RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Shenandoah County >> Columbia Furnace >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Virginia

The Commemorative Quarter for Virginia





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 Columbia Furnace (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 Columbia Furnace. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Columbia Furnace is located in Shenandoah County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Shenandoah County: Frederick, Page, Rockingham, Warren & Hardy (WV).

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

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

Cemeteries Near Columbia Furnace ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbia Furnace.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Columbia Furnace, with the one closest to Columbia Furnace listed first.

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Heltsley Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Wakemans Grove Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wakemans Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wakemans Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Forge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Forge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Forge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christ Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christ Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christ Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedarwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Patmos Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Patmos Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Patmos Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palmyra Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palmyra Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palmyra Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunset View Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset View Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset View Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (219 more) ...
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Stoney Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stoney Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stoney Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Riverview Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Columbia Furnace had a population of 29 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Saint Luke
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Luke have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Luke
    • Saint Luke is located in Shenandoah County
  • Hamburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
    • Hamburg is located in Shenandoah County
  • Edinburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Calvary
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Calvary. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvary
    • Calvary is located in Shenandoah County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Calvary
    • From Columbia Furnace to Calvary
  • Willow Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Alonzaville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alonzaville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alonzaville
    • Alonzaville is located in Shenandoah County
  • Rockland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland is located in Hardy County (WV)
  • Jerome
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerome. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerome
    • Jerome is located in Shenandoah County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Jerome
    • From Columbia Furnace to Jerome
  • Woodstock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hawkinstown
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawkinstown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkinstown
    • Hawkinstown is located in Shenandoah County
  • Perry
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perry
    • Perry is located in Hardy County (WV)
  • Van Buren Furnace
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Van Buren Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Buren Furnace
    • Van Buren Furnace is located in Shenandoah County
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Rinkerton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Mount Jackson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Jackson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Jackson
      • Mount Jackson is located in Shenandoah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,144 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Jackson <2>
    • Saumsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saumsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saumsville
      • Saumsville is located in Shenandoah County

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

Newspapers Published in Columbia Furnace ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbia Furnace.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Columbia Furnace, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Columbia Furnace.

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 Columbia Furnace:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Columbia Furnace. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Shenandoah County: www.co.shenandoah.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Columbia Furnace) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbia Furnace. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.8750, Longitude: -78.6278    
<5>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.
<6>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 Columbia Furnace, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025