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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 Stearns (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 Stearns. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Stearns is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Henderson, Rutherford, Greenville (SC) & Spartanburg (SC).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Stearns)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Columbus
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Mill Spring
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lynn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Tryon
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Melrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Buncombe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Fairview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Arden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Royal Pines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
    • Skyland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Busbee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Busbee is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
    • Black Mountain
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Ridgecrest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Avery Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
    • Swannanoa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Azalea
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Azalea is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
    • Biltmore Forest
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
    • Wilson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilson is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
    • Montreat
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Cliffside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Cliffside is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Mooresboro
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • New House
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • New House is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
  • Henderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Saluda
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Baxter
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Dana
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Upward
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
    • East Flat Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Zirconia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Bat Cave
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • U-No
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • U-No is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
    • Claremont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Claremont is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • Flat Rock
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Tuxedo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Barker Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
    • Carolina Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Carolina Village is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
  • McDowell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Lackey Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
    • Moffitt Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • Sugar Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
    • Vein Mountain
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
    • Old Fort
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Dendron
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Dendron is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
    • Providence
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Providence is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Greenlee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Greenlee is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Glenwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Glenwood is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
    • West Marion
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • West Marion is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
    • Mountain Home ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mountain Home is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
    • Marion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Rutherford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Chimney Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Lake Lure
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Village of Chimney Rock Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Village of Chimney Rock Village is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village of Chimney Rock Village
      • Estimated population in 2015: 108 people
    • Green Hill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Shiloh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Rutherfordton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Bakersville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Holly Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Spindale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Ruth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Ruth is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
    • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
    • Whitehouse
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
    • Cuba ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cuba is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
  • Transylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Penrose
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Mountain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Seven Springs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
    • Pisgah Forest
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Brevard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Brevard is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,899 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brevard <1>
  • Cherokee County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Chesnee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Chesnee is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesnee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesnee <1>
    • Macedonia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
  • Greenville County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Gowensville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
    • Highland
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Tigerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • O'Neal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Cleveland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Slater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Greer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Greer is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • Marietta
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Chick Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
    • Taylors
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Travelers Rest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Caesars Head
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
  • Pickens County (SC)
    • Dacusville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Dacusville is located in Pickens County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacusville
  • Spartanburg County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Stearns, with the one closest to Stearns listed first.
    • Landrum
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Landrum is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landrum
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,725 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Landrum <1>
    • Campobello
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Gramling
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Fingerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Brooklyn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Inman Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
    • Inman
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Inman is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
    • Boiling Springs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lyman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Lyman is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyman <1>
    • Valley Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Duncan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Duncan is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,715 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncan <1>
    • Mayo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Southern Shops
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Stearns ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Stearns.

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 Stearns - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<4>

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

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

  • Columbus
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Lynn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Lynn is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
  • Tryon
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Landrum
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Landrum is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landrum
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,725 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Landrum <1>
  • Saluda
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Melrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Melrose is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Collinsville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Collinsville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
  • Baxter
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Baxter is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
  • Poplar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Blue Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
  • Upward
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Upward is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
  • Gowensville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Uree
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Uree is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uree
    • Zirconia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Glassy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Glassy is located in Greenville County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glassy

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

Newspapers Published in Stearns ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Stearns.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Stearns, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Stearns.

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 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 Stearns:

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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Stearns) 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 Stearns, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.