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 Old Town (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 Old Town. 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.
Old Town is located in Brunswick 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 Brunswick County: Columbus, New Hanover, Pender & Horry (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Old Town. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Old Town:
- Brunswick County (The home county of Old Town)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Leland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Belville is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,135 people
- Town Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Winnabow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Navassa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Navassa is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
- Boiling Spring Lakes
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Boiling Spring Lakes is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,430 people
- Malmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Malmo is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
- Bolivia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Phoenix
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
- Sandy Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
- Southport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Saint James
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Saint James is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint James
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,607 people
- Bladen County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- East Arcadia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Arcadia is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
- Long View
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Long View is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
- Kelly
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Kelly is located in Bladen County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Columbus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Acme
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Acme is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Delco
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Riegelwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Armour
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Armour is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
- Byrdville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Byrdville is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byrdville
- Sandyfield
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sandyfield is located in Columbus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 415 people
- Bolton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- New Hanover County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Silver Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Silver Lake is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Myrtle Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Myrtle Grove is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle Grove
- Wilmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sea Breeze
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sea Breeze is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sea Breeze
- Masonboro
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Masonboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masonboro
- Carolina Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Seagate
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Seagate is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seagate
- Hightsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hightsville
- Windemere
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Windemere is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windemere
- Kure Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Kings Grant
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kings Grant is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Grant
- Smith Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Creek is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Creek
- Onslow County
- Surf City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pender County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Brown Town
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brown Town is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
- Rocky Point
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hampstead
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Ashton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Ashton is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Currie
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Topsail
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Topsail is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topsail
- Kings Landing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Kings Landing is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Landing
- Topsail Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Helena
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Saint Helena is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Helena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
- Burgaw
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Atkinson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Old Town, see our County-by-County Page for Old Town.
Cemeteries Near Old Town ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Town.
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 Old Town - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Old Town covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is located in Wilmington.
- The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hanks Chapel Cemetery
- Oak Hill Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2485215 <2>
- Freeman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Greenlawn Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Drew Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Farrow Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Thomas Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Masonboro Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Delgado Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. James Episcopal Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Wilmington National Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bellevue Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bellevue Cemetery is located in Wilmington.
- Continue List (99 more) ...
- B'nai Israel Hebrew Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Pine Forest Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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 Old Town in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Town.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Old Town, with the one closest to Old Town listed first.
- Wilmington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Town Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Town Creek is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Town Creek
- Winnabow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Navassa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Navassa is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navassa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,534 people
- Wrightsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Wrightsville is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
- Wrightsboro
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Wrightsboro is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsboro
- Malmo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Malmo is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malmo
- Phoenix
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Phoenix is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phoenix
- Kirkland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Kirkland is located in New Hanover County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkland
- Southport
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Castle Hayne
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Scotts Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Scotts Hill is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts Hill
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Northwest
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Northwest is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northwest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Supply
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Montague
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Montague is located in Pender County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montague
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Old Town. See our List of 1890's Communities around Old Town.
Newspapers Published in Old Town ...
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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Town.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Town, 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 Old Town.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Old Town:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Brunswick County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bladen County
- Columbus County
- New Hanover County
- Onslow County
- Pender 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 Old Town, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Old Town) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |