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 Lake Lanier (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 Lake Lanier. 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 Lake Lanier ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Lanier: Lk. Lanier
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 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.
Lake Lanier is located in Greenville 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 Greenville County: Henderson (NC), Polk (NC), Transylvania (NC), Abbeville, Anderson, Laurens, Pickens & Spartanburg.
Below are the counties that are near Lake Lanier. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Lanier:
- Greenville County (The home county of Lake Lanier)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Gowensville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Highland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Highland is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
- Tigerville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- O'Neal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Greer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Chick Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
- Cleveland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Slater
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Taylors
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Marietta
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Travelers Rest
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wade Hampton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Chesnee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Macedonia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Pickens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Dacusville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Dacusville is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacusville
- Knob ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Knob is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knob
- Spartanburg County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Landrum
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Campobello
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Gramling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Inman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fingerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Brooklyn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
- Lyman
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Boiling Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Valley Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Wellford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Southern Shops
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Buncombe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Arden
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Royal Pines
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Royal Pines is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Pines
- Busbee
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Busbee is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Busbee
- Skyland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Avery Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Avery Creek is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery Creek
- Black Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ridgecrest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Swannanoa
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wilson is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Biltmore Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Biltmore Forest is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore Forest
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,431 people
- Azalea
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Azalea is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Azalea
- Bent Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bent Creek is located in Buncombe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
- Cleveland County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Cliffside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Mooresboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
- Henderson County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Saluda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Baxter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Upward
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Upward is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- Tuxedo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Zirconia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Claremont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Claremont is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Dana
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dana is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- East Flat Rock
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Barker Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Barker Heights is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
- Mount Olive
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mount Olive is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Carolina Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Carolina Village is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carolina Village
- Hendersonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- McDowell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Moffitt Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Moffitt Hill is located in McDowell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffitt Hill
- Lackey Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lackey Town is located in McDowell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lackey Town
- Sugar Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sugar Hill is located in McDowell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Hill
- Vein Mountain
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vein Mountain is located in McDowell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vein Mountain
- Old Fort
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Polk County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Tryon
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Lynn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Columbus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Melrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Melrose is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Mill Spring
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Rutherford County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Village of Chimney Rock Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Village of Chimney Rock Village is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village of Chimney Rock Village
- Estimated population in 2015: 108 people
- Chimney Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lake Lure
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Holly Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Green Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Green Hill is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Shiloh
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Rutherfordton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Harris
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Bakersville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Ruth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ruth is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Spindale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Forest City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Transylvania County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Cedar Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Penrose
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Seven Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Seven Springs is located in Transylvania County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Springs
- Pisgah Forest
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Brevard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Brevard is located in Transylvania County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brevard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,899 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brevard <1>
- East Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- East Fork is located in Transylvania County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Fork
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Lanier, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Lanier.
Cemeteries Near Lake Lanier ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Lanier.
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 Lake Lanier - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Lanier covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Good Shepherd Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Rock Springs Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Polk Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Gowansville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mountain Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glassy Mtn. Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ebenezer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Liberty Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (369 more) ...
- Bradley Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jackson Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jones - Price Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Lake Lanier in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Lanier.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Lanier, with the one closest to Lake Lanier listed first.
- Tryon
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Landrum
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lynn
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Columbus
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Gowensville
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Melrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Melrose is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Glassy
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Glassy is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glassy
- Campobello
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tyger ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Tyger is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyger
- Andover ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Andover is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
- Saluda
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Highland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Highland is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Collinsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Collinsville is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
- Mitchell ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Mitchell is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Merrittsville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Merrittsville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Lanier. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Lanier.
Newspapers Published in Lake Lanier ...
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 33 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Lanier.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Lanier, 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 Lake Lanier.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Lake Lanier:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Greenville County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Pickens County
- Spartanburg County
- Buncombe County
- Cleveland County
- Henderson County
- McDowell County
- Polk County
- Rutherford County
- Transylvania County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Carolina
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 Lake Lanier, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Lake Lanier) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |