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 Willow Ridge (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 Willow Ridge. 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.
Name Variations for Willow Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Willow Ridge: Willow Rdg. (or less commonly used: Willow Rdge. or Willow Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Willow Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Willow Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 and hospitals 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.
Willow Ridge 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 Willow Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Willow Ridge:
- Orange County (The home county of Willow Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Pleasant Green Estates
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Brigadoon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Brigadoon is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon
- Eno
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eno is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eno
- University
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- University is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- Oak Ridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Oak Ridge is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Piney Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Piney Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- University Acres
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- University Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Acres
- Charter Meadows
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Charter Meadows is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charter Meadows
- Schley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Schley is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Schley
- Hillsborough
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Caldwell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Caldwell is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell
- Blackwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Stagecoach Trail
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Buena Vista Estates
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Mebane
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Brook Hollow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Woodlawn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Just Crossroads
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Florence Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Hawfields
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Green Level
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Melville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Pleasant Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Cooper Estates
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cooper Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper Estates
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(16 miles [25.7 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 northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Leasburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Jericho
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Stony Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Yanceyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Semora
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Cary
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bynum
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Pittsboro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- The American Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bahama
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Gorman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Rougemont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Hampton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Brassfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Parkwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Nelson
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Morrisville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Wake Forest
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Youngsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Franklinton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Butner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Creedmoor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Stem
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Hester
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Mount Energy
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Mount Energy is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
- Berea
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Berea is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Providence
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Tar River
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tar River is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
- Wilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wilton is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Clay
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Clay is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Oxford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cates
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Mount Tirzah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Timberlake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Moriah
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Allens Level
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Roseville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Whitt Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Roxboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Allensville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Hicks Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- New Light
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- New Light is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Stony Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Stony Hill is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Hill
- Hazelwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Pickwick Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
- Dutchess Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Meredith Townes
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
- Woodbury Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
- Indian Trail
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- Falls
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Falls is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls
- Apex
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Glenwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Method
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Method is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Willow Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Willow Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Willow Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Ridge.
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 Willow Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Willow Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Dunagan Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Chapel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Latta Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Governor Burke Grave
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Restland Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Partin Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Continue List (119 more) ...
- Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Beechwood Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glenview Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
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 Willow Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Willow Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Willow Ridge, with the one closest to Willow Ridge listed first.
- Hillsborough
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Blackwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Durham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fairntosh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fairntosh is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairntosh
- Bahama
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mountain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Red Mountain is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mountain
- Rougemont
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Efland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Cozart
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Cozart is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cozart
- Chapel Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Brassfield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Knap of Reeds
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Knap of Reeds is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knap of Reeds
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Cedar Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Hurdle Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Laws
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Willow Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Willow Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Willow Ridge ...
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 44 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Willow Ridge, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Willow Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Willow Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Chatham County
- Durham County
- Franklin County
- Granville County
- Person County
- Wake 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willow Ridge) 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 Willow Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |