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 Ashville (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 Ashville. 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 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.
Ashville is located in Jefferson County .
To see how the shape of Kentucky's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries .
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Jefferson County : Clark (IN) , Floyd (IN) , Harrison (IN) , Bullitt , Hardin , Oldham , Shelby & Spencer .
Below are the counties that are near Ashville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ashville:
Jefferson County (The home county of Ashville)
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Fern Creek (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Hollow Creek (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Hollow Creek is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollow Creek Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
Highview (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Highview is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highview Spring Mill (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Spring Mill is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mill Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
Jeffersontown (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Hopewell (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Hopewell is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Newburg (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
Newburg is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg Forest Hills (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Forest Hills is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
Houston Acres (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Houston Acres is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Acres Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
Hurstbourne Acres (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Hurstbourne Acres is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurstbourne Acres Population from the 2020 Census: 1,894 people
Buechel (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Buechel is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buechel Okolona (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Cambridge (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Cambridge is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
Anderson County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Van Buren (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Van Buren is located in Anderson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren Sparrow (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
Sparrow is located in Anderson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparrow Glensboro (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Glensboro is located in Anderson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glensboro Bullitt County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Mount Washington (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Whitfield (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Whitfield is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield Hebron Estates (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Hebron Estates is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron Estates Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
Hunters Hollow (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Hunters Hollow is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Hollow Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
Pioneer Village (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
Pioneer Village is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village Population from the 2020 Census: 2,978 people
Brooks (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Fox Chase (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Fox Chase is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Chase Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
Hillview (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Hillview is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview Population from the 2020 Census: 9,192 people
Solitude (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
Solitude is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude Shepherdsville (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
Clermont (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Lotus (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Lotus is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus Bardstown Junction (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
Bardstown Junction is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown Junction Hardin County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
West Point (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
Howard (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
Howard is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Colesburg (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Colesburg is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colesburg Younger Creek (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Younger Creek is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Younger Creek Dietz Acres (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Dietz Acres is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dietz Acres Prichard Place (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Prichard Place is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prichard Place Rose Terrace (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Rose Terrace is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Terrace Radcliff (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
Crest (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Crest is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crest Tunnel Hills (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Tunnel Hills is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel Hills Henry County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Jericho (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Jericho is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho Smithfield (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Eminence (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
Pendleton (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Pleasureville (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Sulphur (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
New Castle (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Lawrence County
Castle ‑ Historic(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Castle is located in Lawrence County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Meade County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Pilcher Landing (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
Pilcher Landing is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilcher Landing Muldraugh (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
Hughes Landing (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Hughes Landing is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Landing Van Voorhis Manor (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
Van Voorhis Manor is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Voorhis Manor Rock Haven (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Rock Haven is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Haven Grahamton (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
Grahamton is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahamton Lickskillet (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
Lickskillet is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickskillet Nelson County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Highgrove (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
Highgrove is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove Lenore (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
Lenore is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenore Deatsville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Deatsville is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deatsville Coxs Creek (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Samuels (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
Samuels is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuels Fairfield (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
Fairfield is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
Hunters (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Hunters is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Bourbon Springs (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Bourbon Springs is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourbon Springs Nazareth (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Nazareth is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nazareth Bloomfield (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Withrow (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
Withrow is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow Cravens (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
Cravens is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cravens East Bardstown (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
East Bardstown is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bardstown Oldham County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Orchard Grass Hills (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Orchard Grass Hills is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Grass Hills Population from the 2020 Census: 1,786 people
Pewee Valley (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Crestwood (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
Park Lake (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
Park Lake is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Lake River Bluff (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
River Bluff is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Bluff Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
Goshen (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Goshen is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen Population from the 2020 Census: 1,016 people
Harmony Village (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Harmony Village is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Village Buckner (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
Ballardsville (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
Ballardsville is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballardsville La Grange (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Russell Corner (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
Russell Corner is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Corner Westport (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
Shelby County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Lincoln Ridge (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
Lincoln Ridge is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Ridge Simpsonville (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Finchville (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
Finchville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville Figgs (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
Figgs is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figgs Shelbyville (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
Chestnut Grove (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
Chestnut Grove is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove Southville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
Southville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southville Clay Village (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Clay Village is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Village Christianburg (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Christianburg is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christianburg Waddy (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
Cropper (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Cropper is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cropper Harrisonville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Harrisonville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville Bagdad (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Spencer County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Normandy (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Normandy is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Yoder (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
Yoder is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoder Taylorsville (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
Little Mount (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Little Mount is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Mount Wakefield (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Wakefield is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield Mount Eden (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
Mount Eden is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Eden Washington County
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Booker (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Booker is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker Mooresville (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Mooresville is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresville Brush Grove (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Brush Grove is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Grove Fredericktown (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
Fredericktown is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericktown Manton (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
Manton is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manton Pulliam (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Pulliam is located in Washington County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulliam Clark County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Arctic Springs (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Arctic Springs is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arctic Springs Jeffersonville (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Oak Park (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Oak Park is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park Utica (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
Utica is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
Clarksville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Watson (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Watson is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson Blackiston Village (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Blackiston Village is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackiston Village Prather (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
Prather is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prather Sellersburg (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Speed (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Speed is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed Charlestown (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Sunset Village (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
Sunset Village is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village Bennettsville (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
Bennettsville is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennettsville Floyd County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
New Albany (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Floyds Knobs (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
Galena (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Galena is located in Floyd County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Georgetown (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Greenville (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
Harrison County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Locust Point (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
Locust Point is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Point Elizabeth (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Lanesville (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
New Middletown (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Dogwood (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Dogwood is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood Crandall (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Crandall is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crandall Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
Laconia (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Corydon (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Bradford (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Bradford is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford New Salisbury (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
Corydon Junction (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
Corydon Junction is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon Junction
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ashville, see our County-by-County Page for Ashville .
Cemeteries Near Ashville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ashville.
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 Ashville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ashville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Pennsylvania Run Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennsylvania Run Cemetery The Pennsylvania Run Cemetery has also been known as:
Penn Run Cemetery Penn Run Memorial Park Pennsylvania Run Memorial Park Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #218002 <2>
Fairmount Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
Chenoweth Run Cemetery (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Jeffersontown Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Country Home Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Resthaven Memorial Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Resthaven Memorial Cemetery The Resthaven Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
Rest Haven Memorial Cemetery Resthaven Cemetery Resthaven Memorial Park Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #75706 <2>
Cooper Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Gentey Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Highland Memorial Gardens Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Highlands Memory Gardens (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
Markwell Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
Forest Home Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Continue List (421 more) ...
McCawley Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
Terry Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
Grandell Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
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 Ashville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ashville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ashville, with the one closest to Ashville listed first.
Fairmount (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Fairmount is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Fern Creek (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Smyrna (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Smyrna is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna Jeffersontown (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Buechel (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Buechel is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buechel Okolona (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
Zoneton (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Zoneton is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoneton Mount Washington (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Whitfield (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
Whitfield is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield Fisherville (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Middletown (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
Brooks (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
Continue List (13 more) ...
Beechwood Village (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
Beechwood Village is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechwood Village Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
Saint Matthews (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
Lyndon (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ashville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ashville .
Newspapers Published in Ashville ...
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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ashville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ashville, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4> Extended Newspaper List for Ashville.
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 Ashville:
Websites specific to Kentucky Pages specific to Jefferson County Genealogy information for nearby counties
Anderson County Bullitt County Hardin County Henry County Lawrence County Meade County Nelson County Oldham County Shelby County Spencer County Washington County Clark County Floyd County Harrison County Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ashville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page .
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://www.kentucky.gov/
Footnotes ...
<1> While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. 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 . 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 Ashville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. 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- Ashville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.