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 Bills 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 Bills 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 Bills 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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
- A typical abbreviation for Bills Creek: Bills Crk. (or less commonly used: Bills Ck. or Bills Cr.)
- While the name of this community is Bills Creek, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Bills Creek may originally have been Bill's Creek.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Bills Creek might be written as Bill Creek.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Bills Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bills 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 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.
Bills Creek is located in Rutherford 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 Rutherford County: Buncombe, Burke, Cleveland, Henderson, McDowell, Polk, Cherokee (SC) & Spartanburg (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Bills Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bills Creek:
- Rutherford County (The home county of Bills Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Lake Lure
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Chimney Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Whitehouse
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Green Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- 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
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Union Mills
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Thermal City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
- Rutherfordton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Spindale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Ridgecrest
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Black Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Montreat
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Swannanoa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Wilson
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Azalea
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Swannanoa Hills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Swannanoa Hills is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swannanoa Hills
- Arden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Royal Pines
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
- Busbee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Brindletown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Parkhill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Linville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Linville is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
- Glen Alpine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Calvin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- New House
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
- Cliffside
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Mooresboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Cleveland Mills ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Cleveland Mills is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Mills
- Delight
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Delight is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
- Lattimore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Polkville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Campcall
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Casar
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kingstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Boiling Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Bat Cave
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Gerton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Baxter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Dana
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dana is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- U-No
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Upward
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Upward is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- Carolina Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
- Saluda
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Cumberland Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Barker Heights
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
- East Flat Rock
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Balfour
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Balfour is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Moffitt Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Lackey Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Sugar Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Old Fort
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Vein Mountain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Dendron
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Greenlee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Providence
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Glenwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- West Marion
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Marion
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Home ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Patten
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Patten is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
- Mitchell County
- Grassy Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Mill Spring
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Columbus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lynn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Tryon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Melrose
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Transylvania County
- Penrose
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Yancey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Hamrick
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Hamrick is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
- Murchison
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Murchison is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
- Celo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Celo is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celo
- Pensacola
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Low Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Low Gap is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Cherokee County (SC)
- Chesnee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Gowensville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Highland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Tigerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Landrum
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Landrum is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landrum
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,725 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Landrum <2>
- Brooklyn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Campobello
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Fingerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Gramling
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Inman
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Inman is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <2>
- Inman Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Boiling Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mayo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bills Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Bills Creek.
Cemeteries Near Bills Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bills 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 Bills Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bills Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Bills Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mt. Nebo Baptist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Temple of Jesus Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- St. Johns MB Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Full Gospel Revival Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Antioch Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coopers Gap Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Big Level Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Matthew Chapel AME Zion Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Piney Knob Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (336 more) ...
- Hemphill Morgan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<4> to the northeast of Bat Cave.
- Montford Cove Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
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.<5>
While we didn't find Bills Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bills Creek.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bills Creek, with the one closest to Bills Creek listed first.
- Uree
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Uree is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uree
- Poplar Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Chimney Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Green Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Bat Cave
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Mack ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mack is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Bearwallow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Rutherfordton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Vein Mountain
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Old Fort
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Blue Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Columbus
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bills Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bills Creek.
Newspapers Published in Bills 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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bills Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bills Creek, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bills 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 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 Bills Creek:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Rutherford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Cleveland County
- Henderson County
- McDowell County
- Mitchell County
- Polk County
- Transylvania County
- Yancey County
- Cherokee County
- Greenville County
- Spartanburg County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
Footnotes ...
| <1> | It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bills Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <5> | 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 Bills Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |