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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 Cheesetown (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 Cheesetown. 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 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.

Cheesetown 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 Cheesetown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cheesetown:

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Cheesetown)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Trust
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
      • Trust is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Trust
      • From Cheesetown to Trust
    • Cashtown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Orrtanna
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrtanna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • McKnightstown Station
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Virginia Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Arendtsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacks Mountain
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Mummasburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Seven Stars
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
    • Carroll Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Breezewood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Breezewood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Breezewood
      • Breezewood is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Breezewood <1>
    • Saxton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saxton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxton
      • Saxton is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 679 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saxton <1>
    • Coaldale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coaldale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
      • Coaldale is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 151 people
    • Graceville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Hopewell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hopewell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
      • Hopewell is located in Bedford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hopewell <1>
  • Cumberland County
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Burnt Cabins
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Knobsville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Fort Littleton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Littleton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Littleton
      • Fort Littleton is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Littleton <1>
    • McConnellsburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McConnellsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Clear Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Harrisonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrisonville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrisonville
      • Harrisonville is located in Fulton County
    • Websters Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Laidig
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laidig. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laidig
      • Laidig is located in Fulton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Laidig
      • From Cheesetown to Laidig
    • Waterfall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Sipes Mill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Covalt
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Covalt. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covalt
      • Covalt is located in Fulton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Covalt
      • From Cheesetown to Covalt
  • Huntingdon County
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Waterloo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waterloo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
      • Waterloo is located in Juniata County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Waterloo
      • From Cheesetown to Waterloo
    • Perulack
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • East Rutherford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Rutherford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rutherford
      • East Rutherford is located in Juniata County
    • Peru Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mifflin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Kistler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kistler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kistler
      • Kistler is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
    • Newton Hamilton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton Hamilton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton Hamilton
      • Newton Hamilton is located in Mifflin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
  • Perry County
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabillasville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Emmitsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmitsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Thurmont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jimtown
      (29 miles [46.7 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
      • Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jimtown
      • From Cheesetown to Jimtown
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Hill Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Leitersburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Long Meadow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadow
      • Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Maugansville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Pen Mar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fairview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
      • Fairview is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fairview
      • From Cheesetown to Fairview
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bridgeport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Cavetown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Chewsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chewsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
  • Berkeley County (WV)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown listed first.
    • Cherry Run
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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.<2>
      • 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 Cheesetown to Cherry Run
    • Sleepy Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Cheesetown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cheesetown.

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 Cheesetown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cheesetown, with the one closest to Cheesetown 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 Cheesetown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cheesetown.

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

  • Chambersburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Keefers
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keefers have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keefers
    • Keefers is located in Franklin County
  • Guilford Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Green Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Scotland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotland
    • Scotland is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scotland <1>
  • Edenville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edenville
    • Edenville is located in Franklin County
  • Saint Thomas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Saint Thomas is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Thomas <1>
  • Housum
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Housum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Housum
    • Housum is located in Franklin County
  • New Franklin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodstock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
    • Woodstock is located in Franklin County
  • Pleasant Hall
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Upper Strasburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Upper Strasburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Strasburg
    • Upper Strasburg is located in Franklin County
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Marion
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Orrstown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Duffield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duffield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffield
      • Duffield 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 Cheesetown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cheesetown.

Newspapers Published in Cheesetown ...

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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cheesetown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cheesetown, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cheesetown.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Cheesetown:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cheesetown. 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<3>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.
<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 Cheesetown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Cheesetown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cheesetown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9662, Longitude: -77.6942    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025