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 Ridge (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 Ridge. 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 Ridge ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Ridge: Lk. Ridge
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lake Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lake Ridge.
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 and hospitals 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 Ridge is located in Spartanburg 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 Spartanburg County: Polk (NC), Rutherford (NC), Cherokee, Greenville, Laurens & Union.
Below are the counties that are near Lake Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Lake Ridge:
- Spartanburg County (The home county of Lake Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Franklin Village
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Franklin Village is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Village
- Fairforest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Roebuck
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brookside Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Brookside Village is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside Village
- Arcadia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson City is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Startex
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Southern Shops
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Hub City Courts
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hub City Courts is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City Courts
- Saxon
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Saxon is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
- Moore
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Reidville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Anderson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Powderville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Powderville is located in Anderson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderville
- Piedmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Pelzer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Macedonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Chesnee
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Gaffney
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- East Gaffney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Greenville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Greer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pelham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pelham is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Five Forks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Five Forks is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Chick Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
- Woodland Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- East Gate Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
- Taylors
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- O'Neal
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Fountain Inn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Simpsonville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wade Hampton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
- Gowensville
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Laurens County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Gray Court
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Green Pond
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Green Pond is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
- Tylersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Tylersville is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Laurens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Simpson ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Simpson is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
- Pickens County
- Dacusville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Dacusville is located in Pickens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dacusville
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Colerain
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Colerain is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
- Jonesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bonham
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bonham is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
- Buffalo
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop Town ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
- Kelly
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Kelly is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Sedalia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Sedalia is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
- Union
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey Town ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bailey Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Cleveland County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Cliffside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Erwinsville ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
- Flint Hill ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Henderson County (NC)
- Saluda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Polk County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Tryon
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Columbus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Melrose
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Melrose is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Mill Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rutherford County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Harris
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Holly Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Shiloh
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Henrietta
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Sandy Mush
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
- Alexander Mills
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Caroleen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Caroleen is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
- Forest City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Six Points
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Six Points is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Lake Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Lake Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Lake Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Ridge.
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 Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Nazareth Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mosse Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Penney - McMillian Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ft. Prince Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Startex Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Seay Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Green Pond Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cemetery Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Old City Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old City Cemetery
- The Old City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Freemans Cemetery
- New Colored Cemetery
- Continue List (438 more) ...
- Arkwright Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Magnola Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Green Pond Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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 Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Lake Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Lake Ridge, with the one closest to Lake Ridge listed first.
- Fairforest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Reidville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mount Zion is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Moore
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wellford
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Switzer
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Switzer is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
- Spartanburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Whitney
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Duncan
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Cashville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Cashville is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashville
- Campton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Campton is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
- Golightly
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Golightly is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golightly
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Walnut Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Walnut Grove is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
- Inman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Glendale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Lake Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Lake Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Lake Ridge ...
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 27 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lake Ridge, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lake Ridge.
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 Lake Ridge:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Spartanburg County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anderson County
- Cherokee County
- Greenville County
- Laurens County
- Pickens County
- Union County
- Cleveland County
- Henderson County
- Polk County
- Rutherford 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 Ridge, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Lake Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |