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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 Laurel Falls (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 Laurel Falls. 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.

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

  • Somerset County     (The home county of Laurel Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Summit Mills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
    • Coal Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Coal Run is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Run
    • Meyersdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Meyersdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
    • Garrett
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • West Salisbury
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
    • Boynton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Boynton is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
    • Salisbury
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Glade City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Glade City is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glade City
    • Althouse
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Althouse is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Althouse
    • Casselman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Casselman is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Markleton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Cooks Mills
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cooks Mills is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
    • Hyndman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Stringtown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Stringtown is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
    • Kegg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Kegg is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kegg
    • Beans Cove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Beans Cove is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Cove
    • Schellsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Manns Choice
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Seven Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Markleysburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Indian Head
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Indian Head is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head
    • Ohiopyle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Champion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Farmington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • White
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • White is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White
    • Mount Washington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Mount Washington is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Washington
    • South Connellsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Elliottsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Elliottsville is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliottsville
    • Bear Rocks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Bear Rocks is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Rocks
    • Connellsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunbar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Westmoreland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Donegal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Stahlstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rector
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Laughlintown
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Laurel Mountain
      (27 miles [43.5 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
    • Ligonier
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Oak Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Oak Grove is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Iron Bridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Bridge is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Bridge
    • Mount Joy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Joy is located in Westmoreland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Joy
  • Allegany County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Zihlman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Zihlman is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zihlman
    • Frostburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Midlothian
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Midlothian is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midlothian
    • Mount Savage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Barrelville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Barrelville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrelville
    • Borden Shaft
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Borden Shaft is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden Shaft
    • Eckhart Mines
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Eckhart Mines is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eckhart Mines
    • Klondike
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Klondike is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
    • Woodland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodland is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
    • Clarysville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Clarysville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarysville
    • Ocean
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Ocean is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean
    • Gilmore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Gilmore is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore
    • Loarville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Loarville is located in Allegany County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loarville
  • Garrett County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Grantsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Avilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Avilton is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilton
    • Bittinger
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Accident
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Friendsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • McHenry
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Bloomington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Bloomington is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington
    • Swanton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Altamont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Altamont is located in Garrett County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamont
    • Deer Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Kitzmiller
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Mineral County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Carpendale
      (21 miles [33.8 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiley Ford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Piedmont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Short Gap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Short Gap is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Gap
    • Windom ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Windom is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windom
    • Keyser
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Keyser is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,863 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keyser <1>
    • Shaw
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Shaw is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Fort Ashby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Elk Garden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Harrison
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Harrison is located in Mineral County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • New Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Preston County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Laurel Falls, with the one closest to Laurel Falls listed first.
    • Hazelton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Clifton Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Clifton Mills is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton Mills
    • Orr
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Orr is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orr
    • Brandonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Brandonville is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandonville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Morgans Glade
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Morgans Glade is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Glade
    • Bruceton Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Lenox
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lenox is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
    • Little Sandy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Little Sandy is located in Preston County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sandy

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

Cemeteries Near Laurel Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Laurel Falls.

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 Laurel Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Highland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Garrett Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Reformed Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Maple Glen Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Grantsville Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery
    • The Mt. Zion Reformed Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hays Reformed Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion - Hays Cemetery
    • Mt. Zion United Church of Christ (UCC) Cemetery
  • Younkin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Merrbach Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (233 more) ...
    • Negro Mountain Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ridgley Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • St. Anns Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)

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.<2>

While we didn't find Laurel Falls in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Laurel Falls.

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

  • Summit Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Summit Mills is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Mills
  • Shaw Mines
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Shaw Mines is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw Mines
  • West Salisbury
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • West Salisbury is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salisbury
  • Boynton
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Boynton is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boynton
  • Meyersdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • West Meyersdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • West Meyersdale is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Meyersdale
  • Salisbury Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Salisbury Junction is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Junction
  • Garrett
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Savage
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Savage is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
  • Casselman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Casselman is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casselman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
  • Markleton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pinkerton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Pinkerton is located in Somerset County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinkerton
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Rockwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Sand Patch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Sand Patch is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Patch
    • Shober
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Shober is located in Somerset County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shober

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

Newspapers Published in Laurel Falls ...

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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Laurel Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Laurel Falls, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Laurel Falls.

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 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 Laurel Falls:

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>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 Laurel Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Laurel Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.