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 Flat Top (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 Flat Top. 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 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 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.
Flat Top is located in Buncombe 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 Buncombe County: Haywood, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Rutherford, Transylvania & Yancey.
Below are the counties that are near Flat Top. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Flat Top:
- Buncombe County (The home county of Flat Top)
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Swannanoa
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Fairview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Black Mountain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Azalea
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Swannanoa Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Swannanoa Hills is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swannanoa Hills
- Walkertown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Ridgecrest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Riceville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Riceville is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Montreat
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Redwood Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Redwood Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
- Sayles Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sayles Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayles Village
- Shiloh
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Morning Star
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Morning Star is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
- Canton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Cruso
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cruso is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
- West Canton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- West Canton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
- Bethel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Clyde
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sonoma ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sonoma is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Gerton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bearwallow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Bat Cave
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Fletcher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Naples
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Naples is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- U-No
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Cumberland Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- Mountain Home
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Balfour
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Balfour is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
- Carolina Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
- Dana
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dana is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Pinehurst
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pinehurst is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Mills River
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Ivy
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Ivy is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Mars Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Petersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Petersburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Bethel
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Rollins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rollins is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Marshall
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Creek
- Walnut
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Spring Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Stackhouse
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stackhouse is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stackhouse
- Trust
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Trust is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Dendron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Moffitt Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Old Fort
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Lackey Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Greenlee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Providence
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Sugar Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- West Marion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Glenwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Marion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Vein Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Little Switzerland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Nebo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Grassy Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Penland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Spruce Pine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Altapass
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Altapass is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altapass
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Mill Spring
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Melrose
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Columbus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tryon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- 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
- Chimney Rock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Lure
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Whitehouse
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Green Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Thermal City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
- Union Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Ruth
(27 miles [43.5 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
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pisgah ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Pisgah is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
- Spindale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Transylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Penrose
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Pisgah Forest
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Brevard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Yancey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Murchison
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Murchison is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
- Pensacola
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Hamrick
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hamrick is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
- Concord
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Low Gap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Low Gap is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Celo
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Celo is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celo
- Burnsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Micaville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Higgins
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Higgins is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higgins
- Newdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Newdale is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newdale
- Day Book
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Day Book is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Book
- Double Island
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Double Island is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Island
- Ramseytown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ramseytown is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramseytown
- Greenville County (SC)
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- Landrum
(29 miles [46.7 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Flat Top, see our County-by-County Page for Flat Top.
Cemeteries Near Flat Top ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Flat Top.
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 Flat Top - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Flat Top covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Cane Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cane Creek Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Cane Creek Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Fairview.
- The Cane Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
- Fairview Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #47042 <2>
- Patton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgecrest Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- West Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sunset Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hughey Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughey Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hughey Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<3> to the northeast of Asheville.
- The Hughey Cemetery has also been known as:
- Huey Cemetery
- Hughey / Rice Cemetery
- Rice / Hughey Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #47729 <2>
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Williams Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Connor Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the northeast of Bat Cave.
- Pine Cove Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (467 more) ...
- Lewis Memorial Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hunter Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ballard Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
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 Flat Top in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Flat Top.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Flat Top, with the one closest to Flat Top listed first.
- Swannanoa
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Black Mountain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Azalea
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Riceville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Riceville is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Bearwallow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Buena Vista
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Biltmore
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Biltmore is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Busbee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bat Cave
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Asheville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Arden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dendron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Grace
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grace is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grace
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Flat Top. See our List of 1890's Communities around Flat Top.
Newspapers Published in Flat Top ...
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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Flat Top.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Flat Top, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Flat Top.
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 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 Flat Top:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Buncombe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Madison County
- McDowell County
- Mitchell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Transylvania County
- Yancey County
- Greenville County
- Spartanburg 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> | 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 from Point A (ie- Flat Top) 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 Flat Top, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |