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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 Cooley Springs (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 Cooley Springs. 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 Cooley Springs ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Cooley Springs: Cooley Spgs. (or less commonly used: Cooley Spngs. or Cooley Sprngs.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Cooley Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cooley Springs.

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 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.

Cooley Springs is located in Spartanburg 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 Spartanburg County: Polk (NC), Rutherford (NC), Cherokee, Greenville, Laurens & Union.

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

  • Spartanburg County     (The home county of Cooley Springs)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Brooklyn
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Fingerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Boiling Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mayo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Valley Falls
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Southern Shops
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Whitney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Inman
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Inman is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
    • Converse
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cowpens
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
    • Gramling
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Inman Mills
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
    • Campobello
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Chesnee
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Macedonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Gaffney
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • East Gaffney
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
    • Blacksburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Kings Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Gowensville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • O'Neal
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Greer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Greer is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • Highland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Highland is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Chick Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
    • Tigerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Pelham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Taylors
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
    • East Gate Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
    • Wade Hampton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
    • Five Forks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Paris
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Paris is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Jonesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Colerain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Colerain is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
    • Bonham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bonham is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Kelly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Kelly is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
  • Cleveland County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Cliffside
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
    • Boiling Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mooresboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Erwinsville ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
    • Flint Hill ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
    • Lattimore
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Lattimore is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Sharon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Sharon is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Brittain Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
    • New House
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • New House is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
    • Earl
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Earl is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Dover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Dover is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
    • Kingstown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Kingstown is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingstown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
  • Henderson County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Saluda
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Saluda is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saluda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saluda <1>
    • Baxter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Upward
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
    • Dana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Tuxedo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Zirconia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Bat Cave
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Claremont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Claremont is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • East Flat Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Flat Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Flat Rock is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,408 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flat Rock <1>
    • Bearwallow
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Barker Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Barker Heights is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
    • Mount Olive
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Mount Olive is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
  • McDowell County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Vein Mountain
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
    • Mountain Home ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Mountain Home is located in McDowell County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Home
  • Polk County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Columbus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mill Spring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Lynn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Tryon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Tryon is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tryon <1>
    • Melrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Rutherford County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs listed first.
    • Holly Springs
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Harris
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Shiloh
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Henrietta
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Sandy Mush
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
    • Alexander Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
    • Caroleen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Caroleen is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
    • Bakersville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Forest City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Six Points
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Six Points is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
    • Rutherfordton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Spindale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Spindale is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spindale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spindale <1>
    • Concord
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Concord is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord

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

Cemeteries Near Cooley Springs ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cooley Springs.

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 Cooley Springs - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cooley Springs, with the one closest to Cooley Springs 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.<3>

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

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

  • Brooklyn
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
  • Fingerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sandy Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Sandy Springs is located in Polk County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Springs
  • New Prospect
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • New Prospect is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
  • Collinsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Collinsville is located in Polk County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
  • Inman
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Inman is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
  • Campton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Campton is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
  • Whitney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
  • Converse
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Cowpens
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Cowpens is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowpens
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,465 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cowpens <1>
  • Henrietta
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
  • Campobello
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mount Zion
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Zion is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Fairforest
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Cooley Springs ...

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 Cooley Springs.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cooley Springs, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cooley Springs.

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 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 Cooley Springs:

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 Cooley Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Cooley Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.