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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 West Columbia (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 Columbia. 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 Columbia ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Columbia: W. Columbia

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 Columbia is located in Lexington County.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties 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 West Columbia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Columbia:

  • Lexington County     (The home county of West Columbia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Cayce
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
      • Cayce is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <1>
    • Springdale
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
      • Springdale is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,732 people
    • Oak Grove
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Lexington County
    • Seven Oaks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pineridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
      • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
    • South Congaree
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Congaree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Congaree
      • South Congaree is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,485 people
    • Glenn Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Village
      • Glenn Village is located in Lexington County
    • Irmo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
      • Irmo is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <1>
    • Lexington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Red Bank
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
      • Red Bank is located in Lexington County
    • Gaston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
      • Gaston is located in Lexington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,712 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaston <1>
    • Swansea
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Seivern
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seivern
      • Seivern is located in Aiken County
    • Perry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wagener
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Calhoun County
    • Saint Matthews
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Rock Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
      • Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
    • Rion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Smallwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smallwood
      • Smallwood is located in Fairfield County
    • Ridgeway
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Jenkinsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Winnsboro Mills
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winnsboro Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
      • Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
    • Winnsboro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Monticello
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
      • Monticello is located in Fairfield County
    • Adger
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
      • Adger is located in Fairfield County
  • Kershaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Elgin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
      • Elgin is located in Kershaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,585 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elgin <1>
    • Spring Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Village
      • Spring Village is located in Kershaw County
    • Lugoff
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Lancaster County
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Peak
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak
      • Peak is located in Newberry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peak <1>
    • Little Mountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Slighs
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slighs
      • Slighs is located in Newberry County
    • Pomaria
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Prosperity
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Woodford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodford
      • Woodford is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 169 people
    • North
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North
      • North is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North <1>
    • Livingston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Livingston is located in Orangeburg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Columbia
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hollywood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
      • Hollywood is located in Richland County
    • Saint Andrews
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Andrews have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Andrews
      • Saint Andrews is located in Richland County
    • Arthurtown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthurtown
      • Arthurtown is located in Richland County
    • Forest Acres
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Acres
      • Forest Acres is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,269 people
    • Valencia Heights
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valencia Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valencia Heights
      • Valencia Heights is located in Richland County
    • Belmont
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Brickyard Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brickyard Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickyard Village
      • Brickyard Village is located in Richland County
    • Ravenwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravenwood
      • Ravenwood is located in Richland County
    • Arcadia Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia Lakes
      • Arcadia Lakes is located in Richland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 874 people
    • Capitol View
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capitol View
      • Capitol View is located in Richland County
    • Dentsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Columbia, with the one closest to West Columbia listed first.
    • Horatio
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Stateburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stateburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stateburg
      • Stateburg is located in Sumter County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of West Columbia ...

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 West Columbia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of West Columbia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of West Columbia and those printed in the larger area surrounding West Columbia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> of West Columbia.

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 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 West Columbia:

Cemeteries Near West Columbia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Columbia.

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

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

  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
  • Factory Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Factory Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Factory Cemetery
  • Randolph Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Randolph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randolph Cemetery
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • State Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the State Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the State Cemetery
  • Celestial Memorial Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Celestial Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Celestial Memorial Gardens
  • Olympia Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olympia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olympia Cemetery
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Geiger Ave. Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • The Geiger Ave. Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Confederate Home Cemetery
    • South Carolina State Hospital Cemetery
    • White Asylum Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Geiger Ave. Cemetery
  • Douglas Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Douglas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Douglas Cemetery
  • Mt. Hebron UMC Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Hermon Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hermon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hermon Cemetery
  • Continue List   (287 more) ...
    • Taylor Burying Ground
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Burying Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Burying Ground
    • Miller Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
    • Pisgah Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pisgah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pisgah Cemetery

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.<5>

While we didn't find West Columbia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Columbia.

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

  • Cayce
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayce
    • Cayce is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,994 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cayce <1>
  • Columbia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Arthur
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arthur have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arthur
    • Arthur is located in Lexington County
  • Pineridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineridge
    • Pineridge is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,419 people
  • Leaphart
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaphart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaphart
    • Leaphart is located in Lexington County
  • Spring Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Lexington County
  • Childs
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Childs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
    • Childs is located in Richland County
  • Irmo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irmo
    • Irmo is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,734 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irmo <1>
  • Gaston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaston
    • Gaston is located in Lexington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,712 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaston <1>
  • Bookman
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bookman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bookman
    • Bookman is located in Richland County
  • Hopkins
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Killian
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Killian have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Killian
    • Killian is located in Richland County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Pleasant ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant
      • Pleasant is located in Richland County
    • Ballentine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Sharp
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharp have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp
      • Sharp is located in Richland County

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

The official website for West Columbia: www.cityofwestcolumbiasc.org/

The official website for Lexington County: www.lex-co.com/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9916, Longitude: -81.0740    
<4>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.
<5>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 Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024