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 West Ridge (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 West Ridge. 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.
Name Variations for West Ridge ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
For example, a typical abbreviation for West Ridge: W. Ridge
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Ridge.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
West Ridge is located in Sullivan 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 Sullivan County: Carter, Hawkins, Johnson, Washington, Bristol City (VA), Scott (VA) & Washington (VA).
Below are the counties that are near West Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Ridge:
- Sullivan County (The home county of West Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Bristol
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Collingwood
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Walnut Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Walnut Hill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hill
- Forest Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Akard Addition
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Akard Addition is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Akard Addition
- Hunter Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
- Cross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cross is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,330 people
- Ruthton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Beechnut City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Beechnut City is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut City
- Cedar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cedar Grove is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Blountville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Galloway Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Galloway Mill is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway Mill
- Estimated population in 2014: 665 people
- Carter County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Buladeen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Biltmore
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Biltmore is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biltmore
- Hunter
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Hunter is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
- Watauga
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Watauga is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- Elizabethton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Siam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Siam is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siam
- Central
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Central is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central
- Pine Crest
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Pine Crest is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Crest
- Fish Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Fish Springs is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fish Springs
- Hampton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Gap Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Gap Run is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gap Run
- Woodby Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Woodby Hill is located in Carter County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodby Hill
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,730 people
- Greene County
- Milburnton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Milburnton is located in Greene County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milburnton
- Hawkins County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Greenvale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Greenvale is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenvale
- Rotherwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Rotherwood is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rotherwood
- Frisco
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Frisco is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frisco
- Waycross
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Waycross is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waycross
- Estimated population in 2014: 4,091 people
- Mount Carmel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Solitude ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Solitude is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solitude
- Block City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Block City is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block City
- Green Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Green Village is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Village
- Church Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blossom
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Blossom is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blossom
- New Canton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- New Canton is located in Hawkins County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Canton
- Johnson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Winchester
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Butler
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- High Health ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- High Health is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Health
- Fuller
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Shingletown
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Mountain City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Norris
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Norris is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norris
- Estimated population in 2014: 1,652 people
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Unicoi County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Whispering Pines
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Whispering Pines is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Pines
- Limestone Cove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Limestone Cove is located in Unicoi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone Cove
- Unicoi
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Flourville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Flourville is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flourville
- Oak Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Spurgeon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Spurgeon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spurgeon
- Population from the 2010 Census: 3,957 people
- Austin Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Austin Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin Village
- Gray
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Oakland Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland Village
- Carnegie
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Carnegie is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carnegie
- East Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- East Ridge is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Ridge
- Estimated population in 2014: 21,317 people
- Johnson City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- North Johnson City is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Johnson City
- South Gate Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- South Gate Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gate Village
- Camelot Two
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Camelot Two is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camelot Two
- Estimated population in 2014: 3,582 people
- Ashe County (NC)
- Grayson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Avery County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Mount Gilead
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Gilead is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Gilead
- Whaley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whaley is located in Avery County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whaley
- Watauga County (NC)
- Watauga Falls ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Watauga Falls is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watauga Falls
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for West Ridge.
Cemeteries Near West Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Ridge.
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 West Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Harr Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Shelby Hills Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Moore Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Moore Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Clark Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ordway Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Glenwood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Bristol.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #12436 <2>
- Steele Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dishner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Snodgrass Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Leonard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (781 more) ...
- Denton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dishner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dishner Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Dishner Cemetery is located 4 miles [6.4 km]<3> to the west of Bristol.
- The Dishner Cemetery has also been known as:
- A.M. Dishner Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #11370 <2>
- Harr Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<4>
While we didn't find West Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Ridge, with the one closest to West Ridge listed first.
- Bristol
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Paperville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Paperville is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paperville
- Beidlemans ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beidlemans is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beidlemans
- Ruthton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Blountville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sumpter ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sumpter is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumpter
- Mill Point
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mill Point is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Point
- Estimated population in 2014: 11,080 people
- Lella ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lella is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lella
- Bluff City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- 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>
- Holston Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Edgeworth ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Edgeworth is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgeworth
- Sac ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sac is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sac
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Lawson ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lawson is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawson
- Thom ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Thom is located in Sullivan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thom
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Ridge.
Newspapers Published in West Ridge ...
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 11 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Ridge, there are papers which were published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Ridge.
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 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 West Ridge:
- Websites specific to Tennessee
- Pages specific to Sullivan County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carter County
- Greene County
- Hawkins County
- Johnson County
- Unicoi County
- Washington County
- Ashe County
- Avery 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> | 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- West Ridge) 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 West Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |