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 West Lake 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 West Lake 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.
Name Variations for West Lake Hills ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Lake Hills: W. Lk. Hills
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 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.
West Lake 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 West Lake Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Lake Hills:
- Travis County (The home county of West Lake Hills)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Rollingwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rollingwood is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,571 people
- Lost Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Lost Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Barton Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Barton Creek is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barton Creek
- Sunset Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Austin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tanglewood Forest
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Tanglewood Forest is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood Forest
- Bee Cave
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Villa Siesta Retirement Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Shady Hollow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shady Hollow is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Hollow
- Daffan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Buffalo Gap
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Del Valle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bastrop County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Mustang Ridge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mustang Ridge is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mustang Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,001 people
- Wyldwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wyldwood is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyldwood
- Cedar Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Elgin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Phelan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Phelan is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelan
- Bateman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bateman is located in Bastrop County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bateman
- Blanco County
- Cypress Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Burnet County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Spicewood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shovel Mountain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Shovel Mountain is located in Burnet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shovel Mountain
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Niederwald
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Niederwald is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niederwald
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Mendoza
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mendoza is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendoza
- Uhland
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Uhland is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uhland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
- Lytton Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lytton Springs is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton Springs
- Saint Johns Colony
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Johns Colony is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns Colony
- Maxwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Reedville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Reedville is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
- Lockhart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Dale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Martindale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hays County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Bear Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Estimated population in 2017: 445 people
- Hays
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hays is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hays
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Fitzhugh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Fitzhugh is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitzhugh
- Buda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Flatrock Ford
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Flatrock Ford is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatrock Ford
- Driftwood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Goforth
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Goforth is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goforth
- Mountain City
(18 miles [29 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
- Dripping Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Mount Gainor
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gainor is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gainor
- Henly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Henly is located in Hays County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henly
- Williamson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Jollyville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jollyville is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jollyville
- Anderson Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Anderson Mill is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Mill
- Cedar Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Brushy Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Brushy Creek is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Creek
- Old Round Rock ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Old Round Rock is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Round Rock
- Round Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Leander
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Hutto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Georgetown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Liberty Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Coupland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Serenada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Serenada is located in Williamson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Serenada
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Lake Hills, see our County-by-County Page for West Lake Hills.
Cemeteries Near West Lake Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Lake 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 West Lake Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Lake Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Tucker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- City Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mt. Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Austin Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- McNeil Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cook Walden Forest Oaks Memorial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Texas State Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oakwood Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located in Austin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #5704 <2>
- Oakwood Cemetery Annex
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (172 more) ...
- Preece Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Williamson Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Assumption Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find West Lake Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Lake Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Lake Hills, with the one closest to West Lake Hills listed first.
- Oak Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Austin
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Bluff Springs is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Springs
- Cedar Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Valley is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
- Manchaca
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Del Valle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Daffan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Daffan is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daffan
- Carl
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Carl is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Volente
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- McNeil
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- McNeil is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNeil
- Buda
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Creedmoor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Cedar Park
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dunlap
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dunlap is located in Travis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
- Manor
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Lake Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Lake Hills.
Newspapers Published in West Lake 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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Lake Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Lake Hills, 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 West Lake Hills.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 West Lake Hills:
- Websites specific to Texas
- Pages specific to Travis County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bastrop County
- Blanco County
- Burnet County
- Caldwell County
- Hays 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> | 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 West Lake Hills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- West Lake Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |