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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 Forrest 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 Forrest 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Forrest Park is located in Forrest County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Forrest County: Covington, Jones, Lamar, Perry & Stone.

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

  • Forrest County     (The home county of Forrest Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • Hattiesburg
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Petal
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Petal is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petal <1>
    • Goodluck
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Goodluck is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodluck
    • McLaurin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • McLaurin is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McLaurin
    • Brooklyn
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Carnes
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Carnes is located in Forrest County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnes
  • Covington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • Lux
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lux is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lux
    • Sanford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Sanford is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanford
    • Seminary
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Kola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Kola is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kola
    • Collins
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
    • Hot Coffee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Hot Coffee is located in Covington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Coffee
  • Jefferson Davis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • Melba
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Melba is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melba
    • Bassfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bassfield is located in Jefferson Davis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bassfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • Ovett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Ovett is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ovett
    • Ellisville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Antioch
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Antioch is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antioch
    • Laurel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Service
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Service is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Service
    • Soso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Soso is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soso
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 396 people
  • Lamar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • West Hattiesburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • West Hattiesburg is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hattiesburg
    • Purvis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Sumrall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lumberton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Wells Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wells Town is located in Lamar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells Town
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • Pinebur
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pinebur is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinebur
    • Columbia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Pearl River County
    • Hillsdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
  • Perry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forrest Park, with the one closest to Forrest Park listed first.
    • New Augusta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Wingate
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Wingate is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wingate
    • Richton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Beaumont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Beaumont is located in Perry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaumont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 894 people
  • Wayne County
    • Mulberry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mulberry is located in Wayne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry

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

Cemeteries Near Forrest Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forrest 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 Forrest Park - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Pine Ridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Oaklawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Roseland Park Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Burkett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Riverview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • B'nai Israel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Bennett Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Forest Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Hartfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Richburg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Richburg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (397 more) ...
    • Forrest Memorial Gardens
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jones Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Petal Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)

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.<2>

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

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

  • Hattiesburg
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Eastabuchie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Eastabuchie is located in Forrest County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastabuchie
  • Moselle
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Moselle is located in Jones County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moselle
  • Ellisville
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Moscos
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Moscos is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscos
  • Williamsburg
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamsburg is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
  • Hillsdale
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hillsdale is located in Pearl River County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
  • Ora
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ora is located in Covington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
  • Laurel
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Forrest 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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forrest Park.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forrest Park, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forrest 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 Forrest Park:

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>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 Forrest Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Forrest Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.