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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 Walden (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 Walden. 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 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.

Walden is located in Lexington 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 Lexington County: Aiken, Calhoun, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland & Saluda.

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

  • Lexington County     (The home county of Walden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Irmo
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • 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>
    • Seven Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Arthur
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Arthur is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Oak Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Lexington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Springdale
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Springdale is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
    • West Columbia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Red Bank
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Red Bank is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
    • Cayce
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cayce is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <1>
    • South Congaree
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
    • Styx ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Styx is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Styx
    • Chapin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chapin is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapin <1>
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Seivern
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Seivern is located in Aiken County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
    • Monetta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wagener
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Perry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Rock Hill
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
    • Jenkinsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Rion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Smallwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Smallwood is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallwood
    • Monticello
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Monticello is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Winnsboro Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
    • Ridgeway
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Winnsboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Adger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Adger is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
    • Blair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • White Oak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Kershaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Elgin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Elgin is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
    • Spring Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Spring Village is located in Kershaw County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
    • Lugoff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lancaster County
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Peak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Peak is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peak <1>
    • Little Mountain
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Slighs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Slighs is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
    • Pomaria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Prosperity
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Stoney Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Stoney Hill is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoney Hill
    • Sondleys ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Sondleys is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sondleys
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Union is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Glymphville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Glymphville is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glymphville
    • Newberry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Helena
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Helena is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
  • Orangeburg County
    • Woodford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walden, with the one closest to Walden listed first.
    • Saint Andrews
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
    • Dutch Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Dutch Village is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutch Village
    • Ballentine
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Murray of Richland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • White Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Belmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Cedar Creek is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
    • Columbia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hollywood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollywood is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
    • Brickyard Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
    • Forest Acres
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Forest Acres is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
    • Arcadia Lakes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Arcadia Lakes is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Lakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
  • Saluda County
    • Ridge Spring
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Walden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walden.

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 Walden - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Walden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Bush River Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Upper Pine Grove Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Lower Pine Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Woodridge Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodridge Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodridge Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located in Columbia.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1969374 <2>
  • Zion Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Andrews Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Pine Grove AME Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Golden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lindler Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Pauls AME Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (326 more) ...
    • Bauknight Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • George Gross Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mt. Hebron UMC Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)

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 Walden in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Walden.

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

  • Irmo
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • 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>
  • Leaphart
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Leaphart is located in Lexington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaphart
  • Spring Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Spring Hill is located in Lexington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
  • Ballentine
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Arthur
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Arthur is located in Lexington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
  • Bookman
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Bookman is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bookman
  • White Rock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Cayce
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cayce is located in Lexington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <1>
  • Columbia
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Lever ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Lever is located in Richland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lever
  • Wallaceville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Wallaceville is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallaceville
  • Pineridge
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Chapin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Chapin is located in Lexington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,664 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chapin <1>
    • Pleasant ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Pleasant is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
    • Jennings
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Jennings is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings

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

Newspapers Published in Walden ...

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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walden.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walden, 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 Walden.

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 websites either 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 Walden:

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 Walden, 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' (or 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- Walden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.