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corleyville
      • Corleyville is located in Sabine Parish
    • Columbus ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus
      • Columbus is located in Sabine Parish

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

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

The official website for State of Louisiana: 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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Westwood Village) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Westwood Village. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.1413, Longitude: -93.2879       In this case, the coordinates for Westwood Village have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Westwood Village, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024