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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 Virginia Mills (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 Virginia Mills. 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 Virginia Mills ...

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 Virginia Mills: Virginia Mls. (or less commonly used: Virginia Mlls.)

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

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

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

  • Adams County     (The home county of Virginia Mills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Fairfield
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Orrtanna
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrtanna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Carroll Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carroll Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Jacks Mountain
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • McKnightstown Station
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Zora
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zora
      • Zora is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zora
      • From Virginia Mills to Zora
    • Cashtown - McKnightstown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Cashtown
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
      • Cashtown is located in Adams County
    • Seven Stars
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
      • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
    • Greenmount
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gettysburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Mummasburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Lees Cross Roads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Shippensburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shippensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shippensburg
      • Shippensburg is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,682 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shippensburg <1>
    • Huntsdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hunters Run
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Montsera
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montsera. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montsera
      • Montsera is located in Cumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montsera
      • From Virginia Mills to Montsera
    • Big Spring
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Barnitz
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barnitz. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnitz
      • Barnitz is located in Cumberland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barnitz
      • From Virginia Mills to Barnitz
    • Mount Holly Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly Springs
      • Mount Holly Springs is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,052 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Holly Springs <1>
    • Newburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newburg
      • Newburg is located in Cumberland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newburg <1>
    • Newville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Craighead
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bears Crossroads
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Monterey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monterey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Monterey is located in Franklin County
    • Beartown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue Ridge Summit
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Caledonia Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caledonia Park have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia Park
      • Caledonia Park is located in Franklin County
    • Pen Mar
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Union
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
      • Mount Union is located in Franklin County
    • Rouzerville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mont Alto
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Brownsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
      • Brownsville is located in Franklin County
    • Wayne Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayne Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayne Heights
      • Wayne Heights is located in Franklin County
    • Nunnery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nunnery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunnery
      • Nunnery is located in Franklin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nunnery
      • From Virginia Mills to Nunnery
    • Quincy
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Hanover
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Pennville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennville
      • Pennville is located in York County
    • Parkville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
      • Parkville is located in York County
    • Bandanna
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Uniontown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 York County
    • West Manheim
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • La Bott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Valley Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Blackrock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Spring Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in York County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,179 people
    • Mount Top
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Davidsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Carroll County (MD)
  • Frederick County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Emmitsburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmitsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Sabillasville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sabillasville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
    • Thurmont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jimtown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
      • Jimtown is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jimtown
      • From Virginia Mills to Jimtown
    • Rocky Ridge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Catoctin Furnace
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Creagerstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Ladiesburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ladiesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladiesburg
      • Ladiesburg is located in Frederick County (MD)
    • New Midway
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Midway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Midway
      • New Midway is located in Frederick County (MD)
    • Mountaindale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Woodsboro
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodsboro
      • Woodsboro is located in Frederick County (MD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,302 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodsboro <1>
    • Daysville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Washington County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills listed first.
    • Highfield - Cascade
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pen Mar
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hill Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Village
      • Hill Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Smithsburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavetown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Leitersburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenvale Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenvale Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale Village
      • Greenvale Village is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Pondsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Chewsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chewsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chewsville
      • Chewsville is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Paramount - Long Meadow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paramount - Long Meadow
      • Paramount - Long Meadow is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Robinwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robinwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinwood
      • Robinwood is located in Washington County (MD)
    • Bridgeport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridgeport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
      • Bridgeport is located in Washington County (MD)

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

Cemeteries Near Virginia Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Virginia Mills.

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 Virginia Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Virginia Mills, with the one closest to Virginia Mills 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, Virginia Mills had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Fairfield
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Jacks Mountain
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Orrtanna
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrtanna have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
  • Fountain Dale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fountain Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain Dale
    • Fountain Dale is located in Adams County
  • Seven Stars
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Stars have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
    • Seven Stars is located in Adams County
  • McKnightstown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McKnightstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKnightstown
    • McKnightstown is located in Adams County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McKnightstown <1>
  • Cashtown
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashtown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashtown
    • Cashtown is located in Adams County
  • Fairplay
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairplay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay
    • Fairplay is located in Adams County
  • Greenmount
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Blue Ridge Summit
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Emmitsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmitsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>
  • Sedgwick
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sedgwick have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedgwick
    • Sedgwick is located in Adams County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Round Top
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Top have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Top
      • Round Top is located in Adams County
    • Gettysburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Mummasburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Virginia Mills ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Virginia Mills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Virginia Mills, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Virginia Mills.

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 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 Virginia Mills:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Virginia Mills. 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 Virginia Mills, 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- Virginia Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Virginia Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8034, Longitude: -77.3770       In this case, the coordinates for Virginia Mills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 15 Jul 2025