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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 Collinsville (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 Collinsville. 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 northeast 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 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.

Collinsville is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Henderson, Rutherford, Greenville (SC) & Spartanburg (SC).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Collinsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Columbus
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Spring
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynn
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Tryon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Melrose
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Buncombe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Fairview
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Ridgecrest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Black Mountain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Royal Pines
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Cliffside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Mooresboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Boiling Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Flint Hill ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
    • Lattimore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • New House
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • New House is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
    • Erwinsville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
    • Kingstown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Sharon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Sharon is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Campcall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Campcall is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
    • Polkville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Polkville is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
    • Brittain Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Saluda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Baxter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Upward
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
    • Dana
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Zirconia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Claremont
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Claremont is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • East Flat Rock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Tuxedo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Bat Cave
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Flat Rock
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bearwallow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Carolina Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
    • Barker Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Vein Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
    • Sugar Hill
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
    • Lackey Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
    • Moffitt Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • Glenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Glenwood is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Mountain Home ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
    • Old Fort
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Providence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Providence is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Rutherford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Holly Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Shiloh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Harris
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Harris is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Green Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Bakersville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Rutherfordton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Spindale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandy Mush
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
    • Alexander Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
    • Ruth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruth is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Forest City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Henrietta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Henrietta is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Bostic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cherokee County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Chesnee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Chesnee is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesnee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesnee <1>
    • Macedonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Gaffney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaffney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,695 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gaffney <1>
    • East Gaffney
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
  • Greenville County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Gowensville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • Highland
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • O'Neal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Tigerville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
    • Greer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Greer is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • Chick Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
    • Taylors
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Pelham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • East Gate Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • East Gate Village is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
    • Wade Hampton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
    • Marietta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cleveland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Spartanburg County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville listed first.
    • Landrum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <1>
    • Fingerville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Campobello
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Gramling
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Inman Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
    • Inman
      (11 miles [17.7 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 <1>
    • Boiling Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mayo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Southern Shops
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Johnson City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Johnson City is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
    • Arcadia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Collinsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Collinsville.

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 Collinsville - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Collinsville, with the one closest to Collinsville 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Collinsville had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • New Prospect
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Prospect is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
  • Landrum
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • 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 <1>
  • Sandy Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sandy Springs is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Springs
  • Columbus
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Campobello
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fingerville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Lynn
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Lynn is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
  • Tryon
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Brooklyn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
  • Gowensville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
  • Andover ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Andover is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
  • Inman
    (11 miles [17.7 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 <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Mack ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Mack is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
    • Poplar Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
    • Tyger ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Tyger is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyger

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

Newspapers Published in Collinsville ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Collinsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Collinsville, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Collinsville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Collinsville:

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 Collinsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Collinsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.