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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Forest Park. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Forest Park to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Forest Park, please Contact Us.

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 Forest Park (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 Forest Park. 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 Counties ...

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

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

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

Although our information shows that the community of Forest Park is historic, it would have been located within present day Lawrence County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lawrence County: Barry, Christian, Dade, Greene, Jasper, Newton & Stone.

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

  • Lawrence County     (The home county of Forest Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Pierce City
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Freistatt
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
    • Verona
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Verona is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
    • Hoberg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hoberg is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Aurora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Stotts City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Stotts City is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotts City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Mount Vernon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Marionville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Heatonville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Heatonville is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatonville
    • Miller
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Red Oak
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Red Oak is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Oak
    • Round Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Round Grove is located in Lawrence County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Grove
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Monett
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Purdy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Tom Town ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Tom Town is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tom Town
    • Pioneer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Pioneer is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
    • Butterfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Butterfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
    • Star City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star City is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star City
    • Wheaton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leann
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Leann is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leann
    • Jenkins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jenkins is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins
    • Scholten
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Scholten is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scholten
    • Cassville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Ridgley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Ridgley is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgley
  • Christian County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Billings
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clever
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Clever is located in Christian County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clever
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,836 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clever <2>
    • Republic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Dade County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Pilgrim
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Pilgrim is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilgrim
    • South Greenfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • South Greenfield is located in Dade County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Greenfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
    • Everton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Sarcoxie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • La Russell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • La Russell is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Motley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Motley is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
    • Reeds
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Reeds is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Parshley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Parshley is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parshley
    • Avilla
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Avilla is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 131 people
    • Fidelity
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Fidelity is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fidelity
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
    • Forest Mills
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest Mills is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Mills
    • Maple Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Maple Grove is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
    • Carthage
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Duenweg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Brooklyn Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Brooklyn Heights is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
  • McDonald County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Rocky Comfort
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rocky Comfort is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Comfort
    • Powell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Powell is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powell
    • Erie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Erie is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Goodman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Wylie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wylie is located in McDonald County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wylie
  • Newton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Wentworth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wentworth is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Talmage City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Talmage City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
    • Fairview
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Newtonia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Ritchey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Ritchey is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ritchey
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Park is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park
    • Stark City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Stella
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Granby
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Granby City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Granby City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granby City
    • Boulder City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Boulder City is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder City
    • Diamond
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Diamond is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 909 people
      • Former names for Diamond:
      • Diamond Grove
      • Diamond Mill
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Diamond <2>
  • Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park listed first.
    • Bradfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Bradfield is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradfield
    • Crane
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Hurley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Union City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Union City is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
    • McCord Bend
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • McCord Bend is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCord Bend
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
    • Galena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Oto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Oto is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oto
    • Cape Fair
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • White City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • White City is located in Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
  • Benton County (AR)
    • Gateway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forest Park, see our County-by-County Page for Forest Park.

Cemeteries Near Forest Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Park.

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 Forest Park - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forest Park, with the one closest to Forest Park 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.

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

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

  • Monett
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pierce City
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Freistatt
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Freistatt is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freistatt
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 160 people
  • Purdy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Verona
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Verona is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 606 people
  • Pioneer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Pioneer is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
  • Clarkson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Clarkson is located in Lawrence County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
  • Wentworth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wentworth is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
  • Berwick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Berwick is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
  • Corsicana
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Corsicana is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsicana
  • McDowell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • McDowell is located in Barry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDowell
  • Talmage City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Talmage City is located in Newton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmage City
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Aurora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Grangeville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Grangeville is located in Newton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grangeville
    • Butterfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Butterfield is located in Barry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butterfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people

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

Newspapers Published in Forest Park ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Park.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Park, 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 Forest Park.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Forest Park:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Forest Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 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.
<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 from Point A (ie- Forest Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.