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 Rock Ford (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 Rock Ford. 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 Rock Ford ...
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 Rock Ford: Rock Frd.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rock Ford. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rock Ford.
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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Rock Ford is located in Cleveland 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 Cleveland County: Burke, Gaston, Lincoln, Rutherford, Cherokee (SC) & York (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Rock Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rock Ford:
- Cleveland County (The home county of Rock Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Lattimore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- New House
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
- Mooresboro
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Kingstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Kingstown is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
- Campcall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Polkville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Boiling Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Dover
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dover is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
- Delight
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Delight is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
- Lawndale
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sharon is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Cliffside
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Briarwood Townhouses
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Briarwood Townhouses is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Townhouses
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Camp Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Camp Creek is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Creek
- Ramsey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ramsey is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramsey
- Shoups Ford
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Shoups Ford is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoups Ford
- Brindletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Enola
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Yellow Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Yellow Gap is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Gap
- Salem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Magnolia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Magnolia is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Calvin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Glen Alpine
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Parkhill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Morganton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Catawba County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Cooksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cooksville is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Banoak
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Banoak is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banoak
- Plateau
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Plateau is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plateau
- Advent Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Advent Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advent Crossroads
- Propst Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Propst Crossroads is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Propst Crossroads
- Blackburn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blackburn is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackburn
- Rhoney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rhoney is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhoney
- Meadow Brook Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Meadow Brook Village is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Brook Village
- Mountain View
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain View is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
- Long View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Long View is located in Catawba County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long View
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,951 people
- Gaston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Dellview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Dellview is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellview
- Population from the 2010 Census: 13 people
- Cherryville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Perry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Perry is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
- Tryon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Tryon is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
- Bessemer City
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- High Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- High Shoals is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Shoals
- Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
- Dallas
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Gastonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- South Gastonia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- South Gastonia is located in Gaston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gastonia
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- North Brook ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Brook is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brook
- Hulls Crossroads
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hulls Crossroads is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hulls Crossroads
- Laurel Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Laurel Hill is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
- Henry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Henry is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
- Vale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crouse
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Crouse is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crouse
- Lincolnton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Boger City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Boger City is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boger City
- Iron Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Iron Station is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Station
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Mountain Home ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
- Vein Mountain
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Patten
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Patten is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patten
- Glenwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Sugar Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Nebo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Providence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- West Marion
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Marion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Mill Spring
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Columbus
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Ellenboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Six Points
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Six Points is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
- Hollis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hollis is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Washburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Caroleen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caroleen is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
- Concord
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Concord is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Henrietta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Bostic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Sunshine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sunshine is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunshine
- Sandy Mush
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
- Alexander Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Forest City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bakersville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Cherokee County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Chesnee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Gaffney
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Blacksburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gaffney
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Macedonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Kings Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Brooklyn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Mayo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cowpens
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
- Fingerville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Converse
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Clifton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Boiling Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Zion Hill is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion Hill
- Valley Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Drayton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Whitney is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Glendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pacolet Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- York County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Smyrna
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hickory Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Zadok ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Zadok is located in York County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zadok
- Bowling Green
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rock Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Rock Ford.
Cemeteries Near Rock Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Ford.
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 Rock Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rock Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Dobbins Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Beam Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Lattimore Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Thomas Walker Family Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Baptist Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Run Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Crowder Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Glover Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Heaven Bound Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Webb Baptist Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Plain View Baptist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Dobbins Hawkins Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Continue List (326 more) ...
- McBrayer Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- White Oak Springs Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
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 Rock Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rock Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rock Ford, with the one closest to Rock Ford listed first.
- Lattimore
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lattimore is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
- New House
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New House is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
- Ellenboro
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Campcall
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Campcall is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campcall
- Polkville
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Polkville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polkville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Boiling Springs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Hollis
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Hollis is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollis
- Washburn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Washburn is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washburn
- Henrietta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Sharon
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sharon is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Double Shoals
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Double Shoals is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Shoals
- Delight
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Delight is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delight
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Bostic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Shelby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rock Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Ford.
Newspapers Published in Rock Ford ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Ford, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Ford.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Rock Ford:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Cleveland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burke County
- Catawba County
- Gaston County
- Lincoln County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Cherokee County
- Spartanburg County
- York 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rock Ford) 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 Rock Ford, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |