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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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.
Name Variations for Oak Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 and hospitals 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.
Oak Ridge is located in Guilford 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 Guilford County: Alamance, Caswell, Davidson, Forsyth, Randolph, Rockingham & Stokes.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Guilford County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Stokesdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Colfax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Summerfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Guilford College
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Scalesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Scalesville is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalesville
- Fairfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Pomona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Spicewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Spicewood is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicewood
- Latham Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Latham Town is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latham Town
- Jamestown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Greensboro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Altamahaw
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Glenwood Acres
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Glenwood Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Acres
- Ossipee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Ossipee is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- Random Hills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Random Hills is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Hills
- Westbrook Forest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Westbrook Forest is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook Forest
- Westbrook
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Westbrook is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
- Country Club Acres
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Country Club Acres is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Club Acres
- The Country
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- The Country is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Country
- Deerfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Deerfield is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Elon College
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Elon is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,186 people
- Mark View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Mark View is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark View
- Caswell County
- Ashland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Abotts Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Abotts Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abotts Creek
- Wallburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Gum Tree
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Gum Tree is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gum Tree
- Bethany ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
- Midway
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Midway is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Thomasville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fair Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fair Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Grove
- Eden ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Eden is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Arcadia
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Welcome
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Reedy Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Currytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Currytown is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Bermuda Run
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Advance
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Benefit ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Benefit is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benefit
- Pine Knolls
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pine Knolls is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Knolls
- Applegate
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Applegate is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Applegate
- Cliffwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Cliffwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffwood
- Emorywood Estates
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Emorywood Estates is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emorywood Estates
- Bonanza Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bonanza Hills is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonanza Hills
- Greystone Forest
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Greystone Forest is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greystone Forest
- Kimberly Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kimberly Acres is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly Acres
- Kynwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kynwood is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kynwood
- Smokerise
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Smokerise is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smokerise
- White Road ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Road is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Road
- Abington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Abington is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abington
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Archdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Trinity
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- New Market
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- New Market is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
- Sophia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Redcross
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Redcross is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redcross
- Randleman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Worthville is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Melanchton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Melanchton is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melanchton
- Millboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Millboro is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro
- Central Falls
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Central Falls is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Falls
- Rockingham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Gold Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Gold Hill is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gold Hill
- Wittys Crossroads
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wittys Crossroads is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittys Crossroads
- Ellisboro
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ellisboro is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellisboro
- Madison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mayodan
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Norwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
- Shiloh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Stoneville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Belmont
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Reidsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Providence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Stokes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Fulp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fulp is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulp
- Pine Hall
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Walnut Cove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Germanton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Neatman
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Neatman is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neatman
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Danbury
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Quaker Gap is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quaker Gap
- Capella
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Capella is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capella
- Mount Olive
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Stokes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Surry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Boyden ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Boyden is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
- Shoals
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shoals is located in Surry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
- Pilot Mountain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- East Bend
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Huntsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Henry County (VA)
- Ridgeway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Patrick County (VA)
- Nettleridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Goodwill Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Eastlawn Gardens of Memory
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Gur Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Rock UMC Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Belews Creek Christian Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- New Garden Friends Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Wesleyan Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fellowship Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Westminster Gardens Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Mt. Bethel Covenant Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (247 more) ...
- Mecum Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Deep River Friends Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mt. Pisgah UMC Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Oak Ridge had a population of 72 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Oak Ridge had a population of 7,126 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Colfax
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Stokesdale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Friendship
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Friendship is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Summerfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- White Road ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- White Road is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Road
- Belews Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Belews Creek is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belews Creek
- Kernersville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Guilford College
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Guilford College is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford College
- Hillsdale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Deep River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Scalesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Scalesville is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalesville
- Walkertown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Pomona
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pomona is located in Guilford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomona
- Dennis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Dennis is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennis
- Pine Hall
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, 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 Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Guilford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Randolph County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes County
- Surry County
- Yadkin County
- Henry County
- Patrick 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 Ridge, 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 Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |