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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 Dayton (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 Dayton. 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 hospitals 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.

Dayton is located in Rhea County and is the County Seat.

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 Rhea County: Bledsoe, Bradley, Cumberland, Meigs & Roane.

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

  • Rhea County     (The home county of Dayton)
  • Bledsoe County
  • Bradley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Etola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hopewell Estates
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Hopewell Estates is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Estates
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,874 people
    • Countryside Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Countryside Village is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside Village
    • Hopewell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Hopewell is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell
    • Bent Tree Acres
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Bent Tree Acres is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Tree Acres
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,309 people
    • Charleston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellefounte
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • East Cleveland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • East Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,608 people
    • South Cleveland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • South Cleveland is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Cleveland
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 6,912 people
    • McDonald
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mineral Park
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Wildwood Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Wildwood Lake is located in Bradley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Lake
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 3,124 people
  • Cumberland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Burke
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jewett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Newton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Newton is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,968 people
      • Newton has also been known as:
      • Peay
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Newton
      • From Dayton to Newton
    • Mount Gilead ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Mount Gilead is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
    • Lake Tansi Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Lantana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Erasmus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Crab Orchard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Todd Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Todd Town is located in Cumberland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Todd Town
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Lakewood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Lakewood is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
      • Estimated population in 2011: 2,336 people
    • Birchwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Sale Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Flat Top
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Soddy Lake Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Soddy Lake Heights is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soddy Lake Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 13,190 people
    • Soddy
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Soddy - Daisy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Daisy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Daisy is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daisy
    • Mowbray
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakesite
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Lakesite is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakesite
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,866 people
    • Caramel Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Caramel Village is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caramel Village
    • Crabtree Hills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Crabtree Hills is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crabtree Hills
      • Estimated population in 2014: 763 people
    • Middle Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Middle Valley is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Valley
  • Loudon County
  • Marion County
  • McMinn County
  • Meigs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Cayuga Town ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Cayuga Town is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cayuga Town
    • Beta
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Calico
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Calico is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calico
      • Estimated population in 2014: 495 people
    • Goodfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • East View
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • East View is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East View
      • Estimated population in 2014: 705 people
    • Decatur
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Cute ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Cute is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cute
    • Akeman Crossroad
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Sewee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Surprise
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Polk County
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Pioneer Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Pioneer Village is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Village
    • Glen Alice
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakemont Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lakemont Heights is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakemont Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 12,564 people
    • Morrisgap ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Morrisgap is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisgap
  • Sequatchie County
  • Van Buren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton listed first.
    • Chalybeate
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Chalybeate is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalybeate
    • Spencer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sweetgum
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sopha ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Sopha is located in Van Buren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sopha
      • Estimated population in 2014: 3,104 people

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

Cemeteries Near Dayton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dayton.

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 Dayton - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dayton, with the one closest to Dayton 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Dayton had a population of 2,719 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dayton had a population of 7,332 people.

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

  • Graysville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Evensville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Evensville is located in Rhea County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evensville
  • Ogden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Morgan Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgan Springs is located in Rhea County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan Springs
  • Coulterville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Coulterville is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulterville
  • Pineland ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Pineland is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pineland
  • Cotton Port ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Cotton Port is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Port
  • Summer City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Summer City is located in Bledsoe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer City
  • Sale Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Big Spring
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Big Spring is located in Meigs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Beta
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Brayton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Goodfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Tanbark ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Tanbark is located in Bledsoe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanbark
    • Brittsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Brittsville is located in Meigs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brittsville

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dayton ...

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 31 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dayton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dayton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dayton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dayton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 18 miles [29 km]<3> of Dayton.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dayton:

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>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- Dayton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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 Dayton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.