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 The Hills (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 The Hills. 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.
The Hills is located in Travis County.
To see how the shape of Texas' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Travis County: Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays & Williamson.
Below are the counties that are near The Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to The Hills:
- Travis County (The home county of The Hills)
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Lakeway
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Point Venture
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Point Venture is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Venture
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,053 people
- Point Venture has also been known as:
- Point Venture village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Point Venture <1>
- Buffalo Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bee Cave
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hudson Bend
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson Bend is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Bend
- Briarcliff
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lago Vista
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Volente
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Barton Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Barton Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Creek
- Lost Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lost Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Jonestown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- West Lake Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Lake Hills is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Lake Hills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,254 people
- Bastrop County
- Mustang Ridge
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Blanco County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Cypress Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Round Mountain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Johnson City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Sandy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Burnet County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Spicewood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shovel Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
- Marble Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowlakes
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Meadowlakes is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,733 people
- Oatmeal
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cottonwood Shores
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
- Mormon Mill has also been known as:
- Mormon Colony
- Bertram
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Granite Shoals
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Haven is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Haven
- Population from the 2020 Census: 445 people
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Niederwald
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Niederwald is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niederwald
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Mendoza
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mendoza is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendoza
- Uhland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Uhland is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uhland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
- Comal County
- Fischer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Fitzhugh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
- Bear Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bear Creek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
- Dripping Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Driftwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hays
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hays is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Mount Gainor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gainor is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gainor
- Henly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Henly is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
- Flatrock Ford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Buda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mountain City is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
- Woodcreek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Woodcreek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodcreek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,758 people
- Goforth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Llano County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Horseshoe Bay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sunrise Beach Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Anderson Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
- Cedar Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jollyville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jollyville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville
- Leander
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brushy Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Brushy Creek is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Round Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Liberty Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Georgetown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hutto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Serenada
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Serenada is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
- Sun City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sun City is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sun City
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to The Hills, see our County-by-County Page for The Hills.
Cemeteries Near The Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Hills.
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 The Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for The Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- White Rock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Darter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Teck Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Simpson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Roberts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fitzhugh Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Puryear Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Puryear Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Puryear Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<2> to the north of Dripping Springs.
- The Puryear Cemetery has also been known as:
- Peryear Cemetery
- Oliver Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- McNeil Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Fall Creek Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cook Walden Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (150 more) ...
- Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Preece Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Post Oak Bend Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 The Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of The Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from The Hills, with the one closest to The Hills listed first.
- Cedar Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cedar Valley is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Volente
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Hill is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Dripping Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Driftwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Austin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cypress Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Manchaca
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Henly
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Henly is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
- McNeil
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- McNeil is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeil
- Smithwick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Smithwick is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithwick
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Leander
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff Springs is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Shovel Mountain
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around The Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around The Hills.
Newspapers Published in The Hills ...
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 314 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of The Hills, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for The Hills.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 The Hills:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Travis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Blanco County
- Burnet County
- Caldwell County
- Comal County
- Hays County
- Llano County
- Williamson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Texas
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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- The Hills) 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 The Hills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |