RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Franklin County >> Guilford Springs >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Pennsylvania

The Commemorative Quarter for Pennsylvania





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 Guilford 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 Guilford 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 Guilford 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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Guilford Springs: Guilford Spgs. (or less commonly used: Guilford Spngs. or Guilford Sprngs.)

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

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

  • Franklin County     (The home county of Guilford Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Chambersburg
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • New Franklin
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Marion
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Cashtown
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cheesetown
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Kauffman
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Guilford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guilford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilford
      • Guilford is located in Franklin County
    • West Fayetteville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Fayetteville
      • West Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
    • Clay Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Altenwald
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fayetteville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
      • Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayetteville <1>
    • Saint Thomas
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Green Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Trust
      (14 miles [22.5 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 Guilford Springs to Trust
    • Cashtown
      (16 miles [25.7 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
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Orrtanna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Virginia Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jacks Mountain
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • McKnightstown Station
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Carroll Valley
      (18 miles [29 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>
    • Zora
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
      • Zora is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zora
      • From Guilford Springs to Zora
    • Arendtsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mummasburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Seven Stars
      (20 miles [32.2 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
  • Bedford County
    • Breezewood
      (30 miles [48.3 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>
  • Cumberland County
  • Fulton County
  • Huntingdon County
  • Juniata County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Waterloo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Perulack
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Perry County
  • Carroll County (MD)
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Sabillasville
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jimtown
      (25 miles [40.2 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 Guilford Springs to Jimtown
    • Myersville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Myersville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <1>
    • Creagerstown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Rocky Ridge
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountaindale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Frostown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Bolivar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bolivar. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivar
      • Bolivar is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bolivar
      • From Guilford Springs to Bolivar
    • New Midway
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Hill Village
      (13 miles [20.9 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Leitersburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Long Meadow
      (14 miles [22.5 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Pen Mar
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview
      (15 miles [24.1 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 Guilford Springs to Fairview
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Bridgeport
      (17 miles [27.4 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)
    • Chewsville
      (17 miles [27.4 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)
    • Hagerstown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Smithsburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Berkeley County (WV)
  • Morgan County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford Springs listed first.
    • Cherry Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sleepy Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Holton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holton
      • Holton is located in Morgan County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holton
      • From Guilford Springs to Holton
    • Hancock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Guilford Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Guilford 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.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Guilford Springs, with the one closest to Guilford 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Guilford Springs had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Marion
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • New Franklin
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Chambersburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Housum
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • 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
  • Kauffman
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Clay Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Altenwald
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Duffield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Woodstock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Fayetteville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayetteville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayetteville
    • Fayetteville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayetteville <1>
  • Scotland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
  • Saint Thomas
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • 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>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Guilford 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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Guilford Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Guilford Springs, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Guilford Springs.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Guilford Springs:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Guilford Springs. 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 Guilford Springs, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Guilford Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Guilford Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8977, Longitude: -77.6752    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025