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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 Goshen (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 Goshen. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Goshen is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.

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

  • Rockbridge County     (The home county of Goshen)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goshen, with the one closest to Goshen listed first.
    • Kerrs Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kerrs Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
      • Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kerrs Creek
      • From Goshen to Kerrs Creek
    • Brownsburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Davis
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Davis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
      • Davis is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Davis
      • From Goshen to Davis
    • East Lexington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Fairfield
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Marlbrook
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Riverside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Goshen to Riverside
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zollman
      • From Goshen to Zollman
    • Buffalo Forge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Fancy Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • 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 Goshen to Fancy Hill
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Glasgow
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Natural Bridge
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goshen, with the one closest to Goshen listed first.
    • Griffith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffith. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
      • Griffith is located in Alleghany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griffith
      • From Goshen to Griffith
    • Iron Gate
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
      • Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Clifton Forge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Selma
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Alleghany County
    • Low Moor
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rich Patch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Amherst County
  • Augusta County
  • Bath County
  • Botetourt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goshen, with the one closest to Goshen listed first.
    • Glen Wilton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Gala
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Haden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
      • Haden is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haden
      • From Goshen to Haden
    • Rocky Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • 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.<1>
      • 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 Goshen to Rocky Point
    • Salt Petre Cave
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salt Petre Cave. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
      • Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
      • Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
      • Salt Peter Cave
      • Saltpetre
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Salt Petre Cave
      • From Goshen to Salt Petre Cave
    • Strom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strom. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strom
      • From Goshen to Strom
    • Salisbury
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 <2>
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Covington City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,639 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <2>
  • Highland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Goshen, with the one closest to Goshen listed first.
    • Clover Creek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • McDowell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Buckeye ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
      • Buckeye is located in Highland County
    • Meadowdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
      • Meadowdale is located in Highland County
    • Monterey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monterey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monterey
      • Monterey is located in Highland County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monterey <2>
    • Palo Alto
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palo Alto. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palo Alto
      • Palo Alto is located in Highland County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palo Alto
      • From Goshen to Palo Alto
  • Lexington City
  • Nelson County
  • Staunton City
  • Pocahontas County (WV)
    • Frost
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frost. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Frost is located in Pocahontas County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Frost
      • From Goshen to Frost

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

Cemeteries Near Goshen ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Goshen.

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

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

  • Little River Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bratton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bratton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bratton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • The Pines Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The Pines Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for The Pines Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chestnut Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chestnut Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chestnut Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Valley Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hartbarger Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartbarger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartbarger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Kerrs Creek Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kerrs Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kerrs Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Craigsville Memorial Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Craigsville Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Craigsville Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Monmouth Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Monmouth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Monmouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Providence Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Providence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Providence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (129 more) ...
    • Mt. Herman Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Herman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Herman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Mt. Moreland Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Goshen had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Goshen had a population of 371 people.

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

  • Bells Valley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bells Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bells Valley
    • Bells Valley is located in Rockbridge County
  • Yost
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Millboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Millboro Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millboro Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millboro Springs
    • Millboro Springs is located in Bath County
  • California
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for California have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for California
    • California is located in Rockbridge County
  • Zack
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zack have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zack
    • Zack is located in Rockbridge County
  • Denmark
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denmark have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denmark
    • Denmark is located in Rockbridge County
  • Green Valley
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
    • Green Valley is located in Bath County
  • Armstrong
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Armstrong have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
    • Armstrong is located in Bath County
  • Craigsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Brownsburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Marble Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Crane
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crane
      • Crane is located in Bath County
    • Timber Ridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Ridge
      • Timber Ridge is located in Rockbridge County
    • Decatur
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Decatur have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Decatur
      • Decatur is located in Rockbridge County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Goshen ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Goshen.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Goshen. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Goshen and those printed in the larger area surrounding Goshen.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6> of Goshen.

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 Goshen:

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

The official website for Rockbridge County: www.co.rockbridge.va.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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.
<5>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 Goshen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Goshen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Goshen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9866, Longitude: -79.4982    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025