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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 Dothan (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 Dothan. 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 and hospitals 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.

Dothan is located in Columbus County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbus County: Bladen, Brunswick, Pender, Robeson & Horry (SC).

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

  • Columbus County     (The home county of Dothan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dothan, with the one closest to Dothan listed first.
    • Pine Level
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
      • Pine Level is located in Columbus County
    • Pireway
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pireway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
      • Pireway is located in Columbus County
    • Bethel
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bethel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Columbus County
    • Bug Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bug Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
    • Ironhill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ironhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
      • Ironhill is located in Columbus County
    • Nakina
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
      • Nakina is located in Columbus County
    • Tabor City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Cribb Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cribb Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
      • Cribb Town is located in Columbus County
    • Emerson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
      • Emerson is located in Columbus County
    • Clarendon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon
      • Clarendon is located in Columbus County
    • Brunswick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Columbus County
    • Chadbourn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Bladen County
    • Rosindale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosindale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
      • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
  • Brunswick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dothan, with the one closest to Dothan listed first.
    • Longwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Brunswick County
    • Ash
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
      • Ash is located in Brunswick County
    • Carolina Shores
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carolina Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Shores
      • Carolina Shores is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,802 people
    • Calabash
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Exum
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Exum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County
    • Sunset Beach
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Beach
      • Sunset Beach is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,172 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset Beach <3>
    • Makatoka
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Makatoka
      • Makatoka is located in Brunswick County
    • Ocean Isle Beach
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ocean Isle Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Isle Beach
      • Ocean Isle Beach is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 709 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ocean Isle Beach <3>
    • Shallotte
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Sivey Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sivey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sivey Town
      • Sivey Town is located in Brunswick County
    • Holden Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holden Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holden Beach
      • Holden Beach is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holden Beach <3>
    • Supply
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Supply have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Supply
      • Supply is located in Brunswick County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Supply <3>
    • Varnamtown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Varnamtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varnamtown
      • Varnamtown is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Horry County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dothan, with the one closest to Dothan listed first.
    • Little Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
      • Little Town is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Longs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Daisy
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
      • Daisy is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Loris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loris
      • Loris is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,807 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loris <3>
    • Hand
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hand. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
      • Hand is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Cedar Creek Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Creek Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Village
      • Cedar Creek Village is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Little River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Finklea
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Finklea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finklea
      • Finklea is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Gurley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gurley
      • Gurley is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Green Sea
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Atlantic Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlantic Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Beach
      • Atlantic Beach is located in Horry County (SC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
    • Cherry Grove Beach
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Nixonville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nixonville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
      • Nixonville is located in Horry County (SC)
  • Marion County (SC)
    • Nichols
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Dothan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dothan.

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

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

  • Marlowe Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marlowe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marlowe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cox Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cox Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cox Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Butler Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Norris Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norris Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norris Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Milligan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milligan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milligan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cartrette Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cartrette Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cartrette Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flag Patch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flag Patch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flag Patch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Antioch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Springfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Springfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Heavenly Hills Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (225 more) ...
    • Wright Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wright Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wright Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Reaves Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reaves Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reaves Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Carter Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carter 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Dothan had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Pireway
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pireway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
    • Pireway is located in Columbus County
  • Bug Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bug Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
    • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County
  • Daisy
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
    • Daisy is located in Horry County (SC)
  • Ironhill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ironhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
    • Ironhill is located in Columbus County
  • Mollie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mollie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mollie
    • Mollie is located in Columbus County
  • Loris
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loris
    • Loris is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,807 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loris <3>
  • Hammond
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
    • Hammond is located in Horry County (SC)
  • Wampee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wampee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampee
    • Wampee is located in Horry County (SC)
  • Iredell
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iredell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iredell
    • Iredell is located in Brunswick County
  • Hand
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hand. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
    • Hand is located in Horry County (SC)
  • Ash
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
    • Ash is located in Brunswick County
  • Old Dock
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Dock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Dock
    • Old Dock is located in Columbus County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Emerson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
      • Emerson is located in Columbus County
    • Little River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Clarendon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarendon
      • Clarendon is located in Columbus County

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

Newspapers Published in Dothan ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dothan.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dothan, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dothan.

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 Dothan:

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

The official website for Columbus County: www.columbusco.org/main

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dothan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dothan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.0335, Longitude: -78.7475       In this case, the coordinates for Dothan have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Dothan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025