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 Bridgewater (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 Bridgewater. 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 doctors and 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.
Bridgewater is located in Anderson County.
To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Anderson County: Elbert (GA), Hart (GA), Abbeville, Greenville, Laurens, Oconee & Pickens.
Below are the counties that are near Bridgewater. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bridgewater:
- Anderson County (The home county of Bridgewater)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Leisure Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Leisure Village is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leisure Village
- Centerville Terrace Estates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Centerville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Centerville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Sandy Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Price ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Price is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
- La France
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Northlake
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Northlake is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northlake
- Andersonville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Andersonville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville
- Anderson Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Anderson Village is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson Village
- Anderson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Caldwell Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Caldwell Village is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caldwell Village
- Townville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Homeland Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Homeland Park is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland Park
- Abbeville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Lake Secession
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Secession is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Secession
- Antreville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Antreville is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Antreville
- Level Land
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Level Land is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Land
- Honea Path
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Lowndesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Due West
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Donalds
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Monterey ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Monterey is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
- Latimer
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Latimer is located in Abbeville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
- Greenville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Golden Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Golden Grove is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golden Grove
- Lickville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lickville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickville
- Fork Shoals
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Fork Shoals is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Shoals
- Gantt
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Gantt is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gantt
- Welcome
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Welcome is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welcome
- White Horse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- White Horse is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Horse
- Conestee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dunean
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dunean is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunean
- Judson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Judson is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Parker
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parker is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parker
- Pine Hill Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Hill Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Hill Village
- City View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- City View is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City View
- Laurens County
- Princeton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Princeton is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
- Oconee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Fair Play
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Utica
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Utica is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Utica
- Seneca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakway
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Oakway is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakway
- Newry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Westminster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Union
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Walhalla
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Harbin ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Harbin is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harbin
- Madison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Madison is located in Oconee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
- Salem
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Tamassee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pickens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Clemson
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Isaqueena Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Isaqueena Village is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isaqueena Village
- Central
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Norris
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Liberty
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Six Mile
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Arial
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Arial is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arial
- Easley
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pickens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Crow Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Crow Creek is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Creek
- Nine Times
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Nine Times is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nine Times
- Elbert County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Centerville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Centerville is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Bowman Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bowman Ferry is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowman Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 808 people
- Edinburg ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Edinburg is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
- Estimated population in 2019: 1,396 people
- Harmony
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Harmony is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
- Dewy Rose
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bowman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harper
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Harper is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
- Goss
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Goss is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goss
- Elberton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Silk Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Silk Mills is located in Elbert County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silk Mills
- Estimated population in 2019: 277 people
- Franklin County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Gumlog
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Gumlog is located in Franklin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gumlog
- Lavonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Canon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Royston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Franklin Springs
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Parhams
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Parhams is located in Franklin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parhams
- Aquilla ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Aquilla is located in Franklin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aquilla
- Carnesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Hart County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Crawfords Ferry
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Crawfords Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawfords Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 473 people
- Cooleys Ferry
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cooleys Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 529 people
- Reed Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Reed Creek is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek
- Dooleys Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Dooleys Ferry is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dooleys Ferry
- Estimated population in 2019: 136 people
- Maretts
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Maretts is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maretts
- Hartwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Shoals
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Shoals is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Shoals
- Bowersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Madison County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Harrison
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Harrison is located in Madison County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Estimated population in 2019: 442 people
- Madison Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Madison Springs is located in Madison County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Springs
- Estimated population in 2019: 4,210 people
- Former name for Madison Springs:
- Alexanderville
- Stephens County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Avalon
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Avalon is located in Stephens County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
- Martin
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Eastanollee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jarrett
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Jarrett is located in Stephens County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett
- Estimated population in 2019: 3,974 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Bridgewater, see our County-by-County Page for Bridgewater.
Cemeteries Near Bridgewater ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bridgewater.
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 Bridgewater - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bridgewater covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Andersonville Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- New Prospect Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Gray Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Smiths Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Providence Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Anderson Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Cedar Grove Methodist Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Welcome Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Byrum - LeBoon Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Le Boon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Orrville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Westview Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (437 more) ...
- Anderson First Presbyterian Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Concord Baptist Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mountain Springs Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
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 Bridgewater in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bridgewater.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
- Denver
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Denver is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denver
- Andersonville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Andersonville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andersonville
- Mountain Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Creek is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Creek
- Townville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Holland Store
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Holland Store is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland Store
- Holland Store has also been known as:
- Hollands
- Pendleton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Reed Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Reed Creek is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek
- Deans
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Deans is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deans
- Oak Bower ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Bower is located in Hart County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Bower
- Starr
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Varennes ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Varennes is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varennes
- Fair Play
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Calhoun
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Calhoun is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calhoun
- Central
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hartwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bridgewater. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bridgewater.
Newspapers Published in Bridgewater ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bridgewater.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bridgewater, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bridgewater.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Bridgewater:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Anderson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Abbeville County
- Greenville County
- Laurens County
- Oconee County
- Pickens County
- Elbert County
- Franklin County
- Hart County
- Madison County
- Stephens County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
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 Bridgewater, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bridgewater) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |