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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 Buena Vista Springs (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 Buena Vista Springs. 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 Buena Vista Springs ...

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 Buena Vista Springs: Buena Vista Spgs. (or less commonly used: Buena Vista Spngs. or Buena Vista Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Buena Vista Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Buena Vista Springs.

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 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.

Buena Vista Springs is located in Franklin County.

To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may 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 Buena Vista Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Buena Vista Springs:

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Buena Vista Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Beartown
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Beartown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
    • Pen Mar
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
    • Blue Ridge Summit
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Monterey
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Monterey is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Rouzerville
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rouzerville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouzerville
    • Wayne Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Wayne Heights is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Heights
    • Waynesboro
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Nunnery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
    • Quincy
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Zullinger
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Zullinger is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zullinger
    • Mont Alto
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Waynecastle
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Waynecastle is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waynecastle
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Jacks Mountain
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
    • Carroll Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Zora
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Zora is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
    • Fairfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Virginia Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
    • Orrtanna
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenmount
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Greenmount is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
    • Cashtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
    • McKnightstown Station
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Seven Stars
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Trust
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Trust is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Shippensburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
    • Big Spring
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Huntsdale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
    • Newburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hunters Run
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
    • Montsera
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
    • Newville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Barnitz
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • McConnellsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Websters Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
    • Knobsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Knobsville is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Hanover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Pennville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pennville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
    • Parkville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Parkville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
    • Bandanna
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Bandanna is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandanna
  • Carroll County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Keysville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Harney
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
    • Bruceville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
    • Keymar
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Crabster ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
    • Taneytown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Fairground Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
    • Union Bridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bark Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
    • Linwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Linwood is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • McKinstrys Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • McKinstrys Mill is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinstrys Mill
    • Uniontown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Thurmont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Thurmont is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thurmont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,070 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thurmont <1>
    • Emmitsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jimtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
    • Creagerstown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
    • Pleasant Walk
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
    • Rocky Ridge
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountaindale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
    • Myersville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ladiesburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
    • New Midway
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Pen Mar
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Pen Mar is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
      • Pen Mar has also been known as:
      • Pen Mar Park
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
    • Leitersburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
    • Smithsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hill Village
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
    • Cavetown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
    • Greenvale Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
    • Pondsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Pondsville is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
    • Chewsville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
    • Robinwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Robinwood is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinwood
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
    • Bridgeport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
  • Berkeley County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Falling Waters
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Scrabble
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Scrabble is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Bedington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Bedington is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedington
    • Little Georgetown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
    • Swan Pond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Swan Pond is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Pond
    • Hedgesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Jefferson County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs listed first.
    • Shepherdstown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Harpers Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Lower Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lower Town is located in Jefferson County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Town
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • Cherry Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Cherry Run is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Run

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

Cemeteries Near Buena Vista Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Buena Vista Springs.

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 Buena Vista Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Buena Vista Springs, with the one closest to Buena Vista Springs 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.<3>

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

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

  • Pen Mar
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
  • Highfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Highfield is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
  • Blue Ridge Summit
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Midvale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Midvale is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
  • Blue Mountain
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Mountain is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
  • Roadside
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Roadside is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
  • Ringgold
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ringgold is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
  • Sabillasville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Fountain Dale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Fountain Dale is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
  • Edgemont
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Edgemont is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont
  • Waynesboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Jacks Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Nunnery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
    • Leitersburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
    • Smithsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Buena Vista Springs ...

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 Buena Vista Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Buena Vista Springs, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Buena Vista Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Buena Vista Springs:

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>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 Buena Vista Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Buena Vista Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.