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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Donora. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Donora to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Donora, please Contact Us.

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 Donora (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 Donora. 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 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Donora is historic, it would have been located within present day Barnwell County.

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 Barnwell County: Burke (GA), Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg & Orangeburg.

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

  • Barnwell County     (The home county of Donora)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Snelling
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snelling
      • Snelling is located in Barnwell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
    • Barnwell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Hattieville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hattieville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattieville
      • Hattieville is located in Barnwell County
    • Kline
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elko
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
      • Elko is located in Barnwell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elko <2>
    • Williston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Reynold
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynold have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynold
      • Reynold is located in Barnwell County
    • Hilda
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Blackville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Whaley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
      • Whaley is located in Barnwell County
  • Aiken County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Hawthorne ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawthorne have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne
      • Hawthorne is located in Aiken County
    • Bush ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bush have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bush
      • Bush is located in Aiken County
    • New Ellenton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Talatha
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talatha
      • Talatha is located in Aiken County
    • Cowden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowden
      • Cowden is located in Aiken County
    • Windsor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Jackson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Kathwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kathwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kathwood
      • Kathwood is located in Aiken County
    • Browns Hill ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Browns Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Hill
      • Browns Hill is located in Aiken County
    • Montmorenci
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Kitchings Mill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kitchings Mill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kitchings Mill
      • Kitchings Mill is located in Aiken County
      • Kitchings Mill has also been known as:
      • Kinchens Mill
    • Huntcliff
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntcliff
      • Huntcliff is located in Aiken County
  • Allendale County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Martin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Allendale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Ulmer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sycamore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairfax
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Bamberg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Govan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Govan
      • Govan is located in Bamberg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
    • Olar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olar
      • Olar is located in Bamberg County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Olar <2>
    • Denmark
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Bamberg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Ehrhardt
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Hampton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Brunson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Gifford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pond Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pond Town have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Town
      • Pond Town is located in Hampton County
  • Orangeburg County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Norway
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Burke County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Girard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
      • Girard is located in Burke County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Girard <2>
    • Sardis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sardis
      • Sardis is located in Burke County (GA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 970 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sardis <2>
    • Thomas Station
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomas Station have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Station
      • Thomas Station is located in Burke County (GA)
      • Estimated population in 2019: 8,752 people
    • Waynesboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Richmond County (GA)
    • Nixon ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixon
      • Nixon is located in Richmond County (GA)
  • Screven County (GA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Donora, with the one closest to Donora listed first.
    • Millhaven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millhaven
      • Millhaven is located in Screven County (GA)
    • Hilltonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltonia came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<5>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltonia
      • Hilltonia is located in Screven County (GA)
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 262 people
    • Hiltonia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Donora ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Donora.

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

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

  • Singleton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Singleton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Singleton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dunbar Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunbar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunbar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woods Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woods Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woods Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williams Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Seven Pines Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seven Pines Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seven Pines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sanders Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sanders Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holmes Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holmes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holmes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Woods Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woods Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woods Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williams Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Furse Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Furse Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Furse Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (205 more) ...
    • Old Field Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Field Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Field Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Dorch Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dorch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dorch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bates Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bates Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bates Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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.

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

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

  • Dunbarton ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunbarton have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunbarton
    • Dunbarton is located in Barnwell County
  • Snelling
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snelling
    • Snelling is located in Barnwell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 259 people
  • Greenland ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Greenland is located in Barnwell County
  • Hattieville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hattieville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattieville
    • Hattieville is located in Barnwell County
  • Ashleigh
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashleigh have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashleigh
    • Ashleigh is located in Barnwell County
  • Elko
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
    • Elko is located in Barnwell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elko <2>
  • Williston
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawthorne ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawthorne have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawthorne
    • Hawthorne is located in Aiken County
  • Reynold
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynold have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynold
    • Reynold is located in Barnwell County
  • White Pond
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Pond
    • White Pond is located in Aiken County
  • Girard
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
    • Girard is located in Burke County (GA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Girard <2>
  • Talatha
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talatha
    • Talatha is located in Aiken County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cowden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cowden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowden
      • Cowden is located in Aiken County
    • Blackville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Windsor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Donora ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Donora.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Donora, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Donora.

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 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 Donora:

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Donora, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 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.
<5>If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Donora) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Donora. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.2210, Longitude: -81.5165       In this case, the coordinates for Donora have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025