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 Thomas Forest (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 Thomas Forest. 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 hospitals 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.
Thomas Forest is located in Henderson 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 Henderson County: Buncombe, Haywood, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania & Greenville (SC).
Below are the counties that are near Thomas Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Thomas Forest:
- Henderson County (The home county of Thomas Forest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Valley Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Valley Hill is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Hill
- Mount Olive
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Olive is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Flat Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Laurel Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sky Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sky Village is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Village
- Willow Bend
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Willow Bend is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Bend
- Claremont
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Claremont is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- East Flat Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Timberland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Timberland is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberland
- Barker Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Barker Heights is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
- Hendersonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Zirconia
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Tuxedo
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Buncombe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Arden
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Avery Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
- Royal Pines
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
- Skyland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Busbee
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Bent Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Biltmore Forest
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
- Fairview
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Enka Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Enka Village is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enka Village
- Shiloh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Acton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Acton is located in Buncombe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
- Enka
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Candler
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Haywood County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Cruso
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cruso is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruso
- Morning Star
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Morning Star is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morning Star
- Sonoma ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Bethel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Canton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lavinia ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lavinia is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavinia
- West Canton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- West Canton is located in Haywood County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Canton
- Clyde
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson County
- Argura
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Argura is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argura
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Dendron
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Dendron is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dendron
- Lackey Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Moffitt Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Melrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Lynn
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lynn is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Tryon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Columbus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Mill Spring
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Rutherford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Lure
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Otter Creek ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Otter Creek is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
- Whitehouse
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehouse is located in Rutherford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse
- Transylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Penrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Seven Springs
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
- Pisgah Forest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cedar Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Brevard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- East Fork
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Fork is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork
- Rosman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Balsam Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lake Toxaway
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Toxaway Falls ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Toxaway Falls is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxaway Falls
- Sapphire
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Greenville County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Caesars Head
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Caesars Head is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caesars Head
- Cleveland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Highland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Highland is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Tigerville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Marietta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Slater
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gowensville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Travelers Rest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- O'Neal
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Berea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Berea is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Paris
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Paris is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Chick Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Chick Springs is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
- Pickens County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Knob ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Knob is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Dacusville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Dacusville is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacusville
- Rocky Bottom
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Bottom is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Bottom
- Sunset
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Crow Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Crow Creek is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Creek
- Pickens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Arial
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Arial is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arial
- Easley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Nine Times
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nine Times is located in Pickens County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nine Times
- Spartanburg County (SC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Landrum
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Gramling
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Inman
(27 miles [43.5 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>
- Fingerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Duncan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
- Lyman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- 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>
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Thomas Forest, see our County-by-County Page for Thomas Forest.
Cemeteries Near Thomas Forest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Thomas Forest.
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 Thomas Forest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Thomas Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Capps Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Patterson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sentell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mud Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Bane Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pace Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Andrews Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oakdale Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (297 more) ...
- Beulah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- McCarson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Thomas Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Thomas Forest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Thomas Forest, with the one closest to Thomas Forest listed first.
- Flat Rock
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hendersonville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bowman Bluff
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bowman Bluff is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Bluff
- Zirconia
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Horse Shoe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Upward
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Upward is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- Penrose
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mills River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Saluda
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Baxter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Davidson River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Davidson River is located in Transylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson River
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Melrose
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Blue Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
- Cedar Mountain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Thomas Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Thomas Forest.
Newspapers Published in Thomas Forest ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Thomas Forest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Thomas Forest, there are papers which were published within 4 miles [6.4 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Thomas Forest.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Thomas Forest:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Henderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buncombe County
- Haywood County
- Jackson County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Transylvania County
- Greenville County
- Pickens County
- Spartanburg 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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Thomas Forest) 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 Thomas Forest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |