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 Oak Forest (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 Oak Forest. 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.
Oak Forest 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 Oak Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Forest:
- Buncombe County (The home county of Oak Forest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Busbee
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Arden
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Royal Pines
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
- Biltmore Forest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
- Avery Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
- Shiloh
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Bent Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Sayles Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Sayles Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sayles Village
- Redwood Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Redwood Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
- Azalea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- West Asheville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Asheville is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Asheville
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Cruso
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cruso is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
- Morning Star
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Morning Star is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
- Canton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- West Canton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- West Canton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
- Bethel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bethel is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Sonoma ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sonoma is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Clyde
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Lavinia ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Lavinia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
- Lake Junaluska
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Waynesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hazelwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Hazelwood is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Teague ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Teague is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teague
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Fletcher
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mills River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Naples
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Naples is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Mountain Home
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Gerton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Balfour
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Balfour is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balfour
- Holly Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Holly Springs is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Horse Shoe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pinehurst
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pinehurst is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Cumberland Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cumberland Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland Village
- U-No
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Bearwallow
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Rollins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Rollins is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Ivy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ivy is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Marshall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mars Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Petersburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Petersburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Trust
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Trust is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Bethel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Walnut
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Spring Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Creek
- Foster Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Foster Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Creek
- Bluff
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff
- Lynch ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Lynch is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Dendron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Moffitt Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Old Fort
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lackey Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Greenlee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Providence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Sugar Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- West Marion
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Melrose
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Columbus
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Mill Spring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tryon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- 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
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Lake Lure
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Whitehouse
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Green Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Transylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Penrose
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pisgah Forest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
- Brevard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Mountain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Balsam Grove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- East Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- East Fork is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork
- Rosman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Yancey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Murchison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Murchison is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
- Pensacola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Hamrick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hamrick is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
- Concord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Low Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Low Gap is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Greenville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Caesars Head
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
- Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Tigerville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Highland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- Landrum
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- 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 Oak Forest, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Forest.
Cemeteries Near Oak Forest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Forest.
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 Oak Forest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Hunter Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Long Shoals Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Williams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Baker Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Calvary Churchyard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Sunset Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Patty's Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jones Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Riverside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Cemetery
- The Riverside Cemetery has also been known as:
- Asheville Cemetery
- City of Asheville Riverside Cemetery
- Shepherd Memorial Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (431 more) ...
- Cane Creek Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- 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>
- Green Hills Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Old Academy Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Oak Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Forest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Forest, with the one closest to Oak Forest listed first.
- Skyland
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Busbee
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Arden
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Buena Vista
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Buena Vista is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Avery Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
- Fletcher
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Biltmore
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Biltmore is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- West Asheville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Asheville is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Asheville
- Azalea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Asheville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mills River
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Murphy Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Murphy Junction is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy Junction
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Fairview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sulphur Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sulphur Springs is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Acton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Acton is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Forest.
Newspapers Published in Oak Forest ...
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 109 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Forest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Forest, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Forest.
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 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 Oak Forest:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Buncombe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Madison County
- McDowell 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> | 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 Oak Forest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Oak Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |