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 Forest 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 Forest 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.
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.
Forest Hills 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 Forest Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forest Hills:
Jefferson County (The home county of Forest Hills)
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Hurstbourne Acres (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Hurstbourne Acres is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurstbourne Acres Population from the 2020 Census: 1,894 people
Hurstbourne (Less than 2 miles to the north)
Hurstbourne is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurstbourne Population from the 2020 Census: 4,397 people
Saint Regis Park (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
Saint Regis Park is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Regis Park Population from the 2020 Census: 1,496 people
Jeffersontown (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Cambridge (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Cambridge is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
Houston Acres (Less than 2 miles to the west)
Houston Acres is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houston Acres Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
Bellemeade (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
Bellemeade is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellemeade Population from the 2020 Census: 885 people
Blue Ridge Manor (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Blue Ridge Manor is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge Manor Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
Douglass Hills (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Douglass Hills is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglass Hills Population from the 2020 Census: 5,714 people
Sycamore (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
Sycamore is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
Norwood (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
Norwood is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Population from the 2020 Census: 382 people
Lincolnshire (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Lincolnshire is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnshire Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
Meadowview Estates (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
Meadowview Estates is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowview Estates Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
Anderson County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Van Buren (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
Van Buren is located in Anderson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren Sparrow (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
Sparrow is located in Anderson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparrow
Bullitt County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Whitfield (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
Whitfield is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitfield Mount Washington (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
Hunters Hollow (11 miles [17.7 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 (11 miles [17.7 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
Hebron Estates (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
Hebron Estates is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron Estates Population from the 2020 Census: 1,185 people
Brooks (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
Hillview (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
Hillview is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillview Population from the 2020 Census: 9,192 people
Fox Chase (13 miles [20.9 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
Shepherdsville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Solitude (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Solitude is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude Bardstown Junction (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Bardstown Junction is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bardstown Junction Clermont (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Lotus (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
Lotus is located in Bullitt County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lotus
Hardin County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
West Point (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
Howard (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
Howard is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard Rose Terrace (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Rose Terrace is located in Hardin County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Terrace
Henry County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Jericho (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
Jericho is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho Smithfield (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
Pendleton (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
Eminence (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
Sulphur (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
Pleasureville (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
New Castle (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
Campbellsburg (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Bethlehem (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
Bethlehem is located in Henry County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethlehem
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 Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Pilcher Landing (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
Pilcher Landing is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilcher Landing Hughes Landing (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
Hughes Landing is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughes Landing Muldraugh (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
Van Voorhis Manor (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Van Voorhis Manor is located in Meade County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Voorhis Manor
Nelson County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Highgrove (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
Highgrove is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highgrove Lenore (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
Lenore is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenore Coxs Creek (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
Deatsville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
Deatsville is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deatsville Fairfield (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Fairfield is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
Samuels (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
Samuels is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samuels Hunters (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
Hunters is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Bourbon Springs (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
Bourbon Springs is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bourbon Springs Bloomfield (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Nazareth (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
Nazareth is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nazareth Withrow (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
Withrow is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow Bardstown (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
Bellwood (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
Bellwood is located in Nelson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
Oldham County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Orchard Grass Hills (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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 (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
Crestwood (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
River Bluff (10 miles [16.1 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
Park Lake (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
Park Lake is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Lake Goshen (12 miles [19.3 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 (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
Harmony Village is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Village Buckner (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
Ballardsville (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
Ballardsville is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballardsville La Grange (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
Russell Corner (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
Russell Corner is located in Oldham County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell Corner Westport (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
Shelby County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Lincoln Ridge (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
Lincoln Ridge is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Ridge Simpsonville (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
Finchville (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
Finchville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchville Chestnut Grove (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Chestnut Grove is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Grove Figgs (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
Figgs is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figgs Shelbyville (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
Southville (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
Southville is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southville Clay Village (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
Clay Village is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Village Christianburg (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Christianburg is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christianburg Cropper (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
Cropper is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cropper Bagdad (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Waddy (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
Consolation (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
Consolation is located in Shelby County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Consolation
Spencer County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Normandy (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
Normandy is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normandy Yoder (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
Yoder is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoder Taylorsville (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
Little Mount (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
Little Mount is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Mount Wakefield (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
Wakefield is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield Mount Eden (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
Mount Eden is located in Spencer County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Eden
Trimble County
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Mount Pleasant (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
Mount Pleasant is located in Trimble County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant Bedford (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
Clark County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Arctic Springs (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Arctic Springs is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arctic Springs Oak Park (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
Oak Park is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park Jeffersonville (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Utica (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
Utica is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica Population from the 2020 Census: 996 people
Watson (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
Watson is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson Clarksville (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Prather (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
Prather is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prather Blackiston Village (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
Blackiston Village is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackiston Village Sellersburg (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
Sunset Village (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
Sunset Village is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village Speed (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
Speed is located in Clark County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speed Charlestown (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
Bennettsville (18 miles [29 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 Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
New Albany (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
Floyds Knobs (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
Galena (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
Galena is located in Floyd County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galena Georgetown (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Greenville (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
Harrison County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills 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 Lanesville (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
Elizabeth (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
New Middletown (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
Crandall (26 miles [41.8 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
Bradford (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
Bradford is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford Corydon Junction (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Corydon Junction is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon Junction Dogwood (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Dogwood is located in Harrison County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood New Salisbury (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
Corydon (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
Laconia (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
Jefferson County (IN)
Chelsea (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Chelsea is located in Jefferson County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
Scott County (IN)
Lexington (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
Washington County (IN)
The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Bartle (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
Bartle is located in Washington County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bartle New Pekin (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
New Pekin is located in Washington County (IN) Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pekin Population from the 2020 Census: 1,392 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forest Hills, see our County-by-County Page for Forest Hills .
Cemeteries Near Forest Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest 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 Forest Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forest Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Jeffersontown Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Country Home Cemetery (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Resthaven Memorial Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
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>
Middletown Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Breckinridge Cemetery (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Chenoweth Run Cemetery (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
Forest Home Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
Pennsylvania Run Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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>
Worthington Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Prather Family Cemetery (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
Evergreen Cemetery (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
Continue List (408 more) ...
Fairmount Cemetery (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
Eastwood Cemetery (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
Louisville Memorial Gardens East (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
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 Forest Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forest Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
Jeffersontown (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
Buechel (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
Buechel is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buechel Fern Creek (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
Middletown (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
Beechwood Village (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
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 (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
Lyndon (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
Anchorage (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
Lakeland (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
Lakeland is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Goose Creek (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
Goose Creek is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goose Creek Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
Smyrna (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
Smyrna is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smyrna Fairmount (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
Fairmount is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmount Continue List (13 more) ...
Fisherville (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
O'Bannon (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
O'Bannon is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Bannon Worthington (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
Worthington is located in Jefferson County Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forest Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forest Hills .
Newspapers Published in Forest 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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Hills, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4> . A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Hills.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Forest Hills:
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
Trimble County
Clark County
Floyd County
Harrison County
Jefferson County
Scott County
Washington County
Cemetery Information and Directories for Kentucky
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Forest Hills. 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.
<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 Forest 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- Forest Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.