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 Bella Vista (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 Bella Vista. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Bella Vista is located in 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 Bella Vista. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Bella Vista:
- Pulaski County (The home county of Bella Vista)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Hilton Village
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Pulaski
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Wurno
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Dublin
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Newbern
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Draper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mack Creek Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Fairlawn
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Parrott
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Cowan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Snowville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Round Bottom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Bland
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Rocky Gap
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Bastian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hicksville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Sylvatus
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Shorts Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sheep Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Star
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Dugspur
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Woodlawn
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Fancy Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Gladesboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- 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
- Pike City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Captain
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Captain is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Huffman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Simmonsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Indian Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Sowers
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Poff
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Terrys Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Floyd
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Poplar Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Thessalia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Shumate
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Goodwins Ferry
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Narrows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Pearisburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Eggleston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pembroke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Lyn
(18 miles [29 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
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Grayson County
- Fries
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Childress
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Prices Fork
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Riner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Christiansburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Merrimac
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Rogers
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Rogers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- McBryde Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Sundance Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
- Oak Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Old Farm Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Raintree Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Raintree Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raintree Village
- Blacksburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- New Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Radford Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Simpkins Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Mill Village
(13 miles [20.9 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 Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Bluefield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Falls Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Saint Clair
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Locust Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Chiswell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Kent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Siloam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Austinville
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Wytheville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ivanhoe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Crockett
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Crossroads
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Speedwell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rural Retreat
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(19 miles [30.6 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 Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Willowton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Oakvale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- East River ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Blake ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Elgood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Edison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Oak Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Princeton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Athens
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bluefield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Peterstown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Ballard
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Assurance
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wikel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Summers County (WV)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 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 Bella Vista, see our County-by-County Page for Bella Vista.
Cemeteries Near Bella Vista ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bella Vista.
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 Bella Vista - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Bella Vista covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Thornsprings Methodist Church Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Pinehurst Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Newbern Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Dublin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- New Dublin Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Rhoades Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shiloh Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hurst Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Walkers Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Memory Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Anderson - Vickers Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (523 more) ...
- Highland Emmanuel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cecil Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
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>
While we didn't find Bella Vista in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bella Vista.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Bella Vista, with the one closest to Bella Vista listed first.
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Pulaski
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Altoona Mines ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Altoona Mines is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona Mines
- Newbern
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dublin
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Draper
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Poplar Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Wabash ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wabash is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabash
- Mechanicsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Thessalia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- New River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Staffordsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Staffordsville is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staffordsville
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Holly Brook
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Holly Brook is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Brook
- Allisonia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
- Belspring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Belspring is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belspring
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Bella Vista. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bella Vista.
Newspapers Published in Bella Vista ...
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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bella Vista.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bella Vista, 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 Bella Vista.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Bella Vista:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pulaski County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Craig County
- Floyd County
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Montgomery County
- Radford City
- Tazewell County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Bella Vista, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bella Vista) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |