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 The Highlands (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 The Highlands. 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 doctors and hospitals 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.
The Highlands is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham & Person.
Below are the counties that are near The Highlands. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to The Highlands:
- Orange County (The home county of The Highlands)
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Ashley Forest
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Ashley Forest is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashley Forest
- Lake Ellen
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Lake Ellen is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ellen
- Eubanks
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Eubanks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eubanks
- Northwood
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Northwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwood
- Carrboro
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Spring Valley
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Spring Valley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Calvander
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Calvander is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvander
- Laurel Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Laurel Springs is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Springs
- Cedar Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Cedar Hill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Manor Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Manor Hill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manor Hill
- Carolwoods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Carolwoods is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolwoods
- Chapel Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Bolus
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Bolus is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bolus
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Mandale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mandale is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mandale
- Eli Whitney
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
- Saxapahaw
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Brook Hollow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Hawfields
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Mebane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stagecoach Trail
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Melville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Florence Town
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Sutphin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sutphin is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
- Woodlawn
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Swepsonville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Swepsonville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swepsonville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Ridgeville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Anderson
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Jericho
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Stony Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Bynum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Pittsboro
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Cary
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Haywood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Haywood is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
- Moncure
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Brickhaven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Brickhaven is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brickhaven
- Corinth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Corinth is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corinth
- Siler City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Farmville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bonlee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bonlee is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonlee
- Goldston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Creek is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- The American Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Durham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Parkwood
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Brassfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Nelson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Gorman
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Morrisville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bahama
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rougemont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Franklin County
- Wake Forest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Butner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lyons
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Creedmoor
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Hester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Mount Energy
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Energy is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Gibsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Whitsett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Harnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Duncan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Cokesbury
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Cokesbury is located in Harnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cokesbury
- Lee County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Osgood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Osgood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
- Cumnock
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cumnock is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumnock
- Colon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Colon is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Glenwood Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Glenwood Village is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Green Valley Estates
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wildwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Wildwood is located in Lee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Cates
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Timberlake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Moriah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Mount Tirzah
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Allens Level
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Roseville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Whitt Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Liberty
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Staley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Hazelwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Apex
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Indian Trail
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- New Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pickwick Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
- Meredith Townes
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
- Woodbury Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
- Hollemans Crossroads
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Hollemans Crossroads is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollemans Crossroads
- Former names for Hollemans Crossroads:
- Collins
- Enno
- Holly Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Method
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Method is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
- Glenwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Fairmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fairmont is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to The Highlands, see our County-by-County Page for The Highlands.
Cemeteries Near The Highlands ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Highlands.
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 The Highlands - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for The Highlands covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Cheek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Tilley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Partin Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- McCauley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Restland Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sparrows Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Manns Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Riggsbee Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Beechwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Continue List (113 more) ...
- Maplewood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
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 The Highlands in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of The Highlands.
These communities are listed based on their distance from The Highlands, with the one closest to The Highlands listed first.
- Chapel Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Blackwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Blackwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Teer
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Hillsborough
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
- Efland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Durham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bynum
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Nelson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Brassfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Saxapahaw
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mebane
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Hawfields
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Sutphin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Sutphin is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutphin
- Cedar Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around The Highlands. See our List of 1890's Communities around The Highlands.
Newspapers Published in The Highlands ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Highlands.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of The Highlands, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for The Highlands.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we 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 The Highlands:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Chatham County
- Durham County
- Franklin County
- Granville County
- Guilford County
- Harnett County
- Lee County
- Person County
- Randolph County
- Wake 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 The Highlands, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- The Highlands) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |