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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 Shovel Mountain (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 Shovel Mountain. 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 Shovel Mountain ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Shovel Mountain: Shovel Mtn. (or less commonly used: Shovel Mntn.)

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 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.

Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet 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 Burnet County: Bell, Blanco, Lampasas, Llano, San Saba, Travis & Williamson.

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

  • Burnet County     (The home county of Shovel Mountain)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Meadowlakes
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Meadowlakes is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowlakes
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,733 people
    • Cottonwood Shores
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Marble Falls
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Spicewood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Granite Shoals
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Mormon Mill ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Mormon Mill is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mormon Mill
      • Mormon Mill has also been known as:
      • Mormon Colony
    • Highland Haven
      (11 miles [17.7 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
    • Oatmeal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Burnet
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bertram
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Silver Creek Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Silver Creek Village is located in Burnet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek Village
  • Blanco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Round Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cypress Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Sandy
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Johnson City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Blowout
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Blowout is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blowout
    • Hye
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Blanco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Flugrath ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Flugrath is located in Blanco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flugrath
  • Gillespie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Willow City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Albert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Albert is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albert
    • Eckert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Eckert is located in Gillespie County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckert
    • Stonewall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Hays County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Henly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Henly is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
    • Fitzhugh
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
    • Dripping Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Gainor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Mount Gainor is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gainor
    • Bear Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bear Creek is located in Hays County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
      • Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
    • Driftwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Llano County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Horseshoe Bay
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sunrise Beach Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kingsland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Click ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Click is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Click
    • Buchanan Dam
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Bluffton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buchanan Lake Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Lone Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Lone Grove is located in Llano County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Grove
    • Llano
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Tow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Travis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Briarcliff
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lago Vista
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Point Venture
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • The Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • The Hills is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,456 people
    • Lakeway
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Buffalo Gap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Hudson Bend
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hudson Bend is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson Bend
    • Jonestown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Nameless ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Nameless is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nameless
      • Nameless has also been known as:
      • Cross Creek
      • Fairview
    • Volente
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bee Cave
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Barton Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Barton Creek is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Creek
    • Lost Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lost Creek is located in Travis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Shovel Mountain, with the one closest to Shovel Mountain listed first.
    • Liberty Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Leander
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Leander is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,519 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leander <1>
    • Cedar Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Anderson Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
    • Jollyville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Jollyville is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville

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

Cemeteries Near Shovel Mountain ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Shovel Mountain.

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 Shovel Mountain - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Burnam Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Rockvale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Richter Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Round Mountain Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fowler Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Fox Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cypress Mill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Holloway Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pangle Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Lewis Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Richland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Shovel Mountain had a population of 27 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Round Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Marble Falls
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Cypress Mill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Smithwick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Smithwick is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithwick
  • Fairland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Fairland is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairland
  • Sudduth
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Sudduth is located in Burnet County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudduth
  • Sandy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnson City
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Blowout
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Blowout is located in Blanco County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blowout
  • Click ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Click is located in Llano County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Click
  • Burnet
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Henly
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Henly is located in Hays County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Volente
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bertram
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Dripping Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Shovel Mountain ...

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 30 newspapers that have been published in the area around Shovel Mountain.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Shovel Mountain, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Shovel Mountain.

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 Shovel Mountain:

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 Shovel Mountain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Shovel Mountain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.