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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 The Dunes (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 The Dunes. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

The Dunes is located in Horry 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 Horry County: Brunswick (NC), Columbus (NC), Dillon, Georgetown & Marion.

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

  • Horry County     (The home county of The Dunes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Dunes, with the one closest to The Dunes listed first.
    • Arcadian Shores
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Briarcliffe Acres
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Briarcliffe Acres is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarcliffe Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 612 people
    • Atlantic Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Atlantic Beach is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 483 people
    • Hand
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Hand is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
    • Nixonville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Nixonville is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
    • Myrtle Beach
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • North Myrtle Beach
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Forestbrook
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Cherry Grove Beach
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Vina
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Vina is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vina
    • Cedar Creek Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Creek Village is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek Village
    • Longs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hickory Grove is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
  • Georgetown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Dunes, with the one closest to The Dunes listed first.
    • Murrells Inlet
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Inlet Oaks Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Inlet Oaks Village is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inlet Oaks Village
    • Litchfield Beach
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Waverly Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Waverly Mills is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waverly Mills
    • Jackson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jackson is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
    • Pawleys Island
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Carters Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Carters Crossroads is located in Georgetown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Crossroads
  • Brunswick County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Dunes, with the one closest to The Dunes listed first.
    • Calabash
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Calabash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calabash
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,360 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calabash <1>
    • Carolina Shores
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Carolina Shores is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Shores
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,802 people
    • Sunset Beach
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Longwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Longwood is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Ocean Isle Beach
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Ash
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash
    • Shallotte
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shallotte is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shallotte
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shallotte <1>
    • Holden Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Columbus County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from The Dunes, with the one closest to The Dunes listed first.
    • Pireway
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pireway is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pireway
    • Bug Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Bug Hill is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bug Hill
    • Pine Level
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Pine Level is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Level
    • Bethel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Bethel is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Ironhill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Ironhill is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironhill
    • Nakina
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Nakina is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nakina
    • Tabor City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Emerson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Emerson is located in Columbus County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerson

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

Cemeteries Near The Dunes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of The Dunes.

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 The Dunes - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Southeastern Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Withers Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Lawn Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Community Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Reaves Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Myrtle Beach.
    • The Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Ocean Woods Memorial Park
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #70906 <2>
  • Graham Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Grainger Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • North Myrtle Beach Memorial Gardens
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Thompkins Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Cedar Creek Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Leon Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (128 more) ...

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 The Dunes in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of The Dunes.

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

  • Vaught
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Vaught is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaught
  • Hand
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Hand is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hand
  • Nixonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Nixonville is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nixonville
  • Wampee
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wampee is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampee
  • Hammond
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hammond is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
  • Socastee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Little River
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Bucksville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bucksville is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksville
  • Conway
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Toddville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Toddville is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toddville
  • Daisy
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Daisy is located in Horry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
  • Calabash
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Calabash is located in Brunswick County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calabash
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,360 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calabash <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Iredell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Iredell is located in Brunswick County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iredell
    • Adrian
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Adrian is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
    • Bucksport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Bucksport is located in Horry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport

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

Newspapers Published in The Dunes ...

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 20 newspapers that have been published in the area around The Dunes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of The Dunes, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for The Dunes.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 The Dunes:

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 The Dunes, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- The Dunes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.