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 Waterville Valley (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 Waterville Valley. 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 Waterville Valley ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Waterville Valley: Waterville Vly. (or less commonly used: Waterville Vally. or Waterville Vlly.)
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 northeast 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 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 east 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.
Waterville Valley is located in Grafton County.
To see how the shape of New Hampshire's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grafton County: Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Merrimack, Sullivan, Caledonia (VT), Essex (VT), Orange (VT) & Windsor (VT).
Below are the counties that are near Waterville Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Waterville Valley:
- Grafton County (The home county of Waterville Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Campton Lower Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Campton Upper Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Thornton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Campton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Woodstock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Lincoln
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- The Village of Loon Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- North Woodstock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Holderness
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellsworth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Ellsworth is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
- Plymouth
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Belknap County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Center Harbor
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Meredith
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Winona
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Winona is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winona
- Interlaken Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Interlaken Park is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Interlaken Park
- Glendale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Glendale is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
- New Hampton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Samoset
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Samoset is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samoset
- Gilford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Spring Haven
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Spring Haven is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Haven
- West Alton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- West Alton is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Alton
- Wildwood Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wildwood Village is located in Belknap County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Village
- Laconia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Ferncroft
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Ferncroft is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferncroft
- Whiteface
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Whiteface is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteface
- Wonalancet
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Wonalancet is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonalancet
- North Sandwich
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Passaconaway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Passaconaway is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Passaconaway
- Chicks Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Chicks Corner is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicks Corner
- Sandwich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sandwich is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,367 people
- Albany
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Big Rock Corner
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Big Rock Corner is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock Corner
- South Tamworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Tamworth is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tamworth
- Tamworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Whittier
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Whittier is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittier
- Coos County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Hadleys Purchase
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Hadleys Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadleys Purchase
- Cutts Grant
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cutts Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutts Grant
- Sargents Purchase
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Sargents Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargents Purchase
- Beans Grant
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Beans Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Grant
- Chandlers Purchase
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Chandlers Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandlers Purchase
- Crawfords Purchase
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Crawfords Purchase is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawfords Purchase
- Fabyan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fabyan is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fabyan
- Pinkhams Grant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Pinkhams Grant is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkhams Grant
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9 people
- Carroll
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Carroll is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll
- Population from the 2020 Census: 755 people
- Thompson and Meserves Purchase
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Low and Burbanks Grant
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Glen House
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Glen House is located in Coos County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen House
- Merrimack County
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hill is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,115 people
- Hill Center
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Center is located in Merrimack County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Center
- Oxford County (ME)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Fryeburg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Merrill Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Merrill Corner is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill Corner
- Brownfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Porter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Porter is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
- Fryeburg Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Fryeburg Center is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fryeburg Center
- North Fryeburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Fryeburg is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fryeburg
- East Brownfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- East Brownfield is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brownfield
- Stow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kezar Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Kezar Falls is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kezar Falls
- East Fryeburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- East Fryeburg is located in Oxford County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fryeburg
- York County (ME)
- The following are listed by their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- South Effingham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Effingham is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Effingham
- North Parsonsfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- North Parsonsfield is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Parsonsfield
- Parsonsfield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stevens Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Stevens Corner is located in York County (ME)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Corner
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Waterville Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Waterville Valley.
Cemeteries Near Waterville Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waterville Valley.
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 Waterville Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Waterville Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- Elm Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mad River Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Stevenson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Little Pond Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Hubbard Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mason Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the northwest of Thornton.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #103040 <3>
- Campton Hollow Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Chocorua Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Blair Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (147 more) ...
- Prescott Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Lee Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
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 Waterville Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Waterville Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Waterville Valley, with the one closest to Waterville Valley listed first.
- North Sandwich
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Center Sandwich
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sandwich
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Sandwich is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,367 people
- South Tamworth
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- South Tamworth is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Tamworth
- Thornton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tamworth
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- West Campton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- West Campton is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Campton
- Campton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Moultonborough
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Chocorua
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Thornton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- West Thornton is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Thornton
- Blair
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blair is located in Grafton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Woodstock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- West Ossipee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Sawyers River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Sawyers River is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyers River
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Waterville Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Waterville Valley.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waterville Valley ...
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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waterville Valley.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Waterville Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Waterville Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Waterville Valley.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<2> of Waterville Valley.
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 Waterville Valley:
- Websites specific to New Hampshire
- Pages specific to Grafton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Belknap County
- Carroll County
- Coos County
- Merrimack County
- Oxford County
- York County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for New Hampshire
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Waterville Valley) 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 Waterville Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |