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.
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 northwest 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 north.
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 north 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 Smyth 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 Smyth County: Bland, Grayson, Russell, Tazewell, Washington & Wythe.
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:
- Smyth 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.
- Adwolf
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Seven Mile Ford
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Chilhowie
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Marion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sugar Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Mount Carmel
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Ellendale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Saltville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Broadford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Atkins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Allison Gap
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Whitetop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Trout Dale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Rugby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Flat Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bridle Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Elk Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Independence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Elk Garden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Garden is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Garden
- Barnett
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Barnett is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnett
- Honaker
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lebanon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Dye
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dye is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dye
- Spring City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Asberrys
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Paintlick
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Paintlick is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paintlick
- Claypool Hill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Claypool Hill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claypool Hill
- Steeleburg
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Steeleburg is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steeleburg
- Pounding Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Thompson Valley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Cedar Bluff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Maxwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Maxwell is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell
- Pisgah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Pisgah is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pisgah
- Richlands
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Tazewell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Raven
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Loves Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Masada
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Masada is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Masada
- Friendship
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Fleet
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Green Cove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Lodi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Glade Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Damascus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Clinchburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Clinchburg is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinchburg
- Drowning Ford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Drowning Ford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drowning Ford
- Alvarado
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Alvarado is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
- Lindell
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Speedwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Crockett
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rowe Crossroads
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Piney Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Topia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
- Scottville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Amelia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Laurel Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Grayson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Grayson is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
- Apple Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Apple Grove is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Grove
- Brandon
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brandon is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
- Sturgills
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sturgills is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
- Helton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Helton is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
- Grassy Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Comet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Comet is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Lansing
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Roten
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Roten is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roten
- Weavers Ford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- Warrensville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ashland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Watauga County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Zionville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Mabel
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Mabel is located in Watauga County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
- Carter County (TN)
- Buladeen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buladeen is located in Carter County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buladeen
- Former names for Buladeen:
- Colesville
- Magnetic
- Johnson County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Shingletown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Shingletown is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shingletown
- Fuller
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fuller is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fuller
- Dowell ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Dowell is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowell
- Estimated population in 2014: 364 people
- Mountain City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Winchester is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester
- Estimated population in 2014: 8,547 people
- Vaughtsville ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Vaughtsville is located in Johnson County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vaughtsville
- Trade
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sullivan County (TN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Fishdam ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Fishdam is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishdam
- Holston Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Holston Valley is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston Valley
- Ruthton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ruthton is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruthton
- Forest Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Forest Hills is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Hills
- Hunter Hills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hunter Hills is located in Sullivan County (TN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter Hills
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,854 people
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.
- Macedonia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Hash Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Tucker Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Riverside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- McClure Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Copenhaver Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Shannon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- St. James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- James Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Gollehon Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rowland Creek Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Continue List (717 more) ...
- Thomas Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- South Fork Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- River Bend Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 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.<2>
While we didn't find Dry Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dry Fork.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Dry Fork, with the one closest to Dry Fork listed first.
- Loves Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Adwolf
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Chilhowie
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Seven Mile Ford
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Friendship
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Friendship is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Green Cove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Green Cove is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Cove
- Lodi
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Lodi is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Whitetop
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Marion
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Glade Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trout Dale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Damascus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Sugar Grove
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Longhollow ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Longhollow is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longhollow
- Rugby
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
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 31 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 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. 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 begin 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 Dry Fork:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Smyth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grayson County
- Russell County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- Watauga County
- Carter County
- Johnson County
- Sullivan 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Dry Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |