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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 Coolwell (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 Coolwell. 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 doctors 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.

Coolwell is located in Amherst 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 Amherst County: Appomattox, Bedford, Campbell, Lynchburg City, Nelson & Rockbridge.

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

  • Amherst County     (The home county of Coolwell)
  • Appomattox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coolwell, with the one closest to Coolwell listed first.
    • Beckham
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
    • Bent Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bent Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
      • Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bent Creek
      • From Coolwell to Bent Creek
    • Spout Spring
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Appomattox
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Mills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Evergreen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Evergreen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Evergreen
      • From Coolwell to Evergreen
    • Hurtsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hurtsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurtsville
      • Hurtsville is located in Appomattox County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hurtsville
      • From Coolwell to Hurtsville
    • Pamplin City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Augusta County
  • Bedford City
  • Bedford County
  • Botetourt County
    • Rocky Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rocky Point. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
      • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rocky Point
      • From Coolwell to Rocky Point
  • Buckingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coolwell, with the one closest to Coolwell listed first.
    • Forbes ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forbes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forbes
      • Forbes is located in Buckingham County
    • Toga
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Manteo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manteo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manteo
      • Manteo is located in Buckingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Manteo
      • From Coolwell to Manteo
    • Alcoma
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Mount Vinco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Vinco. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vinco
      • Mount Vinco is located in Buckingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Vinco
      • From Coolwell to Mount Vinco
    • Andersonville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Buckingham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Glenmore
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glenmore. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenmore
      • Glenmore is located in Buckingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glenmore
      • From Coolwell to Glenmore
    • Axtell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Buena Vista City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buena Vista <1>
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coolwell, with the one closest to Coolwell listed first.
    • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Athos have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
      • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
    • Concord
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Powhatan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lawyers
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lawyers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
      • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lawyers
      • From Coolwell to Lawyers
    • Rustburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Timberlake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timberlake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
      • Timberlake is located in Campbell County
    • Bedford Springs
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Zion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mount Zion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
      • Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mount Zion
      • From Coolwell to Mount Zion
    • Gladys
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Lynch Station
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Altavista
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altavista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altavista
      • Altavista is located in Campbell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altavista <1>
    • Hat Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hat Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hat Creek
      • Hat Creek is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hat Creek
      • From Coolwell to Hat Creek
  • Lexington City
  • Lynchburg City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coolwell, with the one closest to Coolwell listed first.
    • Lavino Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lavino Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
      • Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
    • Lynchburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Woodbine Village
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
      • Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
  • Nelson County
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Coolwell, with the one closest to Coolwell listed first.
    • Glasgow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Buffalo Forge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Riverside
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Coolwell to Riverside
    • Greenlee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenlee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
    • Marlbrook
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Fancy Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fancy Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fancy Hill
      • From Coolwell to Fancy Hill
    • East Lexington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zollman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zollman
      • From Coolwell to Zollman
    • Natural Bridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Fairfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Red Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Red Mills. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
      • Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Red Mills
      • From Coolwell to Red Mills
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County

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

Cemeteries Near Coolwell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Coolwell.

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 Coolwell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Faulconer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faulconer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faulconer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Williams Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hicks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hicks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hicks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Campbell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Campbell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Campbell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McIvor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McIvor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McIvor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
  • New Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hope Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hope Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lone Pine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Pine Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Pine Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Morriss Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morriss Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morriss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Christian Aid Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Christian Aid Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Christian Aid Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Watts Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Watts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Watts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (177 more) ...

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 Coolwell had a population of 63 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Elon
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
    • Elon is located in Amherst County
  • Salt Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salt Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Creek
    • Salt Creek is located in Amherst County
  • Joshua Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Stapleton
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stapleton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stapleton
    • Stapleton is located in Amherst County
  • Abert
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Abert. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
    • Abert is located in Bedford County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Abert
    • From Coolwell to Abert
  • Clifford
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
    • Clifford is located in Amherst County
  • Pedlar Mills
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Sandidges
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sandidges. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
    • Sandidges is located in Amherst County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sandidges
    • From Coolwell to Sandidges
  • Walkers Ford
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • New Glasgow
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Pleasant View
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Boonsboro
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Athos have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
      • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
    • Allwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Allwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
      • Allwood is located in Amherst County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Allwood
      • From Coolwell to Allwood

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

Newspapers Published in Coolwell ...

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 96 newspapers that have been published in the area around Coolwell.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Coolwell, 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 Coolwell.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Coolwell:

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

The official website for Amherst County: www.countyofamherst.com/

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

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>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.
<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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Coolwell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Coolwell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5301, Longitude: -79.0929       In this case, the coordinates for Coolwell have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Coolwell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025