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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 Fort Mill (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 Fort Mill. 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 Fort Mill ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Mill: Ft. Mill

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 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.

Fort Mill is located in York 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 York County: Cleveland (NC), Gaston (NC), Mecklenburg (NC), Cherokee, Chester, Lancaster & Union.

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

  • York County     (The home county of Fort Mill)
  • Cherokee County
  • Chester County
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Camp Cox
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
      • Colonial Village is located in Lancaster County
    • Indian Land
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Van Wyck
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Fort Mill to Riverside
    • Caskey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Caskey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caskey
      • Caskey is located in Lancaster County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Caskey
      • From Fort Mill to Caskey
    • Irwin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Irwin is located in Lancaster County
    • Camp Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lancaster Mill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lancaster Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Mill
      • Lancaster Mill is located in Lancaster County
    • Lancaster
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bell Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bell Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
      • Bell Town is located in Lancaster County
    • Elgin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Union
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Cabarrus County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Harrisburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Midland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midland
      • Midland is located in Cabarrus County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,880 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midland <3>
    • Cannon Crossroads
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Cleveland County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Kings Mountain
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • White Plains
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
      • White Plains is located in Cleveland County (NC)
    • Grover
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Gaston County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Catawba ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catawba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
      • Catawba is located in Gaston County (NC)
    • Belmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Brown Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brown Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown Town
      • Brown Town is located in Gaston County (NC)
    • Cramerton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cramerton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cramerton
      • Cramerton is located in Gaston County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,511 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cramerton <3>
    • McAdenville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lowell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell is located in Gaston County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,744 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lowell <3>
    • South Gastonia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Gastonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gastonia
      • South Gastonia is located in Gaston County (NC)
    • Mount Holly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Holly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Holly
      • Mount Holly is located in Gaston County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,415 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Holly <3>
    • Ranlo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Smyre
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodland ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland
      • Woodland is located in Gaston County (NC)
    • Gastonia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Spencer Mountain
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spencer Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer Mountain
      • Spencer Mountain is located in Gaston County (NC)
      • Estimated population in 2016: 36 people
  • Lincoln County (NC)
    • Lowesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lowesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowesville
      • Lowesville is located in Lincoln County (NC)
  • Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Pineville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Weddington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weddington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weddington
      • Weddington is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Weddington <3>
    • Yorkmont
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Providence ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Dalton Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dalton Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalton Village
      • Dalton Village is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Pinecrest
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wilmore
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Matthews
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Chantilly
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Charlotte
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Greenville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
      • Greenville is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Belmont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
      • Belmont is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Paw Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paw Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paw Creek
      • Paw Creek is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
  • Union County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill listed first.
    • Marvin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marvin
      • Marvin is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,920 people
    • White Oak
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Oak have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak
      • White Oak is located in Union County (NC)
    • Waxhaw
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wesley Chapel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesley Chapel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley Chapel
      • Wesley Chapel is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wesley Chapel <3>
    • Jaars
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jaars have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jaars
      • Jaars is located in Union County (NC)
    • Mineral Springs
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral Springs
      • Mineral Springs is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mineral Springs <3>
    • Indian Trail
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Stallings
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stallings have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stallings
      • Stallings is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stallings <3>
    • Jackson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Jackson is located in Union County (NC)
    • Hemby Bridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Lake Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Carmel Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carmel Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carmel Village
      • Carmel Village is located in Union County (NC)
    • Monroe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Union County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Fort Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Mill.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fort Mill, with the one closest to Fort Mill 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fort Mill had a population of 689 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fort Mill had a population of 24,929 people.

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

  • Pleasant Valley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Pleasant Valley is located in Lancaster County
  • Barberville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barberville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
    • Barberville is located in Lancaster County
  • India Hook
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for India Hook. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook
    • India Hook is located in York County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to India Hook
    • From Fort Mill to India Hook
  • Harrison ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harrison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
    • Harrison is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
  • Belair
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belair have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belair
    • Belair is located in Lancaster County
  • Pineville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Belmont ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
    • Belmont is located in York County
  • Rock Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Lesslie
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lesslie. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesslie
    • Lesslie is located in York County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lesslie
    • From Fort Mill to Lesslie
  • Steel Creek ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Steel Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel Creek
    • Steel Creek is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
  • Newport
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Roddey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Hebron ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Catawba
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Harmony
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
      • Harmony is located in York County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fort Mill ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Mill.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fort Mill. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fort Mill and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fort Mill.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<6> of Fort Mill.

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 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 Fort Mill:

The official website for Fort Mill: www.fortmillsc.org/

The official website for York County: www.yorkcountygov.com/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Fort Mill, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort Mill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Mill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0083, Longitude: -80.9431    









 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025