RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Johnston County >> Rains Crossroads >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
North Carolina

The Commemorative Quarter for North Carolina





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 Rains Crossroads (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 Rains Crossroads. 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 Rains Crossroads ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

  • A typical abbreviation for Rains Crossroads: Rains Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Rains Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rains Crossroads may originally have been Rain's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rains Crossroads might be written as Rain Crossroads.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.

Rains Crossroads is located in Johnston County.

To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Johnston County: Harnett, Nash, Sampson, Wake, Wayne & Wilson.

Below are the counties that are near Rains Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rains Crossroads:

  • Johnston County     (The home county of Rains Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Princeton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <3>
    • Micro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Micro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
      • Micro is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
    • Beulahtown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Kenly
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
      • Kenly is located in Johnston County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <3>
    • Pine Level
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Redwood Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood Village
      • Redwood Village is located in Johnston County
    • Selma
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Fairfield
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
      • Fairfield is located in Johnston County
    • Smithfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • West Smithfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Smithfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Smithfield
      • West Smithfield is located in Johnston County
    • Wilson's Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Bentonville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Duplin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Calypso
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calypso have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calypso
      • Calypso is located in Duplin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 528 people
    • Faison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Faison have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faison
      • Faison is located in Duplin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 959 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Faison <3>
    • Beautancus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Blizzards Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blizzards Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blizzards Crossroads
      • Blizzards Crossroads is located in Duplin County
    • Drummersville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hills Crossroads
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Outlaws Bridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Edgecombe County
  • Franklin County
  • Greene County
  • Harnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Grove Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Park
      • Grove Park is located in Harnett County
    • Lakeside Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside Village
      • Lakeside Village is located in Harnett County
    • Dunn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Westhaven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westhaven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westhaven
      • Westhaven is located in Harnett County
    • Coats
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Turlington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Lenoir County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • La Grange
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for La Grange have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grange
      • La Grange is located in Lenoir County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,614 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Grange <3>
    • Fields
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fields. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fields
      • Fields is located in Lenoir County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fields
      • From Rains Crossroads to Fields
  • Nash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Bailey
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bailey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
      • Bailey is located in Nash County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bailey <3>
    • Middlesex
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlesex have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlesex
      • Middlesex is located in Nash County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
    • Rogers Crossroads
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • High Crossroads
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Crossroads
      • High Crossroads is located in Nash County
    • Mount Pleasant
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Nash County
    • Murraytown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murraytown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murraytown
      • Murraytown is located in Nash County
    • Samaria
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Samaria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samaria
      • Samaria is located in Nash County
    • Union Hope
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Cliftonville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Floods Chapel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Floods Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Floods Chapel
      • Floods Chapel is located in Nash County
    • Frazier Crossroads
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Rocky Cross
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Cross have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Cross
      • Rocky Cross is located in Nash County
  • Pitt County
    • Fountain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain
      • Fountain is located in Pitt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fountain <3>
  • Sampson County
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Shotwell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Wendell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Zebulon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Eagle Rock
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Auburn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Emerald Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Village
      • Emerald Village is located in Wake County
    • Knightdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knightdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knightdale
      • Knightdale is located in Wake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,122 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knightdale <3>
    • Garner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopedale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Pleasant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Pleasant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
      • Mount Pleasant is located in Wake County
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Nahunta
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Raynor Town
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raynor Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynor Town
      • Raynor Town is located in Wayne County
    • Fremont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Pikeville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Goldsboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mar-Mac Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mar-Mac Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac Village
      • Mar-Mac Village is located in Wayne County
    • Mar-Mac
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mar-Mac have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mar-Mac
      • Mar-Mac is located in Wayne County
    • Saulston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Eureka
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Grantham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Berkeley Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berkeley Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkeley Village
      • Berkeley Village is located in Wayne County
    • Brogden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brogden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brogden
      • Brogden is located in Wayne County
  • Wilson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.
    • Lucama
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucama have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucama
      • Lucama is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lucama <3>
    • Scotts
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotts have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotts
      • Scotts is located in Wilson County
    • Black Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
      • Black Creek is located in Wilson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 767 people
    • Sims
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Stantonsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Eastwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Wilson County
    • Saratoga
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elm City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rains Crossroads, see our County-by-County Page for Rains Crossroads.

Cemeteries Near Rains Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rains Crossroads.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rains Crossroads covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.

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.<7>

While we didn't find Rains Crossroads in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rains Crossroads.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Rains Crossroads, with the one closest to Rains Crossroads listed first.

  • Princeton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
    • Princeton is located in Johnston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,425 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Princeton <3>
  • Bagley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
    • Bagley is located in Johnston County
  • Pinkney
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pinkney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkney
    • Pinkney is located in Wayne County
  • Micro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Micro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Micro
    • Micro is located in Johnston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
  • Kenly
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kenly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenly
    • Kenly is located in Johnston County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kenly <3>
  • Pine Level
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Oliver
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oliver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
    • Oliver is located in Johnston County
  • Selma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Pikeville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Fremont
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Smithfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Greenleaf
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenleaf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
    • Greenleaf is located in Wayne County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rains Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rains Crossroads.

Newspapers Published in Rains Crossroads ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rains Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rains Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rains Crossroads.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Rains Crossroads:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rains Crossroads. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Johnston County: www.co.johnston.nc.us/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<5>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- Rains Crossroads) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rains Crossroads. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.5143, Longitude: -78.1448    
<6>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.
<7>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 Rains Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025