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 Sunnyvale (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 Sunnyvale. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.
Sunnyvale is located in McDowell 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 McDowell County: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Mitchell, Rutherford & Yancey.
Below are the counties that are near Sunnyvale. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sunnyvale:
- McDowell County (The home county of Sunnyvale)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Greenlee
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Little Switzerland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Lackey Town
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Old Fort
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Providence
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- West Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- West Marion is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Marion
- Dendron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Moffitt Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Nebo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Glenwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Avery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Linville Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Plumtree
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Stamey Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stamey Town is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stamey Town
- Crossnore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Pleasant is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
- Chestnut Dale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Chestnut Dale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Dale
- Pineola
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Minneapolis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Minneapolis is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis
- Montezuma
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Montezuma is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
- Newland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Vale is located in Avery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Linville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Montreat
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgecrest
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Walkertown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Black Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Rockview
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Rockview is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockview
- Swannanoa
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barnardsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Beech
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Beech is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech
- Wilson
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Democrat
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Democrat is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Democrat
- Riceville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Riceville is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riceville
- Azalea
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Burke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Linville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Linville is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linville
- Parkhill
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Parkhill is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkhill
- Glen Alpine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Brindletown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Brindletown is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brindletown
- Rollins ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Rollins is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Jonas Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Calvin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Calvin is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvin
- Magnolia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Magnolia is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
- Salem
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Salem is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
- Morganton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Chesterfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Chesterfield is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
- Enola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Enola is located in Burke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enola
- Caldwell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Adako
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Adako is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adako
- Muttenz ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Muttenz is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muttenz
- Mortimer ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mortimer is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mortimer
- Collettsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pinehurst
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pinehurst is located in Caldwell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
- Henderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Bat Cave
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bearwallow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bearwallow is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Gerton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fletcher
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- U-No
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- U-No is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for U-No
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Bethel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Ivy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ivy is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
- Mars Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Petersburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Petersburg is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Foster Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Foster Creek is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Creek
- Rollins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rollins is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollins
- Marshall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Grassy Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Spruce Pine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Altapass
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Altapass is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altapass
- Penland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Bakersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Red Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Red Hill is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Hill
- Little Rock Creek ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Little Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Creek
- Tipton Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Tipton Hill is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton Hill
- Herrell ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Herrell is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrell
- Huntdale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Huntdale is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntdale
- Relief
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Relief is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Relief
- Bailey
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Polk County
- Mill Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Whitehouse
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Thermal City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Thermal City is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermal City
- Cuba ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Cuba is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
- Union Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Lure
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- 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
- Chimney Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Green Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Mount Pisgah ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Pisgah is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pisgah
- Ruth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Rutherfordton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Yancey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Hamrick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hamrick is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamrick
- Celo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Celo is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celo
- Murchison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Murchison is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murchison
- Micaville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newdale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newdale is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newdale
- Low Gap
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Low Gap is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Pensacola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Concord
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Concord is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Double Island
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Double Island is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Double Island
- Burnsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Green Mountain
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Day Book
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Day Book is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Day Book
- Carter County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Burbank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Burbank is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burbank
- Heaton Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Heaton Creek is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Creek
- Unicoi County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Clear Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Branch is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Branch
- Former name for Clear Branch:
- Kittyton
- Ernestville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ernestville is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ernestville
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,311 people
- Flag Pond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flag Pond is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flag Pond
- Loganton ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Loganton is located in Unicoi County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganton
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sunnyvale, see our County-by-County Page for Sunnyvale.
Cemeteries Near Sunnyvale ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sunnyvale.
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 Sunnyvale - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sunnyvale covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Good Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lee Fields Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gragg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Liberty Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Crisawn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Robinson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bracher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Green Mtn. Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Snow Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Simmons Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Ballew Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Siloam Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (458 more) ...
- Barnes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Patton Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Autrey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Sunnyvale in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sunnyvale.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sunnyvale, with the one closest to Sunnyvale listed first.
- Toms Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Toms Creek is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toms Creek
- Greenlee
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Greenlee is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Dendron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Old Fort
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Celo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Celo is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Celo
- Marion
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- North Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- North Cove is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Cove
- Sugar Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Nebo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Estatoe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Estatoe is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estatoe
- Spruce Pine
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Pensacola
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pensacola is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pensacola
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Black Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Penland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Windom
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Windom is located in Yancey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sunnyvale. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sunnyvale.
Newspapers Published in Sunnyvale ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sunnyvale.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sunnyvale, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sunnyvale.
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 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 Sunnyvale:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to McDowell County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Avery County
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Henderson County
- Madison County
- Mitchell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Yancey County
- Carter County
- Unicoi 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> | 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 Sunnyvale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Sunnyvale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |