RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> Commonwealth of Pennsylvania >> Blair County >> Highland Fling >> 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 Highland Fling (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 Highland Fling. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Highland Fling is primarily located in Blair County. A portion of Highland Fling extends into Cambria 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 Blair County: Bedford, Cambria, Centre & Huntingdon.

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

  • Blair County     (The home county of Highland Fling)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Fling, with the one closest to Highland Fling listed first.
    • Altoona
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,751 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <1>
    • Tipton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Canan
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Canan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
      • Canan is located in Blair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Canan
      • From Highland Fling to Canan
    • Culp
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Culp. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
      • Culp is located in Blair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Culp
      • From Highland Fling to Culp
    • Grazierville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Duncansville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Duncansville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncansville
      • Duncansville is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,148 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Duncansville <1>
    • Hollidaysburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Frankstown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tyrone Forge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Tyrone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyrone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
      • Tyrone is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,095 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tyrone <1>
    • Flowing Spring
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Newry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Bedford County
  • Cambria County
  • Centre County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Fling, with the one closest to Highland Fling listed first.
    • Sandy Ridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
      • Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
    • New Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
      • New Town is located in Centre County
    • Glass City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glass City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
      • Glass City is located in Centre County
    • Marengo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marengo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
      • Marengo is located in Centre County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marengo
      • From Highland Fling to Marengo
    • South Philipsburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
      • South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
    • Philipsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philipsburg
      • Philipsburg is located in Centre County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,678 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Philipsburg <1>
    • Musser
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Musser. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
      • Musser is located in Centre County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Musser
      • From Highland Fling to Musser
    • North Philipsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Philipsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
      • North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
    • Port Matilda
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Matilda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Matilda
      • Port Matilda is located in Centre County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 582 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Matilda <1>
    • Stormstown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stormstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
      • Stormstown is located in Centre County
    • Ramblewood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ramblewood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
      • Ramblewood is located in Centre County
    • Fairbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbrook
      • Fairbrook is located in Centre County
    • Casanova
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Clearfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Fling, with the one closest to Highland Fling listed first.
    • Utahville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Coalport
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lyleville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Blain City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Rosebud
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosebud. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
      • Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rosebud
      • From Highland Fling to Rosebud
    • Ginter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ginter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ginter
      • Ginter is located in Clearfield County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ginter
      • From Highland Fling to Ginter
    • Hegarty Crossroads
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Irvona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Glen Hope
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ramey
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Houtzdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houtzdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houtzdale
      • Houtzdale is located in Clearfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 739 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Houtzdale <1>
    • McPherron
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Westover
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westover
      • Westover is located in Clearfield County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 374 people
  • Huntingdon County
  • Indiana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Highland Fling, with the one closest to Highland Fling listed first.
    • Alverda
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Uniontown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uniontown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
      • Uniontown is located in Indiana County
    • Grisemore
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Cherry Tree
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
      • Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Heilwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heilwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heilwood
      • Heilwood is located in Indiana County
    • Glen Campbell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glen Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Campbell
      • Glen Campbell is located in Indiana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glen Campbell <1>
    • Hillsdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hooverhurst
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cookport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pine Flats
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Rexis
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Kenwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Nolo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Somerset County

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

Cemeteries Near Highland Fling ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Highland Fling.

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

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

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

  • Wopsononock
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wopsononock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wopsononock
    • Wopsononock is located in Blair County
  • Dean
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dean. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
    • Dean is located in Cambria County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dean
    • From Highland Fling to Dean
  • Condron
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Condron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Condron
    • Condron is located in Cambria County
  • Dysart
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Frugality
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frugality have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frugality
    • Frugality is located in Cambria County
  • Roots
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roots have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roots
    • Roots is located in Blair County
  • Ashville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Altoona
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Juniata
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juniata have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniata
    • Juniata is located in Blair County
  • Lloydville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lloydville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
    • Lloydville is located in Cambria County
  • Amsbry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Elstie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elstie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elstie
    • Elstie is located in Cambria County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Van Ormer
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Van Ormer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Ormer
      • Van Ormer is located in Cambria County
    • Bellwood
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Blair County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,751 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <1>
    • Fostoria
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fostoria have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Fostoria is located in Blair County

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

Newspapers Published in Highland Fling ...

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 68 newspapers that have been published in the area around Highland Fling.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Highland Fling, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Highland Fling.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Highland Fling:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Highland Fling. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Highland Fling, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Highland Fling) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Highland Fling. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5916, Longitude: -78.4478    









 

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