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 Fairfax (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 Fairfax. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Fairfax is located in Swain 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 Swain County: Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Blount (TN) & Sevier (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Fairfax. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fairfax:
- Swain County (The home county of Fairfax)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Bushnell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bushnell is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Forney ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Forney is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forney
- Judson ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Judson is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Nantahala
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Almond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wesser
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wesser is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesser
- Bryson City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Unahala
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Unahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unahala
- Cherokee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Oconaluftee Indian Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Topton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Andrews
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Buffalo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Buffalo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Rhodo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rhodo is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodo
- Coalville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Marble
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Boiling Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Unaka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Grape Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Ogreeta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
- Murphy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hiwassee Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Hayesville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Brasstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Elf
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elf is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elf
- Graham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Fontana Dam
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Fontana Dam is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana Dam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Fontana Dam has also been known as:
- Fontana Village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fontana Dam <1>
- Yellow Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Lake Santeetlah
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lake Santeetlah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Santeetlah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Lake Santeetlah has also been known as:
- Santeetla
- Santeetlah
- Santultah
- Thunderbird Mountain
- Thunderbird
- Robbinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cheoah
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cheoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
- Stecoah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Bear Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bear Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Whittier
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilmot
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wilmot is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
- Paint Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Paint Town is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Town
- Macon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Fairview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Tellico
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tellico is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tellico
- Leatherman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Leatherman is located in Macon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherman
- Blount County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Chilhowee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Happy Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Happy Valley is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Red Bank
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Red Bank is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bank
- Sixmile
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sixmile is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- Townsend
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Miller Cove
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Miller Cove is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miller Cove
- Estimated population in 2014: 267 people
- Chelsey Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Chelsey Village is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsey Village
- Rocky Branch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Rocky Branch is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Branch
- Estimated population in 2014: 5,427 people
- Seaton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Seaton is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaton
- Walland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Walnut Hill Estates
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Hill Estates is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,394 people
- Brick Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Brick Mill is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Mill
- Knox County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Bonny Kate
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bonny Kate is located in Knox County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonny Kate
- Topside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Topside is located in Knox County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topside
- Estimated population in 2014: 346 people
- Arrowhead
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Arrowhead is located in Knox County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead
- Loudon County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Jena
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jena is located in Loudon County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jena
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,279 people
- Trigonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Trigonia is located in Loudon County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigonia
- Greenback
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alleghany ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Alleghany is located in Loudon County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany
- Estimated population in 2014: 630 people
- Morganton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Morganton is located in Loudon County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganton
- Centersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Centersville is located in Loudon County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Monroe County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
- Halfway Town ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Halfway Town is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
- Ballplay
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Acorn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Toqua ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Toqua is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toqua
- Tuskeegee ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Tuskeegee is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuskeegee
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,663 people
- Belltown
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Vonore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Jacktown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Tellico Plains
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Coker Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Madisonville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sevier County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Elkmont ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elkmont is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkmont
- Wear Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wear Valley is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wear Valley
- Chalet Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Chalet Village is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalet Village
- Starkeytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Starkeytown is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starkeytown
- Estimated population in 2014: 431 people
- Gatlinburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Waldens Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Waldens Creek is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldens Creek
- Dupont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Dupont is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont
- Pigeon Forge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Seymour Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Seymour Heights is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour Heights
- Population from the 2010 Census: 10,919 people
- Seymour
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Middle Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Middle Creek is located in Sevier County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Creek
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fairfax, see our County-by-County Page for Fairfax.
Cemeteries Near Fairfax ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfax.
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 Fairfax - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fairfax covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Orr Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Welch Cove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Payne Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Farley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Jenkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cable Branch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coom Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Odom Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cable Cove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Orr Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Gunter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Cable Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (434 more) ...
- Proctor Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bradshaw Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Blankenship Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Fairfax had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
- Yellow Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Proctor
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Proctor is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
- Tuskeegee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tuskeegee is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuskeegee
- Robbinsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Stecoah
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Chilhowee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Caringer ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Caringer is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caringer
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
- Hewitt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hewitt is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
- Bushnell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Bushnell is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Allegheny Springs ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Allegheny Springs is located in Blount County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allegheny Springs
- Nantahala
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Judson ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Judson is located in Swain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Citico ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Citico is located in Monroe County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citico
- Andrews
(17 miles [27.4 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 Fairfax. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fairfax.
Newspapers Published in Fairfax ...
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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfax.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfax, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfax.
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 either 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 Fairfax:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Swain County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Graham County
- Jackson County
- Macon County
- Blount County
- Knox County
- Loudon County
- Monroe County
- Sevier County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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> | 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 Fairfax, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Fairfax) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |