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 Ridgewood (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 Ridgewood. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Ridgewood is located in Rowan 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 Rowan County: Cabarrus, Davidson, Davie, Iredell, Montgomery & Stanly.
Below are the counties that are near Ridgewood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Ridgewood:
- Rowan County (The home county of Ridgewood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Eaman Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Eaman Park is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaman Park
- Fairview
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Fairview is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Salisbury
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Belmont
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Belmont is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Forest Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Forest Hills is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Red Acres
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Red Acres is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Acres
- Frohock Mill ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Frohock Mill is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frohock Mill
- Overbrook Acres
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Overbrook Acres is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Overbrook Acres
- Corbin Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Corbin Hills is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corbin Hills
- Eastwood Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Eastwood Village is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood Village
- Oak Ridge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oak Ridge is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Meadowbrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Meadowbrook is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- South Salisbury
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- South Salisbury is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Salisbury
- Cabarrus County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Rimer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Rimer is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rimer
- Fisher Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fisher Town is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher Town
- Concord
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mount Pleasant
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Poplar Tent
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Poplar Tent is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Tent
- Tulin ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Tulin is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulin
- Cannon Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Cannon Crossroads is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Crossroads
- Cannon Crossroads has also been known as:
- Cannon Cross Roads
- Cannon's Crossroads
- Wallace Cross Roads
- Wallace Crossroads
- Georgeville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Georgeville is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Bosts Mill ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bosts Mill is located in Cabarrus County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bosts Mill
- Harrisburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Midland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Lake Norman of Catawba
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Monbo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Monbo is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monbo
- Long Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Long Island is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Island
- Sherrills Ford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Terrell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Davidson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Lakeview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeview is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Southmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Southmont is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southmont
- Linwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tyro
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tyro is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyro
- Cotton Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cotton Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Grove
- Sapona
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sapona is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sapona
- Silver Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Silver Hill is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hill
- Lexington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cedar Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Cedar Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Currytown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Currytown is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Currytown
- Jefferson Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Jefferson Village is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson Village
- Holly Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Grove is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Grove
- Reedy Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Reedy Creek is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedy Creek
- Davie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Clinton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clinton is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
- Cooleemee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ephesus
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ephesus is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ephesus
- Mocksville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Advance
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Calahaln
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Calahaln is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calahaln
- Bermuda Run
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Pino
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pino is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pino
- Forsyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Muddy Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Muddy Creek is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddy Creek
- Clemmons
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lewisville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Rosemont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Rosemont is located in Forsyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemont
- Iredell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Mazeppa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mazeppa is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazeppa
- Cool Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Cool Springs is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool Springs
- Mooresville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shepherds
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shepherds is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherds
- Ostwalt
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Ostwalt is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostwalt
- Mount Mourne
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Mourne is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Mourne
- Belmont
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Belmont is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Barium Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Barium Springs is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barium Springs
- Doolie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Doolie is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doolie
- Troutman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Statesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Turnersburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Turnersburg is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turnersburg
- Mayhew
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Mayhew is located in Iredell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayhew
- Lincoln County
- Westport
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Westport is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Mecklenburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Davidson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cornelius
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Huntersville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- River View ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- River View is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View
- Croft
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Croft is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Croft
- Newell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Newell is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
- Allen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Allen is located in Mecklenburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allen
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Blaine
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Blaine is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
- Eldorado
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Eldorado is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Stanly County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Misenheimer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Misenheimer is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misenheimer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 742 people
- Richfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- New London
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Millingport
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Millingport is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millingport
- Plyer
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Plyer is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plyer
- Lambert
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lambert is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambert
- Bloomington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomington is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
- Albemarle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palmerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Palmerville is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmerville
- Locust
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Badin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Village is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Village
- Red Cross
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Red Cross is located in Stanly County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Cross
- Population from the 2020 Census: 769 people
- Yadkin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Wyo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Wyo is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyo
- Courtney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Courtney is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Courtney
- Huntsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Huntsville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsville
- Footville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Footville is located in Yadkin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Footville
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Ridgewood, see our County-by-County Page for Ridgewood.
Cemeteries Near Ridgewood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ridgewood.
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 Ridgewood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Ridgewood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Chestnut Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Dixonville Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Salisbury National Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Old English Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Memorial Park
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Union Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Salisbury National Cemetery Annex
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Owen Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Wittenberg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Antioch Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rowan Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowan Memorial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Rowan Memorial Park is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Franklin.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #48649 <2>
- Continue List (122 more) ...
- Christiana Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- China Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bethel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<4>
While we didn't find Ridgewood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Ridgewood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Ridgewood, with the one closest to Ridgewood listed first.
- Salisbury
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Granite Quarry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Faith
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- China Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Trading Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Trading Ford is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trading Ford
- Blackmer ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Blackmer is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackmer
- Mill Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mill Bridge is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Bridge
- Jubilee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jubilee is located in Davidson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jubilee
- Miranda ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Miranda is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miranda
- Rockwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Craven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Craven is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craven
- Woodleaf
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Garfield ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Garfield is located in Rowan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garfield
- Jerusalem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Jerusalem is located in Davie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem
- Cleveland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Ridgewood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Ridgewood.
Newspapers Published in Ridgewood ...
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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ridgewood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Ridgewood, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Ridgewood.
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 Ridgewood:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Rowan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cabarrus County
- Catawba County
- Davidson County
- Davie County
- Forsyth County
- Iredell County
- Lincoln County
- Mecklenburg County
- Montgomery County
- Stanly County
- Yadkin 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> | 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- Ridgewood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Ridgewood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |