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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 Davistown (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 Davistown. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Davistown is located in McDowell 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 McDowell County: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Mitchell, Rutherford & Yancey.

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

  • McDowell County     (The home county of Davistown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Lackey Town
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
    • Moffitt Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • Old Fort
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sugar Hill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
    • Greenlee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Greenlee is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Providence
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Providence is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Dendron
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Dendron is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
    • West Marion
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • West Marion is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
    • Glenwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Glenwood is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • Vein Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
    • Marion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Nebo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Avery County
  • Buncombe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Ridgecrest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Montreat
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Walkertown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
    • Fairview
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Swannanoa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Wilson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Wilson is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Azalea
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Azalea is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
    • Riceville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Riceville is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
    • Swannanoa Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Swannanoa Hills is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swannanoa Hills
    • Beech
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Beech is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
    • Redwood Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Redwood Village is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
  • Burke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Brindletown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Brindletown is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
    • Rollins ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Rollins is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
    • Linville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Linville is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
    • Parkhill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Parkhill is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
    • Glen Alpine
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Calvin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Calvin is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
    • Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Enola
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Enola is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
    • Magnolia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Magnolia is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Morganton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Yellow Gap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • 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
    • New House
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • New House is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
    • Delight
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Delight is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
    • Casar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Casar is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casar
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 292 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casar <1>
    • Polkville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Polkville is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Bat Cave
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Bearwallow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Gerton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxter
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Dana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • U-No
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • U-No is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
    • Fletcher
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carolina Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
    • Cumberland Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Naples
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Naples is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Pinehurst
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Pinehurst is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
    • Upward
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Ivy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Ivy is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Bethel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Mars Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Grassy Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
    • Altapass
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Altapass is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altapass
    • Spruce Pine
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Penland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Mill Spring
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Columbus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lynn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Tryon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Melrose
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Rutherford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Whitehouse
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
    • Lake Lure
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Village of Chimney Rock Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Thermal City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
    • Cuba ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cuba is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Chimney Rock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Mount Pisgah ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Pisgah is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
    • Ruth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ruth is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Rutherfordton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Yancey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Hamrick
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Hamrick is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
    • Celo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Celo is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celo
    • Murchison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Murchison is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
    • Pensacola
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Pensacola is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
    • Low Gap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Low Gap is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Concord
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Concord is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Micaville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Newdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Newdale is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newdale
    • Burnsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Double Island
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Double Island is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Island
    • Day Book
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Day Book is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Book
    • Green Mountain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Spartanburg County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown listed first.
    • Landrum
      (26 miles [41.8 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 <1>
    • Brooklyn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Campobello
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Fingerville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Davistown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Davistown.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Davistown, with the one closest to Davistown 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.<4>

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

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

  • Old Fort
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
  • Sugar Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
  • Greenlee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Greenlee is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
  • Dendron
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dendron is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
  • Uree
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Uree is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uree
  • Bat Cave
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Chimney Rock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cuba ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cuba is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
  • Vein Mountain
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
  • Black Mountain
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Bearwallow
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Marion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
    • Green Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill

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

Newspapers Published in Davistown ...

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 Davistown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Davistown, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Davistown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Davistown:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Davistown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Davistown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.