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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 Mountain Lakes (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 Mountain Lakes. 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 Mountain Lakes ...

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 Mountain Lakes: Mountain Lks.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Mountain Lakes. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Mountain Lakes.

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.

Mountain Lakes is located in Chester 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 Chester County: Fairfield, Lancaster, Union & York.

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

  • Chester County     (The home county of Mountain Lakes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • Gayle Mill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Gayle Mill is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gayle Mill
    • Chester
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eureka Mill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Eureka Mill is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Mill
    • Cornwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cornwell is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwell
    • Blackstock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lowrys
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Lowrys is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowrys
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Richburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Smith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Smith is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith
    • Cabal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cabal is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cabal
    • Lando
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edgemoor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Lawn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Great Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Cherokee County
  • Fairfield County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • Woodward
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodward is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
    • White Oak
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Adger
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Adger is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adger
    • Blair
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Mitford is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitford
    • Monticello
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Monticello is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monticello
    • Winnsboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Winnsboro Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Winnsboro Mills is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro Mills
    • Rion
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Jenkinsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Rock Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Rock Hill is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Hill
    • Ridgeway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Kershaw County
  • Lancaster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • Bell Town
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Bell Town is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
    • Caskey
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Caskey is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caskey
    • Springdell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Springdell is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdell
    • Irwin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Irwin is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Riverside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Riverside is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Lancaster Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Lancaster Mill is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lancaster Mill
    • Van Wyck
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Lancaster
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Elgin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Elgin is located in Lancaster County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgin
  • Newberry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • Glymphville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Glymphville is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glymphville
    • Whitmire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sondleys ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sondleys is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sondleys
    • Peak
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Peak is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peak <1>
    • Pomaria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Union is located in Newberry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lockhart
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Meador ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Meador is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
    • Tuckertown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Tuckertown is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckertown
    • Bailey Town ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bailey Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
    • Delta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Delta is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
    • Sartor Town
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Sartor Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sartor Town
    • Red Town ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Red Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
    • Kelly
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kelly is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Union
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Bonham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Bonham is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
    • Buffalo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Bishop Town ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Bishop Town is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
  • York County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes listed first.
    • McConnells
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Blairsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Blairsville is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsville
    • Sharon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Hopewell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hopewell is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • York
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Catawba
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Lesslie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Lesslie is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lesslie
    • Rock Hill
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Roddey
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Roddey is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roddey
      • Roddey has also been known as:
      • Coates Tavern
    • Hickory Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Newport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Newport is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Filbert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Filbert is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filbert
    • India Hook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • India Hook is located in York County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for India Hook

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

Cemeteries Near Mountain Lakes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mountain Lakes.

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 Mountain Lakes - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mountain Lakes, with the one closest to Mountain Lakes 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 Mountain Lakes in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mountain Lakes.

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

  • Sandy River
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Sandy River is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy River
  • Chester
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Cornwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cornwell is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwell
  • Baton Rouge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Baton Rouge is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baton Rouge
  • Leeds
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Leeds is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leeds
  • Orrs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Orrs is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrs
  • Blackstock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilksburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilksburg is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilksburg
  • Woodward
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodward is located in Fairfield County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodward
  • Wellridge
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Wellridge is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellridge
  • Knox
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Knox is located in Chester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knox
  • Carlisle
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Feasterville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Feasterville is located in Fairfield County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Feasterville
    • Rodman
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rodman is located in Chester County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodman
    • Herbert
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Herbert is located in Union County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herbert

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

Newspapers Published in Mountain Lakes ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mountain Lakes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mountain Lakes, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mountain Lakes.

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 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 Mountain Lakes:

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 Mountain Lakes, 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 from Point A (ie- Mountain Lakes) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.