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 Blue 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 Blue 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 Blue 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 Blue Ridge: Blue Rdg. (or less commonly used: Blue Rdge. or Blue Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Blue Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Blue 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.
Blue Ridge is located in Botetourt 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 Botetourt County: Alleghany, Bedford, Craig, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Blue Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blue Ridge:
- Botetourt County (The home county of Blue Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Laymantown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Troutville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Apple Tree Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
- Amsterdam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Daleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Lithia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Fincastle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Haymakertown
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
- Springwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Buchanan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Rich Patch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Low Moor
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Iron Gate
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Selma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Clifton Forge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Villamont
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Montvale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Chamblissburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Goodview
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Peaksville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Joppa Mill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Moneta
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Radford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Lowry
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Cifax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Leesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Powhatan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Covington City
- Covington
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- New Castle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Abbott
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Simmonsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Burnt Chimney
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Boones Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- North Shore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Villa ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Gogginsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Redwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Union Hall
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Hickman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Hickman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Rocky Mount
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Algoma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Algoma is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Elliston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shawsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Alleghany Springs is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany Springs
- Bennetts Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Buena Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Hollins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Montgomery Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Cave Spring
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Catawba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Wabun
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Riverside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Bent Mountain
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Springfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Natural Bridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Greenlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Fancy Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Glasgow
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Sunset Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blue Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Blue Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Blue Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blue 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 Blue Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blue Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Blue Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Laymantown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lawhorn Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Giles Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Roanoke Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Old Dominion Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Smith Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Troutville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Troutville Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Troutville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1968071 <2>
- Pleasant Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Foutz Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (596 more) ...
- Wheeler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Gray Cemetery
(5 miles [8 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Blue Ridge had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blue Ridge, with the one closest to Blue Ridge listed first.
- Nace
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Nace is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nace
- Coyner Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Coyner Springs is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coyner Springs
- Bonsack
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bonsack is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonsack
- Montvale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Troutville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cloverdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Amsterdam
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Daleville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hollins
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Stewartsville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Stewartsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartsville
- Lithia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Vinton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Fincastle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blue Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blue Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Blue 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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blue Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blue Ridge, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blue Ridge.
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 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 Blue Ridge:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Botetourt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Campbell County
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Franklin County
- Montgomery County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Salem 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> | 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 Blue Ridge, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Blue Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |