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 Dillon (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 Dillon. 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 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.
Dillon 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 Dillon. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dillon:
- Botetourt County (The home county of Dillon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Buchanan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rocky Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Springwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Salt Petre Cave
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Lithia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Salisbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Fincastle
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Gala
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Blue Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Troutville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Amsterdam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Iron Gate
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Rich Patch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Clifton Forge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Low Moor
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Selma
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Griffith
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Moss Run
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Allwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Forks of Buffalo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Winesap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Alto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Sandidges
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Coolwell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Madison Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Monitor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Sweet Briar Station
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Carloover
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Carloover is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Millboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Peaksville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Montvale
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Waugh
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Cifax
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Lowry
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Coleman Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Goode
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Joppa Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Bellevue
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Chamblissburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Bedford Springs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Powhatan
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Lawyers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Covington City
- Covington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- New Castle
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Abbott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Buena Vista
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(26 miles [41.8 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 Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Hollins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Springfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Natural Bridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Greenlee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Fancy Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Glasgow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Kerrs Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Riverside
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Sunset Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dillon, see our County-by-County Page for Dillon.
Cemeteries Near Dillon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dillon.
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 Dillon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dillon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairview Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Watson Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bryant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Ponton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- High Bridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mays Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Copps Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shafer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Rudisill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Houseman Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (309 more) ...
- Mountain Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Tolley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Natural Bridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Dillon had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dillon, with the one closest to Dillon listed first.
- Arcadia
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Arcadia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Buchanan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Munford
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Munford is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munford
- Alpine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alpine is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Rocky Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Springwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Lithia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Gilmore Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Mills
- Salt Petre Cave
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- 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
- Reba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Natural Bridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Curtis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Rapps Mill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Rapps Mill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapps Mill
- Salisbury
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dillon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dillon.
Newspapers Published in Dillon ...
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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dillon.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dillon, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dillon.
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 helpful 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 Dillon:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Botetourt County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Bath County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Franklin County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- 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> | 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- Dillon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Dillon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |