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 Damascus (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 Damascus. 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 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.
Damascus is located in Johnson County.
To see how the shape of Tennessee's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Johnson County: Ashe (NC), Avery (NC), Watauga (NC), Carter, Sullivan, Grayson (VA) & Washington (VA).
Below are the counties that are near Damascus. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Damascus:
- Johnson County (The home county of Damascus)
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Winchester
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Mountain City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Fuller
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Butler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Shingletown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Norris
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Trade
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Buladeen
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Fish Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Siam
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Hunter
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Hampton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Elizabethton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Shell Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shell Creek is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Creek
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,037 people
- Roan Mountain
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Biltmore
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Gap Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Heaton Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Heaton Creek is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Creek
- Watauga
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Sullivan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Holston Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Hunter Hills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Cedar Grove
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Forest Hills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Bristol
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Bluff City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,672 people
- Former name for Bluff City:
- Zollicoffer
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bluff City <1>
- Childress
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Childress is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Collingwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Akard Addition
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Galloway Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Galloway Mill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 665 people
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Limestone Cove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Unicoi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- East Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- South Gate Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Gate Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
- Austin Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Carnegie
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Carnegie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- Oakland Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Oakland Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Village
- Johnson City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67,142 people
- Former names for Johnson City:
- Blue Plum Station
- Haynesville
- Johnsons Depot
- Johnsons Tank
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnson City <1>
- North Johnson City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johnson City
- Camelot Two
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Camelot Two is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people
- Flourville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Oak Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Midway
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Midway is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Spurgeon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Ashland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Grayson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Creston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Roten
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Roten is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Apple Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Todd
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Comet
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Comet is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Warrensville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Lansing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Brownwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Brownwood is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownwood
- Brandon
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Fleetwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Avery County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Mount Gilead
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Whaley is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Beech Mountain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Banner Elk
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Elk Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Seven Devils
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Grandfather
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Grandfather is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Minneapolis
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Minneapolis is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis
- Vale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Vale is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Newland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Linville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Caldwell County (NC)
- Blowing Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Buladean
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Buladean is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladean
- Little Rock Creek ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Little Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock Creek
- Watauga County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Mabel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Zionville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
- Sugar Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rominger
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Rominger is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rominger
- Vilas
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Valle Crucis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Matney
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Matney is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Norris ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Sands
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Sands is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sands
- Boone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Boone is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 20,003 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boone <1>
- Foscoe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Damascus, see our County-by-County Page for Damascus.
Cemeteries Near Damascus ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Damascus.
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 Damascus - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Damascus covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Morley Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Campbell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Stout Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Grindstaff Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Cole Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cole Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Laws Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Price Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Crosswhite Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Phillipps Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Proffitt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (868 more) ...
- Fletcher Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Ford Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Damascus in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Damascus.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Damascus, with the one closest to Damascus listed first.
- Little Doe
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Little Doe is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Doe
- Pandora
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Pandora is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pandora
- Doeville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Doeville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doeville
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Mountain City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Casper ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Casper is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casper
- Butler
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ironville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Ironville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironville
- Stump Knob ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Stump Knob is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stump Knob
- Reese
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Reese is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reese
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Lineback ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lineback is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lineback
- Leander
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Leander is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leander
- Osborn
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Osborn is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osborn
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Damascus. See our List of 1890's Communities around Damascus.
Newspapers Published in Damascus ...
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 5 newspapers that have been published in the area around Damascus.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Damascus, there are papers which were published within 6 miles [9.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Damascus.
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 websites either 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 Damascus:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Johnson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Sullivan County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Ashe County
- Avery County
- Caldwell County
- Mitchell County
- Watauga County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Tennessee
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> | 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 Damascus, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Damascus) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |