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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 Luray Hills (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 Luray Hills. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Luray Hills 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 Luray Hills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Luray Hills:

  • Spartanburg County     (The home county of Luray Hills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Boiling Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Fingerville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Valley Falls
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Southern Shops
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Inman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Inman is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
    • Mayo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Brooklyn
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
    • Una
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Whitney
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
    • Inman Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
    • Arcadia
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Fairforest
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Chesnee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Macedonia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
    • Gaffney
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • East Gaffney
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
    • Blacksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Gowensville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Gowensville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
    • Greer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Greer is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • O'Neal
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • O'Neal is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
    • Highland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Highland is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
    • Chick Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
    • Pelham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
    • Taylors
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Tigerville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • East Gate Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
    • Five Forks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
    • Wade Hampton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
    • Merrittsville ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Merrittsville is located in Greenville County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrittsville
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Jonesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Colerain
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Colerain is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
    • Bonham
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Bonham is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Kelly
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Kelly is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Buffalo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Cleveland County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Byersville ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
    • Cliffside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
    • Erwinsville ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
    • Boiling Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Flint Hill ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
    • Mooresboro
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Mooresboro is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooresboro
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Lattimore
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Lattimore is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattimore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 454 people
    • Sharon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Sharon is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
    • Earl
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Earl is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Brittain Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
    • Dover
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Dover is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
    • New House
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • New House is located in Cleveland County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New House
  • Henderson County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Saluda
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Saluda is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saluda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saluda <1>
    • Baxter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Upward
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Upward is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
    • Zirconia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Tuxedo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Dana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Dana is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
    • Claremont
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Claremont is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
    • East Flat Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Flat Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Flat Rock is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,408 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flat Rock <1>
    • Mount Olive
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Mount Olive is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
    • Barker Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Barker Heights is located in Henderson County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Heights
    • Bat Cave
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Polk County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Columbus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Tryon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Tryon is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tryon <1>
    • Lynn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
    • Mill Spring
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Melrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Melrose is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
  • Rutherford County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills listed first.
    • Holly Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
    • Harris
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • Shiloh
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
    • Henrietta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
    • Sandy Mush
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
    • Alexander Mills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
    • Caroleen
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Caroleen is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
    • Bakersville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bakersville is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
    • Forest City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Rutherfordton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Spindale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Spindale is located in Rutherford County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spindale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spindale <1>
    • Six Points
      (19 miles [30.6 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 Luray Hills, see our County-by-County Page for Luray Hills.

Cemeteries Near Luray Hills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Luray Hills.

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 Luray Hills - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Luray Hills, with the one closest to Luray Hills 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.<3>

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

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

  • Fingerville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • New Prospect
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • New Prospect is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
  • Campton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Campton is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
  • Inman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Inman is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,480 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Inman <1>
  • Whitney
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
  • Brooklyn
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Brooklyn is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
  • Mount Zion
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Zion is located in Spartanburg County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
  • Fairforest
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sandy Springs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Sandy Springs is located in Polk County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Springs
  • Spartanburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Campobello
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Converse
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Collinsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Collinsville is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collinsville
    • Wellford
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Clifton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Luray Hills ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Luray Hills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Luray Hills, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Luray Hills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Luray Hills:

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