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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 Westbridge (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 Westbridge. 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.

Westbridge 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 Westbridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Westbridge:

  • Henderson County     (The home county of Westbridge)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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
    • Claremont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Claremont is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • 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
    • 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)
    • Tuxedo
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Buncombe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge listed first.
    • Arden
      (13 miles [20.9 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)
    • Shiloh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Shiloh is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Enka Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Enka Village is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enka Village
    • Acton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Acton is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acton
    • Azalea
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Azalea is located in Buncombe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
  • Haywood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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)
      • Clyde is located in Haywood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clyde <1>
  • Jackson County
    • Argura
      (30 miles [48.3 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 Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge listed first.
    • Moffitt Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
    • 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
    • Old Fort
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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 Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge listed first.
    • Village of Chimney Rock Village
      (18 miles [29 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
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Lure
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Green Hill is located in Rutherford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
    • Otter Creek ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 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 Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge listed first.
    • Penrose
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Seven Springs
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
    • Cedar Mountain
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Pisgah Forest
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Brevard
      (13 miles [20.9 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>
    • 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)
      • Rosman is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosman <1>
    • Balsam Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Lake Toxaway
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Toxaway Falls ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Toxaway Falls is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toxaway Falls
    • Sapphire
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Greenville County (SC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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
    • 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 Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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
      (28 miles [45.1 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)
      • Pickens is located in Pickens County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pickens <1>
    • 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)
      • Easley is located in Pickens County (SC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21,626 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Easley <1>
    • 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 Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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 Westbridge, see our County-by-County Page for Westbridge.

Cemeteries Near Westbridge ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Westbridge.

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

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Capps Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Sentell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Patterson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • 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 north)
  • Continue List   (296 more) ...

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 Westbridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Westbridge.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Westbridge, with the one closest to Westbridge 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)
  • Upward
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Upward is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
  • Horse Shoe
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Penrose
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Saluda
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County (SC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
  • Mills River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Baxter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Baxter is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
  • Blue Ridge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Blue Ridge is located in Henderson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Melrose
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
    • Fruitland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fruitland is located in Henderson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
    • Davidson River
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Davidson River is located in Transylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davidson River

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

Newspapers Published in Westbridge ...

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 Westbridge.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Westbridge, 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 Westbridge.

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 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 Westbridge:

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