RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Rutherford County >> Esmeralda >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Esmeralda. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Esmeralda to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Esmeralda, please Contact Us.

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 Esmeralda (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 Esmeralda. 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Esmeralda is historic, it would have been located within present day 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 Esmeralda. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Esmeralda:

  • Rutherford County     (The home county of Esmeralda)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Chimney Rock
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Village of Chimney Rock Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Lake Lure
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Whitehouse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
    • Green Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Cuba ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Cuba is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Thermal City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
    • Union Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ruth
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Ruth is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Rutherfordton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Bakersville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Shiloh
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
  • Buncombe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Fairview
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Black Mountain
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Ridgecrest
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Swannanoa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilson is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Montreat
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Arden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Busbee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Busbee is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
    • Royal Pines
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
    • Skyland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Walkertown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
    • Azalea
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Azalea is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
    • Swannanoa Hills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Swannanoa Hills is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swannanoa Hills
  • Burke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Brindletown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Brindletown is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
    • Rollins ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rollins is located in Burke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
  • Haywood County
    • Cruso
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Cruso is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Bat Cave
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Bearwallow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Gerton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Baxter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Dana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • U-No
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • U-No is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
    • Carolina Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
    • Cumberland Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
    • Upward
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
    • Balfour
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Balfour is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
    • Barker Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
    • Fletcher
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Mountain Home
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Ivy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Ivy is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Mars Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Lackey Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
    • Moffitt Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • Old Fort
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Dendron
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Dendron is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
    • Sugar Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
    • Greenlee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Greenlee is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Providence
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Providence is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Vein Mountain
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
    • Glenwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Glenwood is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • West Marion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • West Marion is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
    • Marion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mountain Home ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
    • Nebo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Mill Spring
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Columbus
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lynn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Melrose
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Tryon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Transylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Penrose
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pisgah Forest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Seven Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
    • Cedar Mountain
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Brevard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 <2>
  • Yancey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda 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
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Pensacola is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
    • Low Gap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Low Gap is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Concord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Yancey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Cherokee County (SC)
    • Chesnee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 <2>
  • Greenville County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
    • Gowensville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • Highland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Tigerville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cleveland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • O'Neal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Caesars Head
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
  • Spartanburg County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Esmeralda, with the one closest to Esmeralda listed first.
    • Landrum
      (18 miles [29 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>
    • Campobello
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Fingerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gramling
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Brooklyn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Inman
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills

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

Cemeteries Near Esmeralda ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Esmeralda.

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

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

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

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

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

  • Chimney Rock
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Bat Cave
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Bearwallow
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
  • Uree
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Uree is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uree
  • Fruitland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fruitland is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
  • Blue Ridge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
  • Poplar Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Baxter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Baxter is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
  • Fairview
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
  • Upward
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Upward is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
  • Black Mountain
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Green Hill
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Columbus
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Old Fort
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Esmeralda ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Esmeralda.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Esmeralda, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Esmeralda.

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 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 Esmeralda:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Esmeralda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Esmeralda) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.