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 Old Forge (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 Old Forge. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Old Forge is located in Franklin 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 Franklin County: Frederick (MD), Washington (MD), Adams, Cumberland, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata & Perry.
Below are the counties that are near Old Forge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Old Forge:
- Franklin County (The home county of Old Forge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Beartown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Beartown is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beartown
- Monterey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Monterey is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Blue Ridge Summit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Rouzerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rouzerville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rouzerville
- Nunnery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nunnery is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
- Quincy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mont Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pen Mar
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
- Wayne Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Wayne Heights is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Heights
- Waynesboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Brownsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Altenwald
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Altenwald is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altenwald
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Fairfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Virginia Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Jacks Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
- Carroll Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Orrtanna
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Zora
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Zora is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
- Cashtown - McKnightstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cashtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cashtown is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
- McKnightstown Station
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Trust
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Trust is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trust
- Greenmount
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Greenmount is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
- Cumberland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Shippensburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lees Cross Roads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Cross Roads
- Big Spring
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Big Spring is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
- Newburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Huntsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Huntsdale is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntsdale
- Hunters Run
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Hunters Run is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Montsera
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Montsera is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
- Newville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Barnitz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
- Mount Holly Springs
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bears Crossroads
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bears Crossroads is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bears Crossroads
- Washington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Washington is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington
- Fulton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- McConnellsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Burnt Cabins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burnt Cabins is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Cabins
- Knobsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Knobsville is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knobsville
- Websters Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Websters Mill is located in Fulton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Websters Mill
- Huntingdon County
- Neelyton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Neelyton is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neelyton
- York County
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Pennville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Pennville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
- Hanover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Parkville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Parkville is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
- Bandanna
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bandanna is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bandanna
- Uniontown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Uniontown is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- West Manheim
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- West Manheim is located in York County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Manheim
- Carroll County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Harney
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Harney is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harney
- Keysville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Keysville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keysville
- Bruceville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bruceville is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruceville
- Crabster ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Crabster is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabster
- Keymar
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Fairground Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairground Village is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairground Village
- Taneytown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bark Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bark Hill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bark Hill
- Union Bridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Linwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Linwood is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linwood
- McKinstrys Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- McKinstrys Mill is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKinstrys Mill
- Tyrone
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone is located in Carroll County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Frederick County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Sabillasville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Emmitsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Thurmont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Jimtown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
- Catoctin Furnace
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Catoctin Furnace is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catoctin Furnace
- Rocky Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Creagerstown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Creagerstown is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creagerstown
- Pleasant Walk
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Walk is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Walk
- New Midway
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
- Mountaindale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Mountaindale is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountaindale
- Ladiesburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
- Myersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Washington County (MD)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Highfield - Cascade
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highfield - Cascade is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield - Cascade
- Pen Mar
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- 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
- Hill Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
- Leitersburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Leitersburg is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leitersburg
- Smithsburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cavetown is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
- Greenvale Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
- Chewsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
- Paramount - Long Meadow
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
- Pondsville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Pondsville is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pondsville
- Bridgeport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
- Fountainhead - Orchard Hills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Berkeley County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Falling Waters
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Little Georgetown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Little Georgetown is located in Berkeley County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Georgetown
- Scrabble
(28 miles [45.1 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
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Old Forge, see our County-by-County Page for Old Forge.
Cemeteries Near Old Forge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Old Forge.
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 Old Forge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Old Forge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Fountaindale Union Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Strang Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Antietam Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antietam Church Cemetery
- The Antietam Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Prices Church Cemetery
- Trinity Fellowship Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1753915 <2>
- Harbaugh Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Jacobs Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fountaindale Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Fairfield Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Germantown Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- United Brethren Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Continue List (287 more) ...
- Otterbein Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Friends Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ringgold Graveyard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Old Forge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Old Forge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Old Forge, with the one closest to Old Forge listed first.
- Roadside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Roadside is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roadside
- Blue Ridge Summit
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fountain Dale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fountain Dale is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
- Quincy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nunnery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nunnery is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
- Waynesboro
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Midvale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Midvale is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Pen Mar
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Pen Mar is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pen Mar
- Highfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Highfield is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highfield
- Jacks Mountain
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jacks Mountain is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Mountain
- Fairfield
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Virginia Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Virginia Mills is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Mills
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Mont Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Knepper
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Knepper is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knepper
- Blue Mountain
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Blue Mountain is located in Washington County (MD)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mountain
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Old Forge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Old Forge.
Newspapers Published in Old Forge ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Old Forge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Old Forge, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Old Forge.
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 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 Old Forge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Franklin County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Cumberland County
- Fulton County
- Huntingdon County
- York County
- Carroll County
- Frederick County
- Washington County
- Berkeley County
- Jefferson County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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 Old Forge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Old Forge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |