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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 Cerro Gordo (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 Cerro Gordo. 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 hospitals and 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.

Cerro Gordo is located in Columbus County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbus County: Bladen, Brunswick, Pender, Robeson & Horry (SC).

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

  • Columbus County     (The home county of Cerro Gordo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cerro Gordo, with the one closest to Cerro Gordo listed first.
    • Williamson Crossroads
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Grist
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Chadbourn
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Evergreen
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fair Bluff
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Bluff
      • Fair Bluff is located in Columbus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 879 people
    • Boardman
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boardman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
      • Boardman is located in Columbus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Clarendon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Olive
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Columbus County
    • Emerson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Cribb Town
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cribb Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
      • Cribb Town is located in Columbus County
    • Tabor City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Bladen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cerro Gordo, with the one closest to Cerro Gordo listed first.
    • Butters
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butters have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butters
      • Butters is located in Bladen County
    • Bladenboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bladenboro have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladenboro
      • Bladenboro is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bladenboro <2>
    • Abbottsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarkton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
      • Clarkton is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkton <2>
    • Rosindale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosindale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
      • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rosindale
      • From Cerro Gordo to Rosindale
    • Dublin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
    • Mount Olive
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Bladen County
    • Council
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
      • Council is located in Bladen County
    • Elizabethtown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
      • Elizabethtown is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabethtown <2>
    • Yorick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tar Heel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Ruskin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Brunswick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cerro Gordo, with the one closest to Cerro Gordo listed first.
    • Ash
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Exum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Exum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Exum
      • From Cerro Gordo to Exum
  • Robeson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cerro Gordo, with the one closest to Cerro Gordo listed first.
    • Barnesville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
      • Barnesville is located in Robeson County
    • Orrum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrum
      • Orrum is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Marietta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Proctorville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctorville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctorville
      • Proctorville is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Fairmont
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Allenton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lumberton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • McDonald
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Raynham
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raynham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham
      • Raynham is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
    • Barker Ten Mile
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barker Ten Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Ten Mile
      • Barker Ten Mile is located in Robeson County
    • Lowe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowe have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowe
      • Lowe is located in Robeson County
    • Rowland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
      • Rowland is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowland <2>
  • Dillon County (SC)
  • Horry County (SC)
  • Marion County (SC)

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

Cemeteries Near Cerro Gordo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cerro Gordo.

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

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

  • Gowans Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gowans Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gowans Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Regar Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Regar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Regar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Moriah Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Moriah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williamson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williamson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williamson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bullard Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bullard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bullard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Edwards Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Edwards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Field Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Field Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griffin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griffin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Meares Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meares Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meares Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Powell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Powell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Powell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lovett Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lovett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lovett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Coleman Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Coleman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Coleman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (445 more) ...
    • Godwin Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Godwin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Godwin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Belle View Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belle View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belle View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Chadbourn Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chadbourn Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chadbourn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cerro Gordo had a population of 129 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Cerro Gordo had a population of 195 people.

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

  • Chadbourn
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Evergreen
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Fair Bluff
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Bluff
    • Fair Bluff is located in Columbus County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 879 people
  • Barnesville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
    • Barnesville is located in Robeson County
  • Clarendon
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Emerson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Orrum
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrum
    • Orrum is located in Robeson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
  • Whiteville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Nichols
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Finklea
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Finklea. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finklea
    • Finklea is located in Horry County (SC)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Finklea
    • From Cerro Gordo to Finklea
  • Ironhill
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ironhill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
    • Ironhill is located in Columbus County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Ironhill
    • From Cerro Gordo to Ironhill
  • Mollie
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mollie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mollie
    • Mollie is located in Columbus County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bladenboro
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bladenboro have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladenboro
      • Bladenboro is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bladenboro <2>
    • Richardson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richardson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
      • Richardson is located in Bladen County
    • Abbottsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Cerro Gordo ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cerro Gordo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cerro Gordo, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cerro Gordo.

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 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 Cerro Gordo:

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

The official website for Columbus County: www.columbusco.org/main

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Cerro Gordo, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Cerro Gordo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cerro Gordo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.3251, Longitude: -78.9269       In this case, the coordinates for Cerro Gordo have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 25 Jul 2025