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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 Ruralville (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 Ruralville. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Ruralville is located in Worcester 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 Worcester County: Tolland (CT), Windham (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Cheshire (NH), Hillsborough (NH) & Providence (RI).

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

  • Worcester County     (The home county of Ruralville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Brooks
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Worcester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooks
      • From Ruralville to Brooks
    • Jefferson
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
      • Jefferson is located in Worcester County
    • Holden
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Dawson
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dawson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Dawson is located in Worcester County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dawson
      • From Ruralville to Dawson
    • Rutland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • West Boylston
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boylston
      • West Boylston is located in Worcester County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,039 people
    • Princeton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sterling Junction
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • West Sterling
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • North Rutland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • North Worcester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • East Princeton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Paxton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Millington ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millington
      • Millington is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millington
      • From Ruralville to Millington
    • Smiths ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Smiths. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths
      • Smiths is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Smiths
      • From Ruralville to Smiths
    • New Salem
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Salem
      • New Salem is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,034 people
    • Morse Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morse Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse Village
      • Morse Village is located in Franklin County
    • North Orange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orange
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Tully
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tully. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tully
      • Tully is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tully
      • From Ruralville to Tully
    • Cooleyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Shutesbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Wendell Depot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell Depot have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell Depot
      • Wendell Depot is located in Franklin County
    • Wendell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wendell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wendell
      • Wendell is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 881 people
    • Mayo Corners
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Locks Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locks Village
      • Locks Village is located in Franklin County
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Brimfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brimfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brimfield
      • Brimfield is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,679 people
    • Holland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tenneyville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Thorndike
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thorndike have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorndike
      • Thorndike is located in Hampden County
    • Palmer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Three Rivers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wales
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Monson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Ware
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Enfield ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Enfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enfield
      • Enfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Enfield
      • From Ruralville to Enfield
    • Bondsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondsville
      • Bondsville is located in Hampshire County
    • Pelham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Belchertown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Belchertown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belchertown
      • Belchertown is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,103 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Belchertown
      • From Ruralville to Belchertown
    • West Pelham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Middlesex County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Hudson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hudson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Hudson is located in Middlesex County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,732 people
    • Shaker Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Middlesex County
    • Shirley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Marlborough Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Marlborough
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ayer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Old City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City
      • Old City is located in Middlesex County
    • Boxborough
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Stow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • South Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Village
      • South Village is located in Middlesex County
    • West Groton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Groton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Groton
      • West Groton is located in Middlesex County
    • Woodville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Middlesex County
    • Ashby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Norfolk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • Bellingham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wellesley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellesley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellesley
      • Wellesley is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,684 people
    • Medway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Millis
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millis
      • Millis is located in Norfolk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,519 people
  • Windham County (CT)
  • Cheshire County (NH)
  • Hillsborough County (NH)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville listed first.
    • New Ipswich
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Ipswich have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Ipswich
      • New Ipswich is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,429 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Ipswich <3>
    • Mason
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,433 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <3>
    • Greenville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Brookline
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollis Depot
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hollis
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollis have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
      • Hollis is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollis <3>
    • Sharon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Temple
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Temple have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
      • Temple is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,434 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Temple <3>
    • West Wilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for West Wilton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Wilton
      • West Wilton is located in Hillsborough County (NH)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to West Wilton
      • From Ruralville to West Wilton
  • Providence County (RI)

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

Cemeteries Near Ruralville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ruralville.

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 Ruralville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ruralville, with the one closest to Ruralville 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>

While we didn't find Ruralville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ruralville.

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

  • North Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Woods
    • North Woods is located in Worcester County
  • Jefferson
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jefferson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Jefferson is located in Worcester County
  • Quinapoxet
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quinapoxet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinapoxet
    • Quinapoxet is located in Worcester County
  • Brooks
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooks. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
    • Brooks is located in Worcester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Brooks
    • From Ruralville to Brooks
  • Holden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Muschopauge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muschopauge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muschopauge
    • Muschopauge is located in Worcester County
  • Rutland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Dawson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dawson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
    • Dawson is located in Worcester County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dawson
    • From Ruralville to Dawson
  • West Boylston
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Boylston
    • West Boylston is located in Worcester County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,039 people
  • Oakdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Oakdale is located in Worcester County
  • Princeton Station
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton Station have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton Station
    • Princeton Station is located in Worcester County
  • Princeton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • North Worcester
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Summit
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Summit is located in Worcester County
    • Sterling Junction
      (5 miles [8 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 Ruralville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ruralville.

Newspapers Published in Ruralville ...

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 245 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ruralville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ruralville, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<7>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ruralville.

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 Ruralville:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 Ruralville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ruralville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ruralville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3904, Longitude: -71.8776    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025