RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Adams County >> Fountain Dale >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Fountain Dale (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 Fountain Dale. 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 doctors and 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.

Fountain Dale is located in Adams 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 Adams County: Carroll (MD), Frederick (MD), Cumberland, Franklin & York.

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

  • Adams County     (The home county of Fountain Dale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Jacks Mountain
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
    • Carroll Valley
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Zora
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Zora is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
    • Fairfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Virginia Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
    • Greenmount
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Greenmount is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
    • Orrtanna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • McKnightstown Station
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Cashtown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Seven Stars
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Gettysburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mummasburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Mummasburg is located in Adams County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mummasburg
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Shippensburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
    • Huntsdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
    • Big Spring
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Montsera
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
    • Hunters Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
    • Barnitz
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
    • Newburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Mount Holly Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Newville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Blue Ridge Summit
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Monterey
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Monterey is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
    • Beartown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Beartown is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
    • Pen Mar
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
    • Rouzerville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Rouzerville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouzerville
    • Wayne Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Wayne Heights is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Heights
    • Waynesboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Nunnery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
    • Quincy
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Mont Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Zullinger
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Zullinger is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zullinger
    • Caledonia Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
    • Altenwald
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Altenwald is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Pennville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Pennville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
    • Hanover
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Parkville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Parkville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
    • Bandanna
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Bandanna is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandanna
    • West Manheim
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • West Manheim is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Manheim
    • Blackrock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Blackrock is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackrock
    • Valley Junction
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Valley Junction is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
    • Uniontown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Uniontown is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
  • Carroll County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Keysville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
    • Harney
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
    • Bruceville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
    • Crabster ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
    • Taneytown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Keymar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairground Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
    • Bark Hill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
    • Union Bridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Linwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Linwood is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
    • Tyrone
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Tyrone is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
    • Uniontown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Uniontown is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
    • McKinstrys Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • McKinstrys Mill is located in Carroll County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinstrys Mill
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Emmitsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Thurmont
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Jimtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
    • Rocky Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ladiesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
    • New Midway
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
    • Mountaindale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
    • Woodsboro
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodsboro is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,302 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <1>
    • Pleasant Walk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
    • Centerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerville is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
    • Pen Mar
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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
    • Smithsburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavetown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
    • Hill Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
    • Leitersburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
    • Greenvale Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
    • Pondsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Pondsville is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
    • Chewsville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
    • Mount Aetna
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Aetna is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Aetna
    • Robinwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Robinwood is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinwood
    • Bridgeport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
  • Berkeley County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale listed first.
    • Falling Waters
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Scrabble
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Scrabble is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scrabble
    • Bedington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bedington is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedington
    • Little Georgetown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
    • Swan Pond
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Swan Pond is located in Berkeley County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Pond
  • Jefferson County (WV)
    • Shepherdstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Fountain Dale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fountain Dale.

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 Fountain Dale - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fountain Dale, with the one closest to Fountain Dale 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fountain Dale had a population of 172 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Jacks Mountain
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
  • Blue Ridge Summit
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Highfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Highfield is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
  • Sabillasville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pen Mar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
  • Fairfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Midvale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Midvale is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
  • Blue Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Mountain is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
  • Virginia Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
  • Roadside
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Roadside is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
  • Emmitsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Ringgold
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Ringgold is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Edgemont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Edgemont is located in Washington County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont
    • Foxville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Foxville is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxville
    • Motters
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Motters is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motters

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

Newspapers Published in Fountain Dale ...

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 Fountain Dale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fountain Dale, 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 Fountain Dale.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Fountain Dale:

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 Fountain Dale, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fountain Dale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.