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 West Fort Smith (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 West Fort Smith. 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.
Name Variations for West Fort Smith ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Fort Smith: W. Ft. Smith (or less commonly used: W. Frt. Smith)
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
West Fort Smith is located in Sequoyah County.
To see how the shape of Oklahoma's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Sequoyah County: Crawford (AR), Sebastian (AR), Adair, Cherokee, Haskell, Le Flore & Muskogee.
Below are the counties that are near West Fort Smith. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Fort Smith:
- Sequoyah County (The home county of West Fort Smith)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Moffett
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Roland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Remy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Remy is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remy
- Muldrow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Long
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Long is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long
- Short
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Short is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short
- Belfonte
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Belfonte is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belfonte
- Gans
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Akins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Akins is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akins
- Seven Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Seven Oaks is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Oaks
- Stoney Point
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Stoney Point is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Point
- Brushy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Brushy is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy
- Brent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Brent is located in Sequoyah County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brent
- Adair County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Bell
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bell is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell
- Greasy
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Greasy is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greasy
- Salem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Salem is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Bunch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cherry Tree
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cherry Tree is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Lyons
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lyons is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lyons has also been known as:
- Lyons Switch
- Zion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Zion is located in Adair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
- Stilwell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Haskell County
- Keota
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Le Flore County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Arkoma
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Braden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Braden is located in Le Flore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Braden
- Pocola
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fort Coffee
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Coffee is located in Le Flore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Coffee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 421 people
- Skullyville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Skullyville is located in Le Flore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skullyville
- Rock Island
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Rock Island is located in Le Flore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Island
- Population from the 2020 Census: 648 people
- Spiro
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cameron
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Panama
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cowlington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cowlington is located in Le Flore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
- Shady Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bokoshe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Poteau
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Crawford County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Van Buren
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wright Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Wright Town is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright Town
- Kibler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Kibler is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kibler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
- Concord
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Uniontown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Uniontown is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- New Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Cedarville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alma is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,887 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
- Rudy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rudy is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Barcelona
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Barcelona is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barcelona
- Natural Dam
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Dyer
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Dyer is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 893 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyer <1>
- Lee Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Lee Creek is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Creek
- Franklin County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Charleston
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Dahoma ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Dahoma is located in Franklin County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahoma
- Leon ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Leon is located in Franklin County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
- Donald ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Donald is located in Franklin County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cecil
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cecil is located in Franklin County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Logan County (AR)
- Lucas
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lucas is located in Logan County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
- Sebastian County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Fort Smith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Buell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Buell is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buell
- Barling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bonanza
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bonanza is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza
- Population from the 2020 Census: 560 people
- Central City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Central City is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
- Jenny Lind
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jenny Lind is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenny Lind
- Hackett
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lavaca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lavaca is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavaca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,439 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lavaca <1>
- Greenwood
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Greenwood is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,396 people
- Bloomer
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Bloomer is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Ursula
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Ursula is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursula
- Midland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Midland is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
- Huntington
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Huntington is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
- Washington County (AR)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Evansville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Evansville is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evansville
- Skylight
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Skylight is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skylight
- Strickler
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Strickler is located in Washington County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickler
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Fort Smith, see our County-by-County Page for West Fort Smith.
Cemeteries Near West Fort Smith ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Fort Smith.
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 West Fort Smith - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Fort Smith covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Ft. Smith National Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Oak Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Lawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Washington Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Newlon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Holy Cross Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Forest Park Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Shady Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Fairview Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Roland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Cottonwood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Paw Paw Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Leard Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Czarnikow Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<3>
While we didn't find West Fort Smith in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Fort Smith.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Fort Smith, with the one closest to West Fort Smith listed first.
- Dora
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Dora is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dora
- Fort Smith
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cavanaugh
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Cavanaugh is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavanaugh
- Massard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Massard is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massard
- Van Buren
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Buell is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buell
- Crescent
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Crescent is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
- Enterprise
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Enterprise is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
- Barling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Catcher
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Catcher is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catcher
- Haroldton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Haroldton is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haroldton
- Uniontown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Uniontown is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Jenny Lind
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jenny Lind is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenny Lind
- Jenson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Jenson is located in Sebastian County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenson
- Alma
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Alma is located in Crawford County (AR)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,887 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alma <1>
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Fort Smith. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Fort Smith.
Newspapers Published in West Fort Smith ...
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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Fort Smith.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Fort Smith, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Fort Smith.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 West Fort Smith:
- Websites specific to Oklahoma
- Pages specific to Sequoyah County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adair County
- Haskell County
- Le Flore County
- Crawford County
- Franklin County
- Logan County
- Sebastian County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oklahoma
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 West Fort Smith, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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- West Fort Smith) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |