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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 Columbus (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 Columbus. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Columbus is located in Lowndes County and is the County Seat.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Lowndes County: Lamar (AL), Pickens (AL), Clay, Monroe, Noxubee & Oktibbeha.

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

  • Lowndes County     (The home county of Columbus)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • New Hope
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
      • New Hope is located in Lowndes County
    • Bent Oak
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Kolola Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Artesia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Caledonia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Crawford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crawford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
      • Crawford is located in Lowndes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crawford <2>
  • Clay County
  • Monroe County
  • Noxubee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Deerbrook
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Ravine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ravine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravine
      • Ravine is located in Noxubee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ravine
      • From Columbus to Ravine
    • Brooksville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairport ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairport. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairport
      • Fairport is located in Noxubee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairport
      • From Columbus to Fairport
    • Harlan ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harlan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan
      • Harlan is located in Noxubee County
    • Macon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Oktibbeha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Sessums
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Clayton Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clayton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton Village
      • Clayton Village is located in Oktibbeha County
    • Starkville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Adaton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Longview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Fayette County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Ashcraft Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Belk
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belk
      • Belk is located in Fayette County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Lamar County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Fernbank
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fernbank. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernbank
      • Fernbank is located in Lamar County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fernbank
      • From Columbus to Fernbank
    • Millport
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millport
      • Millport is located in Lamar County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 970 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millport <2>
    • Hightogy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Bedford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bedford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
      • Bedford is located in Lamar County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bedford
      • From Columbus to Bedford
    • Kennedy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kennedy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy
      • Kennedy is located in Lamar County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
    • Vernon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vernon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon
      • Vernon is located in Lamar County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,843 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vernon <2>
  • Pickens County (AL)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbus, with the one closest to Columbus listed first.
    • Stafford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Macedonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macedonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
      • Macedonia is located in Pickens County (AL)
    • Ethelsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ethelsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ethelsville
      • Ethelsville is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
    • Archer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • McShan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McShan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McShan
      • McShan is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McShan
      • From Columbus to McShan
    • Coal Fire
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coal Fire. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Fire
      • Coal Fire is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coal Fire
      • From Columbus to Coal Fire
    • Pickensville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Reform
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reform have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reform
      • Reform is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,546 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reform <2>
    • Beaver Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Town
      • Beaver Town is located in Pickens County (AL)
    • Carrollton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carrollton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrollton
      • Carrollton is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 935 people
    • Stansel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Memphis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Memphis have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memphis
      • Memphis is located in Pickens County (AL)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26 people

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

Cemeteries Near Columbus ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbus.

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

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

  • St. Matthews Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Matthews Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Matthews Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Friendship Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sandfield Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stallion Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Greenlawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Plymouth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plymouth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plymouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Ararat Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Ararat Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Ararat Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Waverley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Waverley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Waverley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Young Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pitchlynn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pitchlynn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pitchlynn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (339 more) ...
    • Motley Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Motley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Motley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lee Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Columbus had a population of 14,703 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Columbus had a population of 23,307 people.

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

  • New Hope
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • New Hope is located in Lowndes County
  • McIntyre ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntyre have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntyre
    • McIntyre is located in Lowndes County
  • Waverly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waverly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
    • Waverly is located in Clay County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Waverly
    • From Columbus to Waverly
  • Steens
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steens
    • Steens is located in Lowndes County
  • Trinity
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trinity have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trinity
    • Trinity is located in Lowndes County
  • Stafford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Vinton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Tibbee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tibbee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tibbee
    • Tibbee is located in Clay County
  • Artesia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Caledonia
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • West Point
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Hamilton
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Whites
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whites have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whites
      • Whites is located in Clay County
    • Sessums
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Crawford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crawford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
      • Crawford is located in Lowndes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 655 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crawford <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Columbus ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbus.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Columbus. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Columbus and those printed in the larger area surrounding Columbus.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<6> of Columbus.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Columbus:

The official website for Columbus: www.columbusms.org/

The official website for State of Mississippi: https://www.ms.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>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 Columbus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Columbus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.4959, Longitude: -88.4234    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025