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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 Beartown (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 Beartown. 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 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.

Beartown is located in Franklin County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Franklin County: Frederick (MD), Washington (MD), Adams, Cumberland, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata & Perry.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Beartown)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • Jacks Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Carroll Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carroll Valley
      • Carroll Valley is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carroll Valley <2>
    • Fairfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Zora
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zora. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
      • Zora is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zora
      • From Beartown to Zora
    • Virginia Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Orrtanna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrtanna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrtanna
      • Orrtanna is located in Adams County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orrtanna <2>
    • Greenmount
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cashtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
    • McKnightstown Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Seven Stars
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
    • Trust
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trust. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
      • Trust is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Trust
      • From Beartown to Trust
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • Shippensburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shippensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippensburg
      • Shippensburg is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,682 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shippensburg <2>
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Huntsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Big Spring
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Big Spring. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
      • Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Big Spring
      • From Beartown to Big Spring
    • Newburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
      • Newburg is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newburg <2>
    • Hunters Run
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Montsera
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montsera. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montsera
      • From Beartown to Montsera
    • Barnitz
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnitz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barnitz
      • From Beartown to Barnitz
    • Newville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Mount Holly Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly Springs
      • Mount Holly Springs is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,052 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Holly Springs <2>
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • McConnellsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McConnellsburg
      • McConnellsburg is located in Fulton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 999 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McConnellsburg <2>
    • Websters Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Knobsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • Pennville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
      • Pennville is located in York County
    • Hanover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Parkville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
      • Parkville is located in York County
    • Bandanna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • West Manheim
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Carroll County (MD)
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabillasville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabillasville
      • Sabillasville is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabillasville <2>
    • Emmitsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmitsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmitsburg
      • Emmitsburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmitsburg <2>
    • Thurmont
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jimtown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jimtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
      • Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jimtown
      • From Beartown to Jimtown
    • Creagerstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocky Ridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountaindale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Myersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myersville
      • Myersville is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Myersville <2>
    • New Midway
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
    • Ladiesburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ladiesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
      • Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
    • Woodsboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Woodsboro is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,302 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <2>
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beartown, with the one closest to Beartown listed first.
    • Pen Mar
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Hill Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Leitersburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Smithsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavetown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenvale Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenvale Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
      • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Pondsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Chewsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chewsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Bridgeport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Mount Aetna
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Aetna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Aetna
      • Mount Aetna is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Long Meadow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
      • Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Berkeley County (WV)
  • Jefferson County (WV)
    • Shepherdstown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shepherdstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherdstown
      • Shepherdstown is located in Jefferson County (WV)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,922 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shepherdstown <2>
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • Cherry Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cherry Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run
      • Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cherry Run
      • From Beartown to Cherry Run

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

Cemeteries Near Beartown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beartown.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

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.<5>

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

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

  • Pen Mar
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Midvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midvale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
    • Midvale is located in Franklin County
  • Highfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Highfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
    • Highfield is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Blue Ridge Summit
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Roadside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roadside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
    • Roadside is located in Franklin County
  • Blue Mountain
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
    • Blue Mountain is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Sabillasville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabillasville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabillasville
    • Sabillasville is located in Frederick County (MD)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sabillasville <2>
  • Fountain Dale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
    • Fountain Dale is located in Adams County
  • Ringgold
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ringgold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
    • Ringgold is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Waynesboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Edgemont
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont
    • Edgemont is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Jacks Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Quincy
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Nunnery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nunnery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nunnery
      • From Beartown to Nunnery
    • Five Forks
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
      • Five Forks is located in Franklin County

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

Newspapers Published in Beartown ...

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 Beartown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Beartown, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Beartown.

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 Beartown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Beartown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Franklin County: www.co.franklin.pa.us/

The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Beartown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Beartown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beartown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.7452, Longitude: -77.5004    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025