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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 Rockdale Mills (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 Rockdale Mills. 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 Rockdale Mills ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Rockdale Mills: Rockdale Mls. (or less commonly used: Rockdale Mlls.)

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.

Rockdale Mills is located in Berkshire County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Berkshire County: Litchfield (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Columbia (NY), Rensselaer (NY) & Bennington (VT).

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

  • Berkshire County     (The home county of Rockdale Mills)
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale Mills, with the one closest to Rockdale Mills listed first.
    • Chester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
      • Chester is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
    • North Blandford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Chester Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • North Chester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Tolland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
      • Tolland is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Blandford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blandford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
      • Blandford is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
    • West Granville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Russell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Montgomery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Montgomery is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
    • Woronoco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Granville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Granville is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale Mills, with the one closest to Rockdale Mills listed first.
    • Middlefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlefield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Middlefield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
    • Worthington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worthington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
      • Worthington is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
    • Worthington Corners
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Huntington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
    • West Chesterfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
      • West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
    • Cummington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chesterfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
      • Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
    • Plainfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
    • Swift River
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Westhampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hartford County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale Mills, with the one closest to Rockdale Mills listed first.
    • Hartland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
    • West Hartland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,113 people
  • Litchfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rockdale Mills, with the one closest to Rockdale Mills listed first.
    • Clayton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clayton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clayton
      • From Rockdale Mills to Clayton
    • Taconic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Canaan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Twin Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Wangum Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wangum Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangum Village
      • Wangum Village is located in Litchfield County (CT)
    • East Canaan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Canaan
      • East Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Canaan <3>
    • North Canaan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canaan
      • North Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
    • Salisbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Salisbury is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,584 people
    • Salisbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Amesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Lakeville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Norfolk
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Albany County (NY)
  • Columbia County (NY)
  • Dutchess County (NY)
  • Greene County (NY)
  • Rensselaer County (NY)

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

Cemeteries Near Rockdale Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rockdale Mills.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rockdale Mills, with the one closest to Rockdale Mills 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rockdale Mills had a population of 200 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Glendale
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
    • Glendale is located in Berkshire County
  • Housatonic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Stockbridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • West Stockbridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Alford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Van Deusenville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • State Line
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • State Line is located in Berkshire County
  • Richmond Furnace
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Furnace
    • Richmond Furnace is located in Berkshire County
  • Green River
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • South Lee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Richmond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Austerlitz
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Great Barrington
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Flatbrook
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flatbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatbrook
      • Flatbrook is located in Columbia County (NY)
    • Lee
      (6 miles [9.7 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 Rockdale Mills. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockdale Mills.

Newspapers Published in Rockdale Mills ...

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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockdale Mills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rockdale Mills, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rockdale Mills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Rockdale Mills:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rockdale Mills. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<5>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.
<6>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 Rockdale Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Rockdale Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rockdale Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2925, Longitude: -73.3765       In this case, the coordinates for Rockdale Mills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025