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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 Bent Creek (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 Bent Creek. 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 Bent Creek ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Bent Creek: Bent Crk. (or less commonly used: Bent Ck. or Bent Cr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bent Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bent Creek.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Buncombe County: Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Rutherford, Transylvania & Yancey.

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

  • Buncombe County     (The home county of Bent Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Acton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Acton is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Enka Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Enka Village is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enka Village
    • Enka
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Avery Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
    • Skyland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Asheville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • West Asheville is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Asheville
    • Biltmore Forest
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
    • Busbee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Busbee is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
    • Shiloh
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Arden
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Royal Pines
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
    • Candler
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Haywood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Morning Star
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Morning Star is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
    • Canton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Cruso
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Cruso is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
    • West Canton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • West Canton is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
    • Sonoma ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Sonoma is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
    • Bethel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Bethel is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Clyde
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Clyde is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <1>
    • Lavinia ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Lavinia is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
    • Lake Junaluska
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Waynesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Hazelwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Hazelwood is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Teague ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Teague is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Fletcher
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mills River
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Naples
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Naples is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Holly Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Holly Springs is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Horse Shoe
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Mountain Home
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Etowah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Balfour
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Balfour is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
    • Cumberland Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Gerton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Carolina Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
    • Laurel Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Balsam
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Argura
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Argura is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argura
    • Ruby City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Ruby City is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruby City
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Rollins
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Rollins is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
    • Marshall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ivy
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Ivy is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Petersburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Petersburg is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
    • Mars Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Trust
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Trust is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
    • Walnut
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Walnut is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
    • Spring Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Creek is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
    • Bethel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Bethel is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Bluff
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bluff is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
    • Lynch ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynch is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
    • Stackhouse
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Stackhouse is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stackhouse
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Dendron
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Dendron is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
    • Lackey Town
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
    • Moffitt Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • Old Fort
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Greenlee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Greenlee is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Lynn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Columbus
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mill Spring
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tryon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Rutherford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Village of Chimney Rock Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Village of Chimney Rock Village is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village of Chimney Rock Village
      • Estimated population in 2015: 108 people
    • Chimney Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Lake Lure
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Whitehouse
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
  • Transylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Penrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Pisgah Forest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Seven Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
    • Brevard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Brevard is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brevard <1>
    • Balsam Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Mountain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • East Fork
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • East Fork is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork
    • Rosman
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rosman is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosman <1>
  • Yancey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Murchison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Murchison is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
    • Pensacola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Pensacola is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
    • Concord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Hamrick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hamrick is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
    • Low Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Low Gap is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
  • Greenville County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.
    • Caesars Head
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
    • Cleveland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Bent Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bent Creek.

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 Bent Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bent Creek, with the one closest to Bent Creek listed first.

  • Baker Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Long Shoals Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Acton UMC Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Harkins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Old Academy Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Luther Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Brooks Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hunter Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sunset Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • West Chapel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (443 more) ...
    • Green Hills Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Violet Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hice Hill Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

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 Bent Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bent Creek.

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

  • Avery Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
  • Acton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Acton is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
  • Sulphur Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
  • Skyland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Buena Vista
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Buena Vista is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
  • West Asheville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • West Asheville is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Asheville
  • Arden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Busbee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Busbee is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
  • Biltmore
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Biltmore is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
  • Candler
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Asheville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Murphy Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Murphy Junction is located in Buncombe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Junction
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Emma
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Emma is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emma
    • Glady
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Glady is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glady
    • Fletcher
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bent Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bent Creek.

Newspapers Published in Bent Creek ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bent Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bent Creek, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bent Creek.

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 either 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 Bent Creek:

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 Bent Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Bent Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.