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Home >> State of Virginia >> Pulaski County >> Altoona Mines >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

So far, we found very little information about Altoona Mines. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>

We've added Altoona Mines to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Altoona Mines, please Contact Us.

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 Altoona Mines (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 Altoona Mines. 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 and 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.

Although our information shows that the community of Altoona Mines is historic, it would have been located within present day Pulaski County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Pulaski County: Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery & Wythe.

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

  • Pulaski County     (The home county of Altoona Mines)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Hilton Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
    • Pulaski
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
    • Wurno
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
    • Draper
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Newbern
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Dublin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mack Creek Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Fairlawn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
    • Parrott
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Parrott is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
    • Snowville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
    • Cowan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Cowan is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
  • Bland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Mechanicsburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
    • Bland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Round Bottom
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Hicksville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Bastian
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Rocky Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Shorts Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Sylvatus
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Sheep Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Oak Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Star
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Hillsville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Dugspur
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodlawn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Fancy Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Pipers Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Gladesboro
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
    • Nester
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Nester is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Duncan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Duncan is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Sowers
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sowers is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
  • Galax City
    • Galax
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Poplar Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
    • Thessalia
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Shumate
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Narrows
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Bluff City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Bluff City is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
    • Pearisburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Eggleston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Goodwins Ferry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
    • Glen Lyn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Lurich
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Lurich is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
    • Rich Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Pembroke
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Newport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Newport is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Fries
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Elk Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Childress
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
    • Prices Fork
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
    • Riner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Christiansburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Merrimac
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
    • Rogers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Rogers is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Blacksburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • McBryde Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
    • Sundance Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
    • Oak Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Old Farm Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
    • Raintree Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
    • Ellett
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Ellett is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • New Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • New Town is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Radford Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
    • Radford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Sunset Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Simpkins Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
    • Mill Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Mill Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Bluefield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Little Town is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
    • Falls Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
    • Saint Clair
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
    • Shawver Mill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
    • Yards
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Yards is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Pocahontas
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
    • Springville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
  • Wythe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Locust Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Max Meadows
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Fort Chiswell
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Kent
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Siloam
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Wytheville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Austinville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ivanhoe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Crockett
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Rowe Crossroads
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
    • Rural Retreat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Speedwell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Speedwell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
  • Logan County (WV)
    • Rich Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
  • Mercer County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Oakvale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Willowton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
    • Blake ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
    • East River ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
    • Bethel ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Edison
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
    • Elgood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
    • El Centro ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
    • Bluefield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Grove
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Princeton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnston Town
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Johnston Town is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
    • Athens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Athens is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 890 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Athens <2>
  • Monroe County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Altoona Mines, with the one closest to Altoona Mines listed first.
    • Peterstown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Ballard
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
    • Assurance
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
  • Summers County (WV)
    • Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks

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

Cemeteries Near Altoona Mines ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Altoona Mines.

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 Altoona Mines - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

Altoona Mines itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Pulaski
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Sassin ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
  • Mechanicsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
  • Max Meadows
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Draper
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Holly Brook
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Holly Brook is located in Bland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Brook
  • Point Pleasant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Point Pleasant is located in Bland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Pleasant
  • Grahams Forge
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
  • Newbern
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Dublin
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Kimberling
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Kimberling is located in Bland County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberling
  • Poplar Hill
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Kent
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Bertha
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Bertha is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
    • Barren Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Altoona Mines ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Altoona Mines.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Altoona Mines, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Altoona Mines.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Altoona Mines:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Altoona Mines, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Altoona Mines) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.