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 Sweetwater (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 Sweetwater. 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 Sweetwater ...
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.
Another variation: Sweet Water.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sweetwater. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sweetwater.
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 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.
Sweetwater is located in Aiken 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 Aiken County: Burke (GA), Richmond (GA), Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, Orangeburg & Saluda.
Below are the counties that are near Sweetwater. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sweetwater:
- Aiken County (The home county of Sweetwater)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Belvedere
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Belvedere is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belvedere
- Springdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Springdale is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
- North Augusta
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bath
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnettown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnettown is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnettown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,769 people
- Clearwater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Graniteville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Vaucluse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gloverville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Langley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Warrenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Beech Island
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Edgefield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Murphys Estates
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Murphys Estates is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphys Estates
- Lenoir ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lenoir is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Colliers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Colliers is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
- Trenton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Edgefield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Johnston
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- McCormick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Clarks Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Modoc
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Parksville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Plum Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Hill is located in McCormick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- McCormick
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saluda County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Ward
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ridge Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Saluda
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Burke County (GA)
- Keysville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Memory Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Memory Park is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memory Park
- Population from the 2010 Census: 122 people
- Lulaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lulaville is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lulaville
- Estimated population in 2019: 2,961 people
- Martinez
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lamkin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lamkin is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
- Snead
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Snead is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snead
- Estimated population in 2019: 20,077 people
- Arrow Head
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arrow Head is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrow Head
- Evans
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fort Gordon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kiokee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Kiokee is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiokee
- Forrest ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Forrest is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forrest
- Grovetown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maddox
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Maddox is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maddox
- McDuffie County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Dearing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Megahee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Megahee is located in McDuffie County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Megahee
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,031 people
- Boneville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Richmond County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- National Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- National Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for National Hills
- Bonair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bonair is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonair
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,135 people
- Augusta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rockbrook
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbrook is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockbrook
- Population from the 2010 Census: 160 people
- Forest Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Waverly
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Waverly is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly
- Southgate Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Southgate Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southgate Village
- Fleming Heights
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fleming Heights is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming Heights
- Estimated population in 2019: 717 people
- Richmond Hills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Richmond Hills is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Hills
- Estimated population in 2019: 13,839 people
- Fairvale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fairvale is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairvale
- Population from the 2010 Census: 6,769 people
- Barton Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Barton Village is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Village
- Belair
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Belair is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belair
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sweetwater, see our County-by-County Page for Sweetwater.
Cemeteries Near Sweetwater ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sweetwater.
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 Sweetwater - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sweetwater covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Sweetwater Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Pineview Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Meeting Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Young Macedonia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Horne Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Hammond Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fields Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bath Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Williams Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (290 more) ...
- Nicholson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Thurmond Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Darling Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Sweetwater in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sweetwater.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sweetwater, with the one closest to Sweetwater listed first.
- Poverty Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Poverty Hill is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poverty Hill
- Lenoir ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Lenoir is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Bath
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Morgana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Morgana is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgana
- Hamburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hamburg is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
- Langley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Graniteville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Vaucluse
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Augusta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Martinez
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lamkin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lamkin is located in Columbia County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamkin
- Wheless
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wheless is located in Richmond County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheless
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Beech Island
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Milledgeville ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Milledgeville is located in Aiken County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milledgeville
- Colliers
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Colliers is located in Edgefield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colliers
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sweetwater. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sweetwater.
Newspapers Published in Sweetwater ...
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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sweetwater.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sweetwater, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sweetwater.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Sweetwater:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Aiken County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Edgefield County
- McCormick County
- Saluda County
- Burke County
- Columbia County
- McDuffie County
- Richmond 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 Sweetwater, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Sweetwater) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |