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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 Dillon (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 Dillon. 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 doctors 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.

Dillon is located in Dillon County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dillon County: Columbus (NC), Robeson (NC), Florence, Horry, Marion & Marlboro.

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

  • Dillon County     (The home county of Dillon)
  • Darlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Mont Clare
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Palmetto
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palmetto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmetto
      • Palmetto is located in Darlington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palmetto
      • From Dillon to Palmetto
    • Society Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Darlington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Dovesville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dovesville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dovesville
      • Dovesville is located in Darlington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dovesville
      • From Dillon to Dovesville
    • Pine Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Village
      • Pine Village is located in Darlington County
  • Florence County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Jamestown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Mars Bluff
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mars Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mars Bluff
      • Mars Bluff is located in Florence County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mars Bluff
      • From Dillon to Mars Bluff
    • Quinby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Florence
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Siesta Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siesta Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siesta Village
      • Siesta Village is located in Florence County
    • Park City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park City
      • Park City is located in Florence County
    • Tara Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tara Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tara Village
      • Tara Village is located in Florence County
  • Horry County
  • Marion County
  • Marlboro County
  • Columbus County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Fair Bluff
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fair Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Bluff
      • Fair Bluff is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 879 people
    • Boardman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boardman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
      • Boardman is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Williamson Crossroads
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cerro Gordo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cerro Gordo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cerro Gordo
      • Cerro Gordo is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Evergreen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Grove. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cedar Grove
      • From Dillon to Cedar Grove
    • Grist
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Robeson County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Rowland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
      • Rowland is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowland <1>
    • Alfordsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Marietta
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marietta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Marietta is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • McDonald
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairmont
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Raemon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raemon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raemon
      • Raemon is located in Robeson County (NC)
    • Elrod
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elrod have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
      • Elrod is located in Robeson County (NC)
    • Raynham
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raynham have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raynham
      • Raynham is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
    • Barnesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
      • Barnesville is located in Robeson County (NC)
    • Proctorville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctorville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctorville
      • Proctorville is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Orrum
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orrum have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrum
      • Orrum is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Pates
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pates. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pates
      • Pates is located in Robeson County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pates
      • From Dillon to Pates
  • Scotland County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
    • Hasty
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hasty. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hasty
      • Hasty is located in Scotland County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hasty
      • From Dillon to Hasty
    • East Laurinburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Laurinburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Laurinburg
      • East Laurinburg is located in Scotland County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
    • Laurinburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurinburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurinburg
      • Laurinburg is located in Scotland County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,896 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurinburg <1>
    • Gibson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
      • Gibson is located in Scotland County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gibson <1>
    • Laurel Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Hill
      • Laurel Hill is located in Scotland County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laurel Hill <1>
    • Richmond Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Dillon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dillon.

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

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

  • Mt. Holly Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Holly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Holly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hamilton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hamilton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hamilton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Hamilton Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Ropers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ropers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ropers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dothan Methodist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dothan Methodist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dothan Methodist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rogers Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rogers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rogers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wallace Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wallace Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wallace Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (432 more) ...
    • Little Pee Dee Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Pee Dee Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Pee Dee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Little Rock Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Rock Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Rock Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Kentyre Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kentyre Presbyterian Church Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kentyre Presbyterian Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Dillon had a population of 192 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dillon had a population of 6,289 people.

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

  • Little Rock
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Latta
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Echo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Echo is located in Robeson County (NC)
  • Gaddysville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaddysville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaddysville
    • Gaddysville is located in Robeson County (NC)
  • Rowland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rowland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
    • Rowland is located in Robeson County (NC)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 985 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rowland <1>
  • Sellers
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Fork
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Zion
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zion have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zion
    • Zion is located in Marion County
  • Alfordsville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Brownsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Clio
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Laughlin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Laughlin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laughlin
    • Laughlin is located in Marion County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Laughlin
    • From Dillon to Laughlin
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Marion
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Mullins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Parnassus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parnassus have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnassus
      • Parnassus is located in Marlboro County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dillon ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dillon.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dillon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dillon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dillon.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6> of Dillon.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dillon:

The official website for Dillon: www.dilloncitysc.com/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.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>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.
<3>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.
<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 Dillon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dillon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dillon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4166, Longitude: -79.3711    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 30 Mar 2025