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 Forest Hills (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 Forest Hills. 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 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.
Forest Hills is located in 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 Forest Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Forest Hills:
- Rutherford County (The home county of Forest Hills)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Rutherfordton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Spindale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ruth
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Bakersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Shiloh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Shiloh is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Forest City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bostic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Alexander Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Holly Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Concord
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Ridgecrest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Black Mountain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Montreat
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Swannanoa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Wilson
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Brindletown
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Parkhill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Glen Alpine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Camp Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Camp Creek is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Enola
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Ramsey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ramsey is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Salem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Shoups Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shoups Ford is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoups Ford
- Calvin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Yellow Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Linville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Linville is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
- Cleveland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Cliffside
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Mooresboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- New House
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
- Lattimore
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- Boiling Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Kingstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Polkville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Campcall
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Delight
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Delight is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
- Flint Hill ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Cleveland Mills ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Cleveland Mills is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland Mills
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Bat Cave
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Baxter
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Dana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Dana is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- Gerton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Saluda
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Upward
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Upward is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- East Flat Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- U-No
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Barker Heights
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
- Carolina Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
- Claremont
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Claremont is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- North Brook ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- North Brook is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brook
- Laurel Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Hulls Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Vein Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Sugar Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Mountain Home ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Glenwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Providence
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Lackey Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Moffitt Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Patten
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Patten is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
- West Marion
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Greenlee
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Marion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Old Fort
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Mill Spring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Columbus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Tryon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Cherokee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Chesnee
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Macedonia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- East Gaffney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Gaffney
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Blacksburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Greenville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Gowensville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Highland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- O'Neal
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Tigerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Brooklyn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Fingerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Landrum
(17 miles [27.4 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>
- Mayo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Campobello
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gramling
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Inman Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Inman
(22 miles [35.4 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>
- Valley Falls
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Converse
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Cowpens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Forest Hills, see our County-by-County Page for Forest Hills.
Cemeteries Near Forest Hills ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest Hills.
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 Forest Hills - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Forest Hills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- St. Francis Episcopal Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Rutherfordton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- West Memorial Baptist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Union Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Spindale Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Miller - Twitty Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Taylor Plantation Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Whiteside Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Gold Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Thompson Family Haven
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Walker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Grays Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (344 more) ...
- Sunset Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Paul AME Zion Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Wells Springs UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Forest Hills in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Forest Hills.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Forest Hills, with the one closest to Forest Hills listed first.
- Rutherfordton
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Mack ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mack is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack
- Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Forest City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Bostic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Washburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Poplar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Sandy Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sandy Springs is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Springs
- Collinsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Collinsville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Henrietta
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Sunshine
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sunshine is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Trio ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Trio is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trio
- Uree
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Uree is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uree
- Brooklyn
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Forest Hills. See our List of 1890's Communities around Forest Hills.
Newspapers Published in Forest Hills ...
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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest Hills.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest Hills, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest Hills.
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 helpful 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 Forest Hills:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Rutherford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Cleveland County
- Henderson County
- Lincoln County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Cherokee 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> | 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 Forest Hills, 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 from Point A (ie- Forest Hills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |