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 Soda Hill (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 Soda Hill. 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.
Soda Hill is located in Watauga 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 Watauga County: Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Wilkes & Johnson (TN).
Below are the counties that are near Soda Hill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Soda Hill:
- Watauga County (The home county of Soda Hill)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Sands
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sands is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Moretz
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Moretz is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moretz
- Norris ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Norris was located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Rutherwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rutherwood is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Boone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boone is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,003 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <1>
- Bamboo
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bamboo is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Laxon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Laxon is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laxon
- Deep Gap
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Zionville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mabel
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mabel is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Vilas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Shulls Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shulls Mill is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shulls Mill
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Laurel Springs
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Scottville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Topia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Piney Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Ashe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Todd
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brownwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Fleetwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Yates
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Yates is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yates
- Creston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- West Jefferson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roten
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Roten is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Jefferson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Obids
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Obids is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obids
- Comet
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Comet is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Orion
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Orion is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
- Warrensville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Seven Devils
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Beech Mountain
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Banner Elk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Gilead
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Grandfather
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Sugar Mountain
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Whaley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Whaley is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Linville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elk Park
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Vale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Minneapolis
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Minneapolis is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis
- Burke County
- Jonas Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Blowing Rock
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Mulberry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Cilley ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cilley was located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cilley
- Patterson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Patterson is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
- Rufus
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Rufus is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mortimer was located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Kings Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Kings Creek is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Creek
- Collettsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Emanuel ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Emanuel was located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emanuel
- Abingdon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Abingdon is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
- Adako
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Adako is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adako
- Lenoir
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lenoir is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenoir
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,911 people
- Former name for Lenoir:
- Tucker's Barn
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenoir <1>
- Cedar Rock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Cedar Rock has also been known as:
- Cedar Rock village
- Wilkes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Hendrix ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hendrix was located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrix
- Maple Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Springs is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Springs
- Wilbar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Wilbar is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilbar
- Ferguson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Purlear
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Purlear is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purlear
- McGrady
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- McGrady is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
- Millers Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Adley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Adley is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adley
- Cricket
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Cricket is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cricket
- Mulberry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mulberry is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
- Springfield ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Springfield was located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Boomer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Boomer is located in Wilkes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boomer
- Carter County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Fish Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Shell Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Shell Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
- Buladeen
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Roan Mountain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Heaton Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Heaton Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Creek
- Burbank
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Burbank is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Hampton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hunter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Hunter is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Siam
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Siam is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Trade
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Dowell was located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Vaughtsville was located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Mountain City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Norris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Norris is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Fuller
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- High Health ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- High Health was located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Butler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Winchester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Sullivan County (TN)
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fishdam was located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Grayson County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Whitetop
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rugby
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Washington County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Green Cove
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Damascus
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Masada
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Masada is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Drowning Ford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Drowning Ford is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Ford
- Alvarado
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alvarado is located in Washington County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Soda Hill, see our County-by-County Page for Soda Hill.
Cemeteries Near Soda Hill ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Soda Hill.
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 Soda Hill - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Soda Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Brown Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hodges Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Greene Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Gragg Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Old Hopewell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Barnes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Miller Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hayes Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sands Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Moretz Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Horton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (605 more) ...
- Mt. Lawn Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Vannoy Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Proffit's Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proffit's Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Proffit's Grove Baptist Church Cemetery is located 6 miles [9.7 km]<3> to the north of Boone.
- The Proffit's Grove Baptist Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Proffit's Grove Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2188864 <2>
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Soda Hill had a population of 32 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Soda Hill, with the one closest to Soda Hill listed first.
- Norris ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Norris was located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Sands
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Sands is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Solo
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Solo is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solo
- Meat Camp
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Meat Camp is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meat Camp
- Boone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Boone is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,003 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <1>
- Rutherwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rutherwood is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutherwood
- Bamboo
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Bamboo is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bamboo
- Triplett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Triplett is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Triplett
- Vilas
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Baldwin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Baldwin is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Trade
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Zionville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Amantha
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Amantha is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amantha
- Aho
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Aho is also located in Watauga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aho
- Sutherland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Sutherland is located in Ashe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Soda Hill. See our List of 1890's Communities around Soda Hill.
Newspapers Published in Soda Hill ...
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 Soda Hill.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Soda Hill, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Soda Hill.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Soda Hill:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Watauga County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Wilkes County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Sullivan County
- Grayson County
- Washington 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- Soda Hill) 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 Soda Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |