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 Blacksburg (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 Blacksburg. 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.
Blacksburg is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.
Below are the counties that are near Blacksburg. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blacksburg:
- Rockbridge County (The home county of Blacksburg)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Riverside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Fairfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Marlbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- East Lexington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Brownsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Davis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Kerrs Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Buffalo Forge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Fancy Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Glasgow
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Goshen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Griffith
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Clifton Forge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Selma
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Low Moor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Alto
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Forks of Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Allwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Sandidges
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Pleasant View
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Lowesville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pedlar Mills
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Monitor
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Amherst
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Glasgow
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- New Glasgow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glasgow
- Sweet Briar Station
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Coolwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Winesap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Steeles Tavern
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Newport
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Greenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Middlebrook
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Craigsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Pond Gap is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Arbor Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Stuarts Draft
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chapin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Chapin is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Marble Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Marble Valley is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Sherando
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Lipscomb
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lipscomb is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lipscomb
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Millboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Yost
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Yost is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
- Bath Alum
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bath Alum is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
- Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lewis is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
- Mitchelltown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Burnsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Burnsville is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnsville
- Warm Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Waugh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Cifax
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Peaksville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Rocky Point
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Salt Petre Cave
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
- Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
- Salt Peter Cave
- Saltpetre
- Glen Wilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Buchanan
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Gala
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Salisbury
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Springwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Haden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Lavino Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Massies Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Tyro
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Bryant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Colleen
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Arrington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Nellysford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Old Myndus
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Adial
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Adial is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adial
- Lodebar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Lodebar is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodebar
- Shipman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
- Greenfield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Greenfield is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Buffalo Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Staunton City
- Staunton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Waynesboro City
- Waynesboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blacksburg, see our County-by-County Page for Blacksburg.
Cemeteries Near Blacksburg ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blacksburg.
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 Blacksburg - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blacksburg covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Spring Valley Baptist Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Timber Ridge Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Clarks Mtn. Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- McDowell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Irish Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Fairfield Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Coffeytown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbridge Memorial Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bethany Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lexington.
- The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Presbyterian Cemetery
- Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2158181 <3>
- Continue List (172 more) ...
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Paxton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Old Monmouth Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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 Blacksburg in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blacksburg.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blacksburg, with the one closest to Blacksburg listed first.
- Cornwall
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Riverside
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Midvale
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Midvale is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Timber Ridge
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
- South River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- South River is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South River
- Decatur
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Decatur is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
- Marlbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Marlbrook is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlbrook
- Fairfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- East Lexington
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Oronoco
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oronoco is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoco
- Irish Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Irish Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irish Creek
- Davis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Davis is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Brownsburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Vesuvius
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Willow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Willow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blacksburg. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blacksburg.
Newspapers Published in Blacksburg ...
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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blacksburg.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blacksburg, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blacksburg.
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 Blacksburg:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Rockbridge County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson County
- Staunton City
- Waynesboro City
- 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Blacksburg) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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> | 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 Blacksburg, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |