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 Rafter (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 Rafter. 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 hospitals 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.
Rafter is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Cherokee (NC), Graham (NC), Blount, Loudon, McMinn & Polk.
Below are the counties that are near Rafter. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rafter:
- Monroe County (The home county of Rafter)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Belltown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Acorn
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Jacktown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jacktown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacktown
- Estimated population in 2014: 67,319 people
- Tellico Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jalapa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Toqua ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Toqua is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toqua
- Halfway Town ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Halfway Town is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halfway Town
- Coker Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Rural Vale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
- Epperson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Blount County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Chilhowee
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Chilhowee is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chilhowee
- Brick Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Brick Mill is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brick Mill
- Happy Valley
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Happy Valley is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
- Cloyd Creek ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cloyd Creek is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloyd Creek
- Binfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Binfield is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Binfield
- McMullens
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- McMullens is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McMullens
- Estimated population in 2014: 13,620 people
- Sixmile
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sixmile is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sixmile
- Walnut Hill Estates
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Walnut Hill Estates is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill Estates
- Population from the 2010 Census: 2,394 people
- Big Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Big Springs is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
- Big Springs has also been known as:
- Cliff
- Fairway Estates
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Fairway Estates is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,224 people
- Kiser
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Kiser is located in Blount County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Friendsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Loudon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Trigonia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Trigonia is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigonia
- Morganton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Morganton is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morganton
- Alleghany ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Alleghany is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany
- Estimated population in 2014: 630 people
- Greenback
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jena
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Jena is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jena
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,279 people
- Centersville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Centersville is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centersville
- Philadelphia
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Loudon
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Loudon City Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Loudon City Park is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudon City Park
- Luttrell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Lenoir City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sharp Estates
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Sharp Estates is located in Loudon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Estates
- Estimated population in 2014: 919 people
- McMinn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Mecca
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Mecca is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
- Nonaburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Nonaburg is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nonaburg
- Englewood
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Manila
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Manila is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manila
- Grady
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Grady is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Bell Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bell Spring is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Spring
- Etowah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Goodsprings
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Goodsprings is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodsprings
- Niota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Athens
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Prigmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Prigmore is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prigmore
- Claxton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Claxton is located in McMinn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claxton
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Servilla
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Servilla is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servilla
- Delano
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rymers ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rymers is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rymers
- Belltown Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Belltown Hill is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,457 people
- Archville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Archville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archville
- Chanceytown
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chanceytown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chanceytown
- Ducktown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Copperhill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Chestuee
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Chestuee is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestuee
- Benton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fannin County (GA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Pantertown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pantertown is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pantertown
- Population from the 2010 Census: 9,749 people
- McCaysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Fry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fry is located in Fannin County (GA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fry
- Cherokee County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Unaka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Unaka is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unaka
- Hiwassee Village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Hiwassee Village is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hiwassee Village
- Ogreeta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ogreeta is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogreeta
- Pleasant Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Hill is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Boiling Springs
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Boiling Springs is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Springs
- Vests
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Vests is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vests
- Grape Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Grape Creek is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grape Creek
- Liberty
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Liberty is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Marble
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Postell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Postell is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Postell
- Coalville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coalville is located in Cherokee County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalville
- Murphy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Clay County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Brasstown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Log Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Log Village is located in Clay County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Log Village
- Graham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Lake Santeetlah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lake Santeetlah is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Santeetlah
- Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
- Lake Santeetlah has also been known as:
- Santeetla
- Santeetlah
- Santultah
- Thunderbird Mountain
- Thunderbird
- Yellow Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Yellow Creek is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Creek
- Fontana Dam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fontana Dam is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fontana Dam
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6 people
- Fontana Dam has also been known as:
- Fontana Village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fontana Dam <1>
- Robbinsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cheoah
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cheoah is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cheoah
- Bear Creek
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Bear Creek is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Stecoah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Stecoah is located in Graham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stecoah
- Swain County (NC)
- Nantahala
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Nantahala is located in Swain County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nantahala
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rafter, see our County-by-County Page for Rafter.
Cemeteries Near Rafter ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rafter.
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 Rafter - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rafter covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Giles Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Mt. Isabel Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Williamsburg Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Shaw Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Cane Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Lulah Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Carter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Center Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Miller Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Farrs Chapel Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mahan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Stevens Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (441 more) ...
- Giles Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Coppenger Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coppenger Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rafter had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rafter, with the one closest to Rafter listed first.
- Belltown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Belltown is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belltown
- Ballplay
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ballplay is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballplay
- Acorn
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Acorn is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acorn
- Tellico Plains
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sink ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Sink is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sink
- Jalapa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Jalapa is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jalapa
- Hopewell Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hopewell Springs is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hopewell Springs
- Tevis
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tevis is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tevis
- Mount Vernon
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Mount Vernon is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
- Rural Vale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rural Vale is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Vale
- Coker Creek
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Coker Creek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coker Creek
- Caringer ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Caringer is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caringer
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Citico ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Citico is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Citico
- Epperson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Epperson is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epperson
- Ipe ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ipe is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ipe
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rafter. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rafter.
Newspapers Published in Rafter ...
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 24 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rafter.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rafter, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rafter.
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 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 Rafter:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Monroe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blount County
- Loudon County
- McMinn County
- Polk County
- Fannin County
- Cherokee County
- Clay County
- Graham County
- Swain 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> | 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 Rafter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rafter) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |