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 Ponderosa (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 Ponderosa. 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 and doctors 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.
Ponderosa is located in Rutherford County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Rutherford County: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson, Marshall, Williamson & Wilson.
Below are the counties that are near Ponderosa. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ponderosa:
- Rutherford County (The home county of Ponderosa)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Morrow
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Morrow is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrow
- Estimated population in 2014: 29,304 people
- Jefferson Pike
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jefferson Pike is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Pike
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,370 people
- La Vergne
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Murphree
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Murphree is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphree
- Estimated population in 2014: 120,954 people
- Smyrna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Colonial Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Colonial Village is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Leanna
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Leanna is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leanna
- Jamestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jamestown is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,940 people
- Walter Hill Estates
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walter Hill Estates is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walter Hill Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 401 people
- Walterhill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walterhill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walterhill
- Snell ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Snell is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snell
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,361 people
- Fairfield Estates
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Estates is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 131 people
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Longview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Longview is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview
- Unionville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Vannatta
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Vannatta is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vannatta
- Estimated population in 2014: 398 people
- Cannon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Auburntown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Auburntown is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Auburntown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Bradyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bradyville is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradyville
- Burt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burt is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burt
- Woodbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gassaway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Gassaway is located in Cannon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gassaway
- Cheatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Doziers ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Doziers is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doziers
- Estimated population in 2014: 543 people
- Pegram
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Pegram is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pegram
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,056 people
- Marrowbone
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Marrowbone is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- Westeria ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Westeria is located in Cheatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westeria
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Priest Lake Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Priest Lake Park is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priest Lake Park
- Rural Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rural Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,007 people
- Nashboro Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Nashboro Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashboro Village
- Antioch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Wrencoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wrencoe is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrencoe
- Dog Town ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dog Town is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dog Town
- Donelson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Donelson is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donelson
- Mudtavern
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mudtavern is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudtavern
- Paragon Mills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Paragon Mills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paragon Mills
- Whispering Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Whispering Hills is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
- Hermitage
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Berry Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Berry Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berry Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
- DeKalb County
- Alexandria
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Holts Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Holts Corner is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holts Corner
- Chapel Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Maury County
- New Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Town is located in Maury County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Robertson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Hygeia Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hygeia Springs is located in Robertson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hygeia Springs
- White House
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Smith County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Brush Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Brush Creek is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
- Shaver Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Shaver Town is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaver Town
- Rock City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rock City is located in Smith County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
- Sumner County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Driftwood Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Driftwood Park is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driftwood Park
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,908 people
- Hendersonville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Goodlettsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ocana
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ocana is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocana
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,086 people
- Shackle Island
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Shackle Island is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shackle Island
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,844 people
- Gallatin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Station Camp ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Station Camp is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Station Camp
- Trousdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Trousdale is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trousdale
- Millersville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Castalian Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cottontown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rogana
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rogana is located in Sumner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogana
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Nolensville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Brentwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Arrington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clovercroft
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Clovercroft is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clovercroft
- Lynnwood Downs
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Lynnwood Downs is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynnwood Downs
- Estimated population in 2014: 282 people
- McEwen ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- McEwen is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McEwen
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,699 people
- Wildwood Estates
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Wildwood Estates is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,098 people
- College Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peytonsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Peytonsville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytonsville
- Berrys Chapel Heights
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Berrys Chapel Heights is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berrys Chapel Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 551 people
- Forest Home
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Forest Home is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Home
- Wilson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Rural Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rural Hill is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Gladeville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Belinda City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Belinda City is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belinda City
- Lynn Christie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Lynn Christie is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Christie
- Estimated population in 2011: 6,411 people
- Mount Juliet
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Beckwith
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Beckwith is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckwith
- Leeville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Leeville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeville
- Cainsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Cainsville is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cainsville
- Doaks Crossroads
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Doaks Crossroads is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doaks Crossroads
- Doaks Crossroads has also been known as:
- Doaks
- Lebanon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Laguardo
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Laguardo is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laguardo
- Estimated population in 2014: 132 people
- Greenwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ponderosa, see our County-by-County Page for Ponderosa.
Cemeteries Near Ponderosa ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ponderosa.
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 Ponderosa - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ponderosa covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- Fergus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Fergus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cannon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Mabry Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mason Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- White Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Eskridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Castleman - Bruer Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Akin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Mason Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Goodman Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pope Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (1334 more) ...
- Gowen Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Nelson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Patterson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Ponderosa in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ponderosa.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ponderosa, with the one closest to Ponderosa listed first.
- La Vergne
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Smyrna
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Couchville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Couchville is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couchville
- Brooklin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Brooklin is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Kimbro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Kimbro is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimbro
- Rural Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Rural Hill is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
- Mount View
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Mount View is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount View
- Vesta
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Vesta is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
- Rocky Fork
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Rocky Fork is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Fork
- Dodoburg ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Dodoburg is located in Wilson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodoburg
- Una
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Una is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Una
- Antioch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Wrencoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wrencoe is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrencoe
- Nolensville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wilkerson ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Wilkerson is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilkerson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ponderosa. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ponderosa.
Newspapers Published in Ponderosa ...
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 12 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ponderosa.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ponderosa, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ponderosa.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Ponderosa:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Rutherford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Cannon County
- Cheatham County
- Davidson County
- DeKalb County
- Marshall County
- Maury County
- Robertson County
- Smith County
- Sumner County
- Williamson County
- Wilson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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> | 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- Ponderosa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Ponderosa, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |