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 Dry 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 Dry 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 Dry 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Dry Fork: Dry Frk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Dry Fork. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Dry 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 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.
Dry Fork is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Dry Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dry Fork:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Dry Fork)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Tightsqueeze
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Chatham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Spring Garden
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Weal
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Transco Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Ridgecrest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Sheva
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
- Kentuck
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Whittles
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Mount Cross
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Lucks
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lucks is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucks
- Sonans
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
- Swansonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Huddleston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Radford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Leesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Altavista
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Melrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Melrose is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Danville City
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Penhook
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Union Hall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Sydnorsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Redwood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Sutherlin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Elmo
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sign Rock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Rodden
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- Delila
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Jones
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Leda
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Leda is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
- Cody
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cody is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
- Westside Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Westside Village is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside Village
- Alton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Banister Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Banister Town is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister Town
- Halifax
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Loftis
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Loftis is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Axton
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Irisburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Sandy Level
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Laurel Park
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Chatmoss
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Ridgeway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Collinsville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Villa Heights
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Oak Level
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Fieldale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Gatewood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Whitetown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Blanch
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pelham
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Milton
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Bethel
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Semora
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Quick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- West Yanceyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Yanceyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Person County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Ceffo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Ruffin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Draper ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Spray ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Lawsonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Eden
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Fairview
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- College Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Matrimony
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Providence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Dry Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Dry Fork.
Cemeteries Near Dry Fork ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dry 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 Dry Fork - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Dry Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Chestnut Level Baptist Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Jones Family Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Harris Homestead Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Chatham Burial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Weal Presbyterian Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Atkinson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Highland Burial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Burial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Highland Burial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Danville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50621 <3>
- Whitethorn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cunningham Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Neal Family Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Leemont Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Continue List (455 more) ...
- Thomas Family Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Gregory Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Scearce Gammon Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
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, Dry Fork had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Pleasant Gap
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Gap is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
- Chatham
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Spring Garden
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Weal
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Keeling
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Keeling is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Whitmell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Banister
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Banister is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister
- Kentuck
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Shockoe
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Shockoe is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockoe
- Mount Cross
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Whittles
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Vance
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Sonans
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
- Swansonville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Ringgold
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ringgold is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Dry Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Dry Fork.
Newspapers Published in Dry 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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dry Fork.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dry Fork, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dry Fork.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Dry Fork:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Campbell County
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Caswell County
- Person County
- Rockingham 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dry Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Dry Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |