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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 Switzer (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 Switzer. 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 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.

Switzer is located in Spartanburg County.

To see how the shape of South Carolina's counties 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 Switzer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Switzer:

  • Spartanburg County     (The home county of Switzer)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Moore
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Pond
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
      • Green Pond is located in Spartanburg County
    • Woodruff
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Crescent
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
      • Crescent is located in Spartanburg County
    • Roebuck
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Reidville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Brookside Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookside Village
      • Brookside Village is located in Spartanburg County
    • Pauline
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Franklin Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Franklin Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin Village
      • Franklin Village is located in Spartanburg County
    • Startex
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Arcadia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairforest
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Enoree
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Abbeville County
    • Ware Shoals
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Piedmont
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Pelzer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Powderville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Powderville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powderville
      • Powderville is located in Anderson County
    • West Pelzer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pelzer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pelzer
      • West Pelzer is located in Anderson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 953 people
    • Williamston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Macedonia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macedonia
      • Macedonia is located in Cherokee County
    • Chesnee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Gaffney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • East Gaffney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Gaffney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gaffney
      • East Gaffney is located in Cherokee County
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Five Forks
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
      • Five Forks is located in Greenville County
    • Pelham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pelham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Greenville County
    • Fountain Inn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodland Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
      • Woodland Village is located in Greenville County
    • Simpsonville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Greer
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greer
      • Greer is located in Greenville County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35,316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greer <1>
    • Chick Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chick Springs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick Springs
      • Chick Springs is located in Greenville County
    • East Gate Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Gate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gate Village
      • East Gate Village is located in Greenville County
    • Mauldin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauldin
      • Mauldin is located in Greenville County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,562 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mauldin <1>
    • Taylors
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Conestee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Wade Hampton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wade Hampton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wade Hampton
      • Wade Hampton is located in Greenville County
    • Fork Shoals
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fork Shoals. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fork Shoals
      • Fork Shoals is located in Greenville County
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Gray Court
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Tylersville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tylersville
      • Tylersville is located in Laurens County
    • Green Pond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Pond
      • Green Pond is located in Laurens County
    • Laurens
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Clinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Simpson ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Simpson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
      • Simpson is located in Laurens County
    • Princeton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Princeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princeton
      • Princeton is located in Laurens County
    • Cold Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Point
      • Cold Point is located in Laurens County
    • Ekom
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ekom
      • Ekom is located in Laurens County
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lisbon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
      • Lisbon is located in Laurens County
    • Dover ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover
      • Dover is located in Laurens County
    • Renno
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renno
      • Renno is located in Laurens County
    • Joanna
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.
    • Colerain
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Colerain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colerain
      • Colerain is located in Union County
    • Jonesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Bishop Town ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bishop Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop Town
      • Bishop Town is located in Union County
    • Bonham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bonham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonham
      • Bonham is located in Union County
    • Sedalia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sedalia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
      • Sedalia is located in Union County
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kelly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
      • Kelly is located in Union County
    • Bailey Town ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bailey Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
      • Bailey Town is located in Union County
    • Red Town ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Town
      • Red Town is located in Union County
    • Meador ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meador have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meador
      • Meador is located in Union County
  • Polk County (NC)
    • Tryon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tryon
      • Tryon is located in Polk County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,635 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tryon <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Switzer ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Switzer.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Switzer, with the one closest to Switzer listed first.

  • Penden Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Penden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Penden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flint Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flint Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flint Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Crestview Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Crestview Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Crestview Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cathcart Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cathcart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cathcart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Pond Baptist Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Green Pond Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Unity Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Unity Baptist Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Unity Baptist Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nazareth Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nazareth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nazareth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walnut Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (401 more) ...
    • Antioch Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Antioch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Antioch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethany Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • New Liberty Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Liberty Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Liberty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Switzer had a population of 30 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Moore
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodruff
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Cashville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cashville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashville
    • Cashville is located in Spartanburg County
  • Walnut Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Walnut Grove is located in Spartanburg County
  • Reidville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Golightly
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Golightly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golightly
    • Golightly is located in Spartanburg County
  • Hobbyville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hobbyville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hobbyville
    • Hobbyville is located in Spartanburg County
  • Enoree
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Hillsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsville
    • Hillsville is located in Spartanburg County
  • Wellford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Glenn Springs
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenn Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenn Springs
    • Glenn Springs is located in Spartanburg County
  • Fairforest
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Evinsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evinsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evinsville
      • Evinsville is located in Spartanburg County
    • Dutchman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutchman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchman
      • Dutchman is located in Spartanburg County
    • Spartanburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Switzer ...

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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Switzer.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Switzer, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Switzer.

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 Switzer:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Switzer. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Spartanburg County: www.co.spartanburg.sc.us/

The official website for State of South Carolina: https://sc.gov/

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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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.
<5>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 Switzer, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Switzer) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Switzer. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.8051, Longitude: -82.0282       In this case, the coordinates for Switzer have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025