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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 Iola (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 Iola. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Iola is located in Columbia County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Luzerne, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill & Sullivan.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Iola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Millville
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Greenwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Eyers Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eyers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyers Grove
      • Eyers Grove is located in Columbia County
    • Welliversville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Coles Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jerseytown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerseytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseytown
      • Jerseytown is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jerseytown
      • From Iola to Jerseytown
    • Rohrsburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rohrsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rohrsburg
      • Rohrsburg is located in Columbia County
    • Jackson
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mordansville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mordansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mordansville
      • Mordansville is located in Columbia County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mordansville
      • From Iola to Mordansville
    • Orangeville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Benton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckhorn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Bradford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Overton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Overton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overton
      • Overton is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Overton
      • From Iola to Overton
    • Laddsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laddsburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laddsburg
      • Laddsburg is located in Bradford County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laddsburg
      • From Iola to Laddsburg
  • Luzerne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • New Columbus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Columbus
      • New Columbus is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
    • Fairmount Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Register
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Register. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Register
      • Register is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Register
      • From Iola to Register
    • Clarks View
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Harveyville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Huntington Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Waterton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Red Rock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Rock
      • Red Rock is located in Luzerne County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Rock
      • From Iola to Red Rock
    • East Berwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Berwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Berwick
      • East Berwick is located in Luzerne County
    • Mossville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Nescopeck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nescopeck have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nescopeck
      • Nescopeck is located in Luzerne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,522 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nescopeck <1>
  • Lycoming County
  • Montour County
  • Northumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Turbotville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turbotville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turbotville
      • Turbotville is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Turbotville <1>
    • Riverside
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,839 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Riverside <1>
    • Chulasky
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chulasky. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chulasky
      • Chulasky is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chulasky
      • From Iola to Chulasky
    • Rushtown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rushtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushtown
      • Rushtown is located in Northumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rushtown
      • From Iola to Rushtown
    • McEwensville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Potts Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Watsontown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Elysburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elysburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elysburg
      • Elysburg is located in Northumberland County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elysburg <1>
    • Marion Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Heights
      • Marion Heights is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 573 people
    • Milton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,550 people
    • Dewart
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Snydertown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snydertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snydertown
      • Snydertown is located in Northumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
  • Schuylkill County
  • Snyder County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Iola, with the one closest to Iola listed first.
    • Shamokin Dam
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hummels Wharf
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hummels Wharf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hummels Wharf
      • Hummels Wharf is located in Snyder County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hummels Wharf <1>
    • Kratzerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kratzerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kratzerville
      • Kratzerville is located in Snyder County
    • Selinsgrove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selinsgrove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selinsgrove
      • Selinsgrove is located in Snyder County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,913 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Selinsgrove <1>
  • Sullivan County
  • Union County

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

Cemeteries Near Iola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Iola.

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

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

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.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Iola had a population of 114 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Millville
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Sereno
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sereno have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sereno
    • Sereno is located in Columbia County
  • Greenwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Eyers Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eyers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eyers Grove
    • Eyers Grove is located in Columbia County
  • Welliversville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Summit
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Summit
    • Pine Summit is located in Columbia County
  • Jerseytown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerseytown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseytown
    • Jerseytown is located in Columbia County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Jerseytown
    • From Iola to Jerseytown
  • White Hall
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Hall
    • White Hall is located in Montour County
  • Mordansville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mordansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mordansville
    • Mordansville is located in Columbia County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Mordansville
    • From Iola to Mordansville
  • Derrs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derrs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derrs
    • Derrs is located in Columbia County
  • Unityville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Strawberry Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Ridge
    • Strawberry Ridge is located in Montour County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Orangeville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Lairdsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Moreland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moreland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moreland
      • Moreland is located in Lycoming County

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

Newspapers Published in Iola ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Iola.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Iola, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Iola.

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 Iola:

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

The official website for Columbia County: www.columbiapa.org/county/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

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 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>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>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Iola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Iola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1365, Longitude: -76.5318    
<6>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.
<7>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 Iola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025