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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 Fort Hill (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 Fort Hill. 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 Fort Hill ...

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 Fort Hill: Ft. Hill

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

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.

Fort Hill is located in Somerset 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 Somerset County: Allegany (MD), Garrett (MD), Bedford, Cambria, Fayette & Westmoreland.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Fort Hill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Markleton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Confluence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Casselman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Casselman is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Listonburg
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Listonburg is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
    • Draketown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Draketown is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
    • Addison
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Addison is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Addison <1>
    • Ursina
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Ursina is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
    • New Lexington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • New Lexington is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
    • New Centerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • New Centerville is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Centerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Rockwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Coal Run
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Coal Run is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Summit Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Summit Mills is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Hyndman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Stringtown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Markleysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ohiopyle
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Seven Springs
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Indian Head
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Farmington
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Mount Washington
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
    • Champion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • White
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • South Connellsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliottsville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
    • Dunbar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Independence
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Mount Independence is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Independence
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Donegal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Stahlstown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Rector
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Iron Bridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
    • Mount Joy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
    • Scottdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • West Overton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • West Overton is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Overton
    • Laughlintown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Laurel Mountain is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Mountain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 153 people
      • Laurel Mountain has also been known as:
      • Laurel Mountain Park
    • Hawkeye
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawkeye is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
    • Kecksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kecksburg is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kecksburg
    • Mount Pleasant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Midlothian
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Borden Shaft
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Frostburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Klondike
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Mount Savage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Zihlman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Eckhart Mines
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Lonaconing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Midland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Midland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Ocean
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Barrelville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Grantsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Friendsville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Accident
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bittinger
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Avilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • McHenry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Swanton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bloomington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Altamont
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Deer Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Mountain Lake Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Mountain Lake Park is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,065 people
    • Hutton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Hutton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutton
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Piedmont
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Windom was located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Shaw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Carpendale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Carpendale is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpendale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
    • Ridgeley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Preston County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Hill, with the one closest to Fort Hill listed first.
    • Hazelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Clifton Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
    • Brandonville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Bruceton Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Morgans Glade
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
    • Orr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Lenox
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
    • Little Sandy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy
    • Rockville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Albright
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Terra Alta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Fort Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Hill.

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 Fort Hill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Younkin Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Ursina Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Crossroads Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Old Jersey Church Turkeyfoot Baptist Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Turney Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sands Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Imel Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Great Crossings Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John's English Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Grantsville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Maple Glen Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Scarlet Knob Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (227 more) ...
    • Thomas Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Negro Mountain Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Highland Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Fort Hill had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Pinkerton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pinkerton is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkerton
  • Harnedsville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Harnedsville is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harnedsville
  • Dumas
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dumas is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumas
  • Markleton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Confluence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Kingwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Kingwood is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingwood
  • Listonburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Listonburg is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Listonburg
  • Savage
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Savage is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
  • Casselman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Casselman is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
  • Draketown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Draketown is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draketown
  • Ursina
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ursina is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ursina
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 211 people
  • Addison
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Addison is also located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Addison <1>
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • New Lexington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • New Lexington is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lexington
    • Somerfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Somerfield is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerfield
    • Scullton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Scullton is also located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scullton

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

Newspapers Published in Fort Hill ...

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 38 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fort Hill, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fort Hill.

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 Fort Hill:

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 Fort Hill, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort Hill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.