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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 Rico (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 Rico. 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 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.

Rico is located in Columbus 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 Columbus County: Bladen, Brunswick, Pender, Robeson & Horry (SC).

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

  • Columbus County     (The home county of Rico)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Hallsboro
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Whiteville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Redbug
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Mount Olive
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Columbus County
    • Lake Waccamaw
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Brunswick
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Bolton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Chadbourn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Grist
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Evergreen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Williamson Crossroads
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cribb Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cribb Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cribb Town
      • Cribb Town is located in Columbus County
    • Boardman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boardman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
      • Boardman is located in Columbus County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
  • Bladen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Clarkton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
      • Clarkton is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkton <1>
    • Rosindale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosindale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
      • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rosindale
      • From Rico to Rosindale
    • Abbottsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Council
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
      • Council is located in Bladen County
    • Mount Olive
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Olive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
      • Mount Olive is located in Bladen County
    • Elizabethtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
      • Elizabethtown is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabethtown <1>
    • Bladenboro
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bladenboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladenboro
      • Bladenboro is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bladenboro <1>
    • Yorick
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • White Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
      • White Lake is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 742 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Lake <1>
    • Butters
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Butters have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butters
      • Butters is located in Bladen County
    • Dublin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dublin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
      • Dublin is located in Bladen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 328 people
    • East Arcadia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Kelly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Brunswick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Exum
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Exum. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exum
      • Exum is located in Brunswick County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Exum
      • From Rico to Exum
    • Makatoka
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ash
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Northwest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Sandy Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Creek
      • Sandy Creek is located in Brunswick County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
    • Longwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Brunswick County
  • Pender County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Atkinson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atkinson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
      • Atkinson is located in Pender County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 366 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atkinson <1>
    • Currie
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Robeson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Allenton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orrum
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrum
      • Orrum is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Proctorville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctorville
      • Proctorville is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Barnesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
      • Barnesville is located in Robeson County
    • Lumberton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Barker Ten Mile
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barker Ten Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Ten Mile
      • Barker Ten Mile is located in Robeson County
    • Fairmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Marietta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Robeson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Rozier Siding ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lowe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowe have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowe
      • Lowe is located in Robeson County
    • Saddletree
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sampson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rico, with the one closest to Rico listed first.
    • Ivanhoe
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ivanhoe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
      • Ivanhoe is located in Sampson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ivanhoe
      • From Rico to Ivanhoe
    • Kerr
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kerr. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerr
      • Kerr is located in Sampson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kerr
      • From Rico to Kerr
    • Tomahawk
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tomahawk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomahawk
      • Tomahawk is located in Sampson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tomahawk
      • From Rico to Tomahawk
    • Garland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Horry County (SC)

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

Cemeteries Near Rico ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rico.

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 Rico covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Mitchellfield Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Old Bethel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Batten Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Batten Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Batten Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • McCall Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCall Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCall Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flynn Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flynn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flynn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Buie Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buie Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blank Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blank Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blank Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Whiteville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Whiteville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Whiteville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Benevolent Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benevolent Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benevolent Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (362 more) ...
    • Marley Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mt. Hebron Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hebron Memorial Park
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hebron Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • New Hope Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

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

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

  • Elkton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Elkton is located in Bladen County
  • Clarkton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkton
    • Clarkton is located in Bladen County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarkton <1>
  • Emerson
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson
    • Emerson is located in Bladen County
  • Rosindale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosindale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosindale
    • Rosindale is located in Bladen County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rosindale
    • From Rico to Rosindale
  • Abbottsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Whiteville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Hallsboro
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Council
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
    • Council is located in Bladen County
  • Lake Waccamaw
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Westbrook
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westbrook
    • Westbrook is located in Bladen County
  • Elizabethtown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabethtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabethtown
    • Elizabethtown is located in Bladen County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,378 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabethtown <1>
  • Bladenboro
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bladenboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bladenboro
    • Bladenboro is located in Bladen County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,697 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bladenboro <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Chadbourn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bolton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Richardson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richardson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
      • Richardson is located in Bladen County

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

Newspapers Published in Rico ...

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 22 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rico.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rico, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rico.

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 Rico:

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

The official website for Columbus County: www.columbusco.org/main

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

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 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>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.
<4>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.
<5>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- Rico) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rico. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4388, Longitude: -78.6240    
<6>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 Rico, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025