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 Fork Mountain (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 Fork Mountain. 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 Fork Mountain ...
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 Fork Mountain: Fork Mtn. (or less commonly used: Fork Mntn.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Fork Mountain. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Fork Mountain.
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 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.
Fork Mountain 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 Fork Mountain. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fork Mountain:
- Botetourt County (The home county of Fork Mountain)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Rocky Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Springwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Lithia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Salt Petre Cave
(9 miles [14.5 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
- Salisbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Gala
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Blue Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fincastle
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Troutville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Amsterdam
(18 miles [29 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 Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Iron Gate
(20 miles [32.2 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
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Clifton Forge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Low Moor
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Selma
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Pleasant View
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Allwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Forks of Buffalo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Winesap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Sandidges
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Alto
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Coolwell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Madison Heights
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Monitor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Amherst
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Bath County
- Millboro
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Peaksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Montvale
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cifax
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Villamont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Waugh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Lowry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Coleman Falls
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Goode
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Joppa Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Boonsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Powhatan
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Bedford Springs
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Timberlake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Lawyers
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Yellow Branch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Covington City
- Covington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- New Castle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Abbott
(30 miles [48.3 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 Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain 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 Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Buena Vista
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Roanoke
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(27 miles [43.5 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 Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Hollins
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Springfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Red Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Greenlee
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Natural Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Glasgow
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Buffalo Forge
(14 miles [22.5 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
(22 miles [35.4 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 Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Sunset Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fork Mountain, see our County-by-County Page for Fork Mountain.
Cemeteries Near Fork Mountain ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fork Mountain.
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 Fork Mountain - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fork Mountain covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Bryant Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Watson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Robinson Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Ponton Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fairview Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Mountain Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tolley Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- High Bridge Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebenezer UMC Cemetery
- The Ebenezer UMC Cemetery has also been known as:
- Ebenezer Church Cemetery
- Ebenezer Methodist Church Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51521 <3>
- Old Ebenezer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Natural Bridge Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (310 more) ...
- Shafer Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Mays Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Copps Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Fork Mountain in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fork Mountain.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fork Mountain, with the one closest to Fork Mountain listed first.
- Munford
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Munford is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munford
- Arcadia
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Arcadia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Dillon
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Dillon is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
- Alpine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Alpine is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Rocky Point
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gilmore Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Gilmore Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Mills
- Curtis
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Curtis is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curtis
- Natural Bridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Springwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Lithia
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Reba
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Peaksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Otterville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Otterville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otterville
- Sedalia
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sedalia is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sedalia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fork Mountain. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fork Mountain.
Newspapers Published in Fork Mountain ...
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 Fork Mountain.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fork Mountain, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fork Mountain.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Fork Mountain:
- 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fork Mountain) 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 Fork Mountain, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |