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 River Forest (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 River Forest. 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 River Forest ...
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 River Forest: River Frst.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named River Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for River Forest.
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 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.
River Forest 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 River Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to River Forest:
- Spartanburg County (The home county of River Forest)
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Valley Falls
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Boiling Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Southern Shops
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Arcadia
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairforest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Johnson City
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Johnson City is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Una
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Inman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Franklin Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Franklin Village is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Village
- Saxon
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Saxon is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxon
- Whitney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Inman Mills
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Inman Mills is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Inman Mills
- Cherokee County
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Chesnee
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Macedonia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
- Gaffney
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- East Gaffney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
- Blacksburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Greenville County
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Gowensville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Gowensville is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowensville
- Greer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- O'Neal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- O'Neal is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Neal
- Chick Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
- Pelham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pelham is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Taylors
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Highland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Highland is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- East Gate Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
- Five Forks
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Five Forks is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Wade Hampton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
- Tigerville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Paris
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paris is located in Greenville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paris
- Laurens County
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Gray Court
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Green Pond
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Green Pond is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
- Tylersville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tylersville is located in Laurens County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
- Union County
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Jonesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Colerain
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Colerain is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
- Bonham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bonham is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
- Buffalo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kelly
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kelly is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
- Bishop Town ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
- Bailey Town ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bailey Town is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cleveland County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Byersville ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Byersville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byersville
- Cliffside
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cliffside is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cliffside
- Erwinsville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Erwinsville is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erwinsville
- Boiling Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Hill ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Flint Hill is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Hill
- Mooresboro
(26 miles [41.8 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
(28 miles [45.1 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
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sharon is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon
- Earl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Earl is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
- Brittain Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Brittain Village is located in Cleveland County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittain Village
- Henderson County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Saluda
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Baxter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Baxter is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Tuxedo
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Zirconia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Claremont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Claremont is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Upward
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Upward is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upward
- Dana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dana is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
- East Flat Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Flat Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Olive is located in Henderson County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Olive
- Polk County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Tryon
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Columbus
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lynn is located in Polk County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn
- Mill Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Melrose
(22 miles [35.4 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 River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Holly Springs
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Holly Springs is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Springs
- Harris
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Harris is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Shiloh
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Shiloh is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Henrietta
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Henrietta is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henrietta
- Sandy Mush
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Sandy Mush is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Mush
- Alexander Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander Mills is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander Mills
- Caroleen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Caroleen is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caroleen
- Bakersville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bakersville is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakersville
- Forest City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Spindale
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Six Points
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Six Points is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Points
- Concord
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Concord is located in Rutherford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to River Forest, see our County-by-County Page for River Forest.
Cemeteries Near River Forest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of River Forest.
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 River Forest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for River Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Boiling Springs First Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Chapel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ft. Prince Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mosse Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Carlisle Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Roselawn Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jones Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arkwright Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Magnola Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Liberty Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Baptist Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (441 more) ...
- Seay Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Cemetery Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 River Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of River Forest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from River Forest, with the one closest to River Forest listed first.
- Campton
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Campton is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campton
- Mount Zion
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Zion is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
- Fairforest
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Inman
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Whitney
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Whitney is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitney
- Spartanburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Prospect
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- New Prospect is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Prospect
- Wellford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fingerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Duncan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Campobello
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Converse
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Glendale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Clifton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Andover ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Andover is located in Spartanburg County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Andover
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around River Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around River Forest.
Newspapers Published in River Forest ...
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 River Forest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of River Forest, 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 River Forest.
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 River Forest:
- Websites specific to South Carolina
- Pages specific to Spartanburg County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cherokee County
- Greenville County
- Laurens 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 River Forest, 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- River Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |