RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Alva ...

Alva is located in Harlan County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Alva, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1922.

Alva is 1,440 feet [439 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Alva lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Alva: 606

Communities Also Named Alva ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 11 communities that are also named Alva - they are located in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi (2), Missouri, Oklahoma, Ontario, Quebec, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alva.

Communities near Alva ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alva.

  • Middlesboro
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Harrogate
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrogate have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrogate
    • Harrogate is located in Claiborne County (TN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,362 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harrogate <3>
  • Alanthus Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alanthus Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alanthus Hill
    • Alanthus Hill is located in Hancock County (TN)
    • Estimated population in 2014: 2,498 people
  • Pineville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Harlan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sneedville
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Jonesville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Evarts
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evarts. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evarts
    • Evarts is located in Harlan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 792 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evarts <3>
  • Loyall
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loyall have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyall
    • Loyall is located in Harlan County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 585 people
  • Cumberland Gap
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alva. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alva.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alva. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alva.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alva. See our Newspapers Page for Alva.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alva ...

Looking for more information about Alva? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Alva, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Alva.

Adding Alva to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Alva in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alva was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Alva post office opened in 1922.

We also found Alva in the book titled SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Appalachia & Piedmont.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alva.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Kentucky's counties, including Harlan, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alva - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<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 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.
<5>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.
<6>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/