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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Palestine (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 Palestine. 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.

Palestine is located in Anderson County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Anderson County: Cherokee, Freestone, Henderson, Houston & Leon.

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

  • Anderson County     (The home county of Palestine)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Wells Creek
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Deanwright
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deanwright. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanwright
      • Deanwright is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deanwright
      • From Palestine to Deanwright
    • Cronin
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cronin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
      • Cronin is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cronin
      • From Palestine to Cronin
    • Crystal Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Kossuth
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kossuth. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kossuth
      • Kossuth is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kossuth
      • From Palestine to Kossuth
    • Lakeview Assembly
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeview Assembly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview Assembly
      • Lakeview Assembly is located in Anderson County
    • Elmtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Montalba
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montalba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montalba
      • Montalba is located in Anderson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montalba <3>
    • Elkhart
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Tucker
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Harmony
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harmony. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
      • Harmony is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harmony
      • From Palestine to Harmony
    • Jarvis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Elmwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elmwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmwood
      • Elmwood is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elmwood
      • From Palestine to Elmwood
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Maydelle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maydelle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maydelle
      • Maydelle is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maydelle <3>
    • Cuney
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuney
      • Cuney is located in Cherokee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cuney <3>
    • Reese
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dialville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jacksonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Turney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Larissa ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Larissa have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larissa
      • Larissa is located in Cherokee County
    • Rusk
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Gallatin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Weeping Mary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Mount Selman
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • New Birmingham ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Freestone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Oakwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
      • Oakwood is located in Freestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <3>
    • Red Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Turlington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lanely
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lanely. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lanely
      • Lanely is located in Freestone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lanely
      • From Palestine to Lanely
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Poynor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poynor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poynor
      • Poynor is located in Henderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poynor <3>
    • Berryville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berryville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berryville
      • Berryville is located in Henderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,066 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berryville
      • From Palestine to Berryville
    • LaRue
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Coffee City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cross Roads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Moore Station
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moore Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moore Station
      • Moore Station is located in Henderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 223 people
  • Houston County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Grapeland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Refuge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Latexo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Halls Bluff Town ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halls Bluff Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Bluff Town
      • Halls Bluff Town is located in Houston County
    • Weches
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Weches. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weches
      • Weches is located in Houston County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Weches
      • From Palestine to Weches
    • Belott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Leon County
  • Smith County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Palestine, with the one closest to Palestine listed first.
    • Dogwood City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dogwood City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood City
      • Dogwood City is located in Smith County
    • Teaselville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Palestine ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Palestine.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Palestine had a population of 5,838 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Palestine had a population of 17,819 people.

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

  • Wells Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cronin
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cronin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cronin
    • Cronin is located in Anderson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cronin
    • From Palestine to Cronin
  • Tucker
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Elkhart
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Montalba
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montalba have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montalba
    • Montalba is located in Anderson County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montalba <3>
  • Neches
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Long Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Long Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
    • Long Lake is located in Anderson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Long Lake
    • From Palestine to Long Lake
  • Alderbranch
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Brushy Creek
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Tennessee Colony
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Oakwood
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood
    • Oakwood is located in Freestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 514 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakwood <3>
  • Bradford
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Fosterville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Blackfoot
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Blackfoot. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackfoot
      • Blackfoot is located in Anderson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Blackfoot
      • From Palestine to Blackfoot
    • Butler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler
      • Butler is located in Freestone County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Palestine ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Palestine.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Palestine. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Palestine and those printed in the larger area surrounding Palestine.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Palestine.

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 helpful 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 Palestine:

The official website for Palestine: www.palestine-online.org/

The official website for Anderson County: www.co.anderson.tx.us/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Palestine, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Palestine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Palestine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.7617, Longitude: -95.6325    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025