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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 Spanish Fort (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 Spanish Fort. 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 Spanish Fort ...

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 Spanish Fort: Spanish Ft. (or less commonly used: Spanish Frt.)

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 and hospitals 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.

Spanish Fort is located in Montague County.

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 Montague County: Jefferson (OK), Love (OK), Clay, Cooke, Jack & Wise.

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

  • Montague County     (The home county of Spanish Fort)
  • Cooke County
  • Carter County (OK)
  • Jefferson County (OK)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spanish Fort, with the one closest to Spanish Fort listed first.
    • Petersburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Petersburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Petersburg
      • From Spanish Fort to Petersburg
    • Grady
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Oscar
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Fleetwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fleetwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleetwood
      • Fleetwood is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fleetwood
      • From Spanish Fort to Fleetwood
    • Cornish
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornish have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornish
      • Cornish is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Ringling
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ringling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringling
      • Ringling is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ringling <3>
    • Terral
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terral have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terral
      • Terral is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Terral <3>
    • Ryan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan
      • Ryan is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ryan <3>
    • Sugden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugden
      • Sugden is located in Jefferson County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Waurika
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Addington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Love County (OK)
  • Stephens County (OK)
    • Loco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loco
      • Loco is located in Stephens County (OK)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loco <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Spanish Fort ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spanish Fort.

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

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

  • Spanish Fort Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Petersburg Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Petersburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Petersburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mayfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mayfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mayfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Liberty Chapel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Liberty Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Liberty Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bourland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bourland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bourland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keck Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keck Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Shady Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shady Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shady Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grady Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grady Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grady Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eagle Point Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eagle Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eagle Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crow Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Courtney Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Courtney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Courtney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oscar Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oscar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oscar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (98 more) ...
    • Simmons Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Simmons Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Simmons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Union Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Murrell Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murrell Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murrell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Spanish Fort had a post office and no railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Spanish Fort ...

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 Spanish Fort.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Spanish Fort. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Spanish Fort and those printed in the larger area surrounding Spanish Fort.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Spanish Fort.

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 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 Spanish Fort:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Spanish Fort. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Spanish Fort, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Spanish Fort) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spanish Fort. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9448, Longitude: -97.6209    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025