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 Clear Fork (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 Clear Fork. 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 Clear Fork ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
Another variation: Clearfork.
- A typical abbreviation for Clear Fork: Clear Frk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Clear Fork. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Clear Fork.
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 southwest 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 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.
Clear Fork is located in Bland 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 Bland County: Giles, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Clear Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Clear Fork:
- Bland County (The home county of Clear Fork)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Hicksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Bastian
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Round Bottom
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Bland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mechanicsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- Bearwallow
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Carroll County
- Sheep Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Shumate
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Glen Lyn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Narrows
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Thessalia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Lurich
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Hill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Bluff City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Hilton Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Pulaski
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wurno
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Dublin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Newbern
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Draper
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Atkins
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Mount Carmel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Bluefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Saint Clair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Yards
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Shawver Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Pocahontas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Boissevain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Little Town
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Springville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Abbs Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Wittens Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Wytheville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Kent
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Max Meadows
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Rural Retreat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Fort Chiswell
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Locust Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Siloam
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Rowe Crossroads
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Speedwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Ivanhoe
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Anawalt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Elkhorn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Northfork
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Keystone
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Bishop
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Gary
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Kimball
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Newhall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Welch
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Welch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Bluefield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Edison
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Littlesburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Nemours
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Yards
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Blake ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Bramwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coopers
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Flipping
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Freeman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Peterstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Ballard
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Raleigh County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Rhodell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Rhodell is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Eastgulf
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
- Helen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Helen is located in Raleigh County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Pipestem
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- True
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- True is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Wyoming County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Bud
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Mullens
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Woosley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Clear Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Clear Fork.
Cemeteries Near Clear Fork ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Clear Fork.
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 Clear Fork - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Clear Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Maple Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Neal Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Lambert Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tuggle Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Gibson Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Bailey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hutchinson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- McQuire Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pruett Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Hartwell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (393 more) ...
- Stowers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Stowers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Calfee Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
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 Clear Fork had a population of 35 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Clear Fork, with the one closest to Clear Fork listed first.
- Stowersville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Stowersville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowersville
- Hicksville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Byron
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Byron is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Bluefield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Grapefield
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
- Cove Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Ada
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ada is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
- Falls Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Saint Clair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- New Hope
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- New Hope is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Shawver Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Kimberling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Kimberling is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberling
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Clear Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Clear Fork.
Newspapers Published in Clear Fork ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Clear Fork.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Clear Fork, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Clear Fork.
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 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 Clear Fork:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Carroll County
- Giles County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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 Clear Fork, 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- Clear Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |