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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 Woodruff (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 Woodruff. 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 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.

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

  • Spartanburg County     (The home county of Woodruff)
  • Abbeville County
  • Anderson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodruff, with the one closest to Woodruff listed first.
    • Pelzer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Piedmont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • West Pelzer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • 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
    • 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
    • Williamston
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Belton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Cherokee County
  • Greenville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodruff, with the one closest to Woodruff listed first.
    • Fountain Inn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • 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
    • Simpsonville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • 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
    • Pelham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pelham
      • From Woodruff to Pelham
    • Mauldin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • East Gate Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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
    • Greer
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fork Shoals
      (17 miles [27.4 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fork Shoals
      • From Woodruff to Fork Shoals
    • Conestee
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Chick Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Lickville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lickville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lickville
      • Lickville is located in Greenville County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lickville
      • From Woodruff to Lickville
    • Taylors
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Laurens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodruff, with the one closest to Woodruff listed first.
    • Gray Court
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Tylersville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Green Pond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Laurens
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Simpson ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 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
    • Clinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cold Point
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lisbon ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lisbon
      • From Woodruff to Lisbon
    • Princeton
      (21 miles [33.8 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
    • Ekom
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dover ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Joanna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Newberry County
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodruff, with the one closest to Woodruff listed first.
    • Colerain
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Colerain
      • From Woodruff to Colerain
    • Bishop Town ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Buffalo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Sedalia
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sedalia
      • From Woodruff to Sedalia
    • Jonesville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bonham
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bonham
      • From Woodruff to Bonham
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Kelly
      (25 miles [40.2 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
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kelly
      • From Woodruff to Kelly
    • Bailey Town ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 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
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Delta
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delta. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delta
      • Delta is located in Union County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delta
      • From Woodruff to Delta

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

Cemeteries Near Woodruff ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woodruff.

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 Woodruff covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • New Bethel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles 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.
  • Crestview Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • 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.
  • Greenhaven Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenhaven Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenhaven Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Flint Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
  • Unity Baptist Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Cedar Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • 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 Liberty Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • 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.
  • Wrights Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wrights Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wrights Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Garrett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garrett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garrett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bramlett Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bramlett Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bramlett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Pond Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (385 more) ...

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 Woodruff had a population of 380 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Woodruff had a population of 4,507 people.

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

  • Switzer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Switzer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Switzer
    • Switzer is located in Spartanburg County
  • Hillsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Hobbyville
    (6 miles [9.7 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
  • Moore
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Enoree
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Walnut Grove
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Cashville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • 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
  • Fountain Inn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Owings
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Owings have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owings
    • Owings is located in Laurens County
  • Evinsville
    (9 miles [14.5 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
  • Reidville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Gray Court
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Ora
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ora
      • Ora is located in Laurens 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
    • Golightly
      (11 miles [17.7 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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Woodruff ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woodruff.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Woodruff. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Woodruff and those printed in the larger area surrounding Woodruff.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<6> of Woodruff.

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 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 Woodruff:

The official website for Woodruff: www.cityofwoodruff.com/

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 Woodruff, 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- Woodruff) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Woodruff. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.7397, Longitude: -82.0372    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 22 Apr 2025