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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Rock (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 Rock. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Rock is located in Pope County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pope County: Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Saline, Williamson & Livingston (KY).

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

  • Pope County     (The home county of Rock)
  • Gallatin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Equality
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bowlesville ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Bowlesville is located in Gallatin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowlesville
    • Lawler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hardin County
  • Johnson County
  • Massac County
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Karnak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Grand Chain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • New Grand Chain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • New Grand Chain is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Grand Chain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Perks
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Olmsted
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Saline County
  • Union County
  • Williamson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Creal Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Crest
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hartford is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Marion
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pittsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Corinth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Corinth is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
    • Spillertown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Spillertown is located in Williamson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spillertown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
  • Ballard County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Bandana
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kevil
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Kevil is located in Ballard County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kevil
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kevil <1>
    • Ceredo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • La Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Crittenden County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Tolu
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sheridan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Dycusburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Dycusburg is located in Crittenden County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dycusburg
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 26 people
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Marion is located in Crittenden County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,850 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marion <1>
  • Livingston County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Carrsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Carrsville is located in Livingston County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
    • Hampton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hampton is located in Livingston County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
    • Lola
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Burna
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Burna is located in Livingston County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burna
    • Salem
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Smithland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Pinckneyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ledbetter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Tiline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Tiline is located in Livingston County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tiline
  • Marshall County (KY)
  • McCracken County (KY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock listed first.
    • Grahamville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Paducah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Ragland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • West Paducah
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Hendron
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hendron is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendron
    • Lone Oak
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Lone Oak is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Oak
    • Cimota City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Cimota City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cimota City
    • Woodville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Future City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Future City
    • Oakdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • West Future City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Future City is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Future City
    • Massac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Massac is located in McCracken County (KY)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massac
    • Reidland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Rock ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock.

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 Rock - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock, with the one closest to Rock 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.<4>

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

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

  • Allens Spring
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Allens Spring is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Spring
  • Waltersburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Waltersburg is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltersburg
  • Glendale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Raum
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Raum is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raum
  • Eddyville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Grantsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Reevesville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Temple Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Temple Hill is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple Hill
  • Big Bay
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Tansill
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Tansill is located in Pope County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tansill
  • Golconda
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Simpson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Wartrace
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Rosebud
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Rosebud is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
    • Lusk
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Rock ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock.

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 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 Rock:

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 '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- Rock) 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 Rock, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.