Welcome to Selma ...
Selma is located in Jefferson County<1>.
The location of Selma has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Selma, you might consider that their post office opened in 1827.
When the people of Selma refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Selmian<3>
Selma is 530 feet [162 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Selma lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Selma is within the (636) area code.
Communities Also Named Selma ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Missouri communities named Selma: This one is located in Jefferson County and the other is located in Saint Louis County.
Beyond Missouri, there are 30 communities that are also named Selma - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas (2), Utah and Virginia (2).
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Selma.
Communities near Selma ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Selma.
- Arnold
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
- Arnold is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arnold <5>
- Festus
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Festus
- Festus is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,114 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Festus <5>
- Waterloo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterloo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
- Waterloo is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,536 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waterloo <5>
- Bonne Terre
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonne Terre have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonne Terre
- Bonne Terre is located in Saint Francois County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,824 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonne Terre <5>
- De Soto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,340 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Soto <5>
- Pevely
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pevely have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pevely
- Pevely is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,001 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pevely <5>
- Crystal City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal City
- Crystal City is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal City <5>
- Herculaneum
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herculaneum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herculaneum
- Herculaneum is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,261 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herculaneum <5>
- Red Bud
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bud
- Red Bud is located in Randolph County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,442 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Bud <5>
- Hillsboro
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Hillsboro is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,355 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <5>
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Selma. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Selma.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Selma. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Selma.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Selma. See our Newspapers Page for Selma.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Selma ...
Looking for more information about Selma? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Selma, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Selma.
Adding Selma to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Selma in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Selma was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>
From that list, the Selma post office opened in 1827.
We also found Selma in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Selma.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Selma. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcomo.org/
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Missouri's counties, including Jefferson, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Selma refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Selma may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Selma - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |