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 Olympia (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 Olympia. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Olympia is located in Richland County.
To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Richland County: Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Newberry & Sumter.
Below are the counties that are near Olympia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Olympia:
- Richland County (The home county of Olympia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Columbia
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hollywood
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Hollywood is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Arthurtown
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Arthurtown is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
- Valencia Heights
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
- Forest Acres
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Forest Acres is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
- Brickyard Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
- Capitol View
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Capitol View is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol View
- Ravenwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Ravenwood is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
- Belmont
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Arcadia Lakes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Arcadia Lakes is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
- Saint Andrews
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
- Dentsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Woodfield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Woodfield is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodfield
- Aiken County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Seivern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Seivern is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
- Perry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wagener
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Calhoun County
- Saint Matthews
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Smallwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Smallwood is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallwood
- Ridgeway
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rion
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rock Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
- Jenkinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Winnsboro Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
- Winnsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Monticello
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monticello is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
- Kershaw County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Elgin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Village is located in Kershaw County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
- Lugoff
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Camden
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lancaster County
- Springdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lexington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Cayce
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- West Columbia
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Springdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Springdale is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
- Pineridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pineridge is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- Styx ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Styx is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
- Arthur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Arthur is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Oak Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Glenn Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
- South Congaree
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- South Congaree is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
- Seven Oaks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Irmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irmo is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <1>
- Gaston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lexington
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Newberry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Peak
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Little Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Slighs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Slighs is located in Newberry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
- Pomaria
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Orangeburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Woodford
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
- North
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Livingston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Livingston is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Jamison
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Jamison is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamison
- Boiling Spring ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Boiling Spring is located in Orangeburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring
- Sumter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Claremont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Claremont is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Horatio
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stateburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Stateburg is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stateburg
- Sumter Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sumter Junction is located in Sumter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter Junction
- Rembert
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wedgefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Olympia, see our County-by-County Page for Olympia.
Cemeteries Near Olympia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olympia.
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 Olympia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Olympia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Olympia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Peters Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Douglas Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hebrew Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Childs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elmwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood Cemetery
- The Elmwood Cemetery has also been known as:
- Elmwood Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #69943 <2>
- Randolph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- State Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Burying Ground
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Crescent Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Factory Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (275 more) ...
- Hook Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Geiger Ave. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geiger Ave. Cemetery
- The Geiger Ave. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Confederate Home Cemetery
- South Carolina State Hospital Cemetery
- White Asylum Cemetery
- Pisgah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
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 Olympia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Olympia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Olympia, with the one closest to Olympia listed first.
- Columbia
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Cayce
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Childs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Childs is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
- Pineridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pineridge is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
- Arthur
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Arthur is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
- Spring Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Spring Hill is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Leaphart
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Leaphart is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaphart
- Hopkins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Gaston
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Irmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Irmo is located in Lexington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <1>
- Killian
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Killian is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
- Weston
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Weston is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Congaree
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Congaree is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congaree
- Bookman
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bookman is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bookman
- Pleasant ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Pleasant is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Olympia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Olympia.
Newspapers Published in Olympia ...
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 174 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olympia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olympia, there are papers which were published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olympia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Olympia:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Richland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Aiken County
- Calhoun County
- Fairfield County
- Kershaw County
- Lancaster County
- Lexington County
- Newberry County
- Orangeburg County
- Sumter County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
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 Olympia, 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- Olympia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |