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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 Wildwood (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 Wildwood. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Wildwood is located in Orange 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 Orange County: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham & Person.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Wildwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Oakdale Farms
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Oakdale Farms is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Farms
    • University
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • University is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
    • Hillsborough
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Oak Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
    • Piney Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Piney Grove is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
    • Dimmocks Mill
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Dimmocks Mill is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmocks Mill
    • West Hillsborough
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Hillsborough is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hillsborough
    • New Hope
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • New Hope is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
    • Walnut Cove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Walnut Cove is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Cove
    • Garland Acres
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Garland Acres is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Acres
    • Brigadoon
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Brigadoon is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon
    • Fairview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fairview is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Blackwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Blackwood is located in Orange County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
  • Alamance County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Stagecoach Trail
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
    • Buena Vista Estates
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
    • Mebane
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Mebane is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mebane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,732 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mebane <1>
    • Brook Hollow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
    • Florence Town
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Florence Town is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
    • Hawfields
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Hawfields is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
    • Woodlawn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
    • Melville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Melville is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
    • Just Crossroads
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
    • Saxapahaw
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Eli Whitney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Eli Whitney is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eli Whitney
    • Cooper Estates
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Cooper Estates is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper Estates
    • Green Level
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Green Level is located in Alamance County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Level
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,341 people
  • Caswell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Prospect Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
    • Ridgeville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
    • Anderson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Anderson is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
    • Jericho
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jericho is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
    • Stony Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
    • Leasburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Yanceyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Locust Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • West Yanceyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
    • Ashland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ashland is located in Caswell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
  • Chatham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Fearrington Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
    • Bynum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Bynum is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
    • Pittsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cary
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Cary is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cary <1>
    • Haywood
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Haywood is located in Chatham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haywood
    • Moncure
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Siler City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Durham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • The American Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • The American Village is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
    • Durham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Gorman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Gorman is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
    • Bahama
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Rougemont
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Parkwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Parkwood is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
    • Brassfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Brassfield is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
    • Nelson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Nelson is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Hampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hampton is located in Durham County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
    • Morrisville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Granville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Butner
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Lyons
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Lyons is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
    • Stem
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Stem is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
    • Creedmoor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Hester
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Hester is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
    • Mount Energy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Mount Energy is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
    • Berea
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Berea is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
    • Providence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Providence is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Tar River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Tar River is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Wilton is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Clay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Clay is located in Granville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
  • Guilford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Gibsonville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Whitsett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Sedalia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Sedalia is located in Guilford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 689 people
  • Person County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Hurdle Mills
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Cates
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Cates is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
    • Timberlake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Allens Level
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Allens Level is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
    • Mount Tirzah
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
    • Moriah
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Moriah is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
    • Roseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Roseville is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
    • Whitt Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Whitt Town is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
    • Roxboro
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Hicks Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Hicks Village is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
    • Allensville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Allensville is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Concord is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Ceffo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Ceffo is located in Person County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
  • Randolph County
    • Liberty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Wake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wildwood, with the one closest to Wildwood listed first.
    • Dutchess Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
    • Hazelwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Hazelwood is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
    • Pickwick Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
    • Apex
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Apex is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apex
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Apex <1>
    • Indian Trail
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Indian Trail is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
    • Stony Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Stony Hill is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Hill
    • New Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Meredith Townes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
    • New Light
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • New Light is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
    • Woodbury Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
    • Glenwood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
    • Method
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Method is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
    • Fairmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairmont is located in Wake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairmont

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

Cemeteries Near Wildwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wildwood.

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

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

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

  • Cross Roads Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Mars Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Governor Burke Grave
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Restland Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rosewood Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunagan Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Chapel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • County Home Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Partin Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Cheek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Temple of Light Church Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple of Light Church Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Temple of Light Church Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the north of Hillsborough.
    • The Temple of Light Church Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Zion AME Church Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion Memorial Gardens
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254144 <3>
  • Continue List   (108 more) ...
    • Tilley Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Eno Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

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

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

  • Hillsborough
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Blackwood
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Blackwood is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
  • Efland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Teer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Teer is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
  • Chapel Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Mebane
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Mebane is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mebane
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,732 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mebane <1>
  • Oaks
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Oaks is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
  • Durham
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Hawfields
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Hawfields is located in Alamance County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
  • Fairntosh
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fairntosh is located in Durham County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairntosh
  • Laws
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Laws is located in Orange County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Wildwood ...

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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wildwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wildwood, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wildwood.

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 Wildwood:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Wildwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Wildwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.