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 Grapefield (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 Grapefield. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors 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.
Grapefield is located in Bland 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 Bland County: Giles, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Grapefield. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Grapefield:
- Bland County (The home county of Grapefield)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Bastian
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hicksville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Bland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Rocky Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Mechanicsburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- Bearwallow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Sheep Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Shorts Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Shumate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Glen Lyn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Thessalia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Narrows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Lurich
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Poplar Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Rich Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Grayson County
- Elk Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Hilton Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Pulaski
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Draper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wurno
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Dublin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Newbern
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Atkins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Mount Carmel
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Marion
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Broadford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Little Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Bluefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Clair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Falls Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Yards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Boissevain
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Pocahontas
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Abbs Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Five Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Wittens Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Tazewell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Wytheville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rural Retreat
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Crockett
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Kent
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Max Meadows
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Fort Chiswell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Locust Hill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Siloam
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Speedwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Ivanhoe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Anawalt
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Bishop
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Elkhorn
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Keystone
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Northfork
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Gary
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- Newhall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Big Four
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- War
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Welch
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Welch is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Bluefield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Yards
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Nemours
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Edison
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Bramwell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Coopers
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Freeman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Littlesburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Flipping
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Montcalm
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- Blake ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Monroe County (WV)
- Peterstown
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Summers County (WV)
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Wyoming County (WV)
- Bud
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Grapefield, see our County-by-County Page for Grapefield.
Cemeteries Near Grapefield ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grapefield.
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 Grapefield - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Grapefield covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Brown Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Houndshell Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Thompson Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burkes Garden Central Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Shewey Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- The Shewey Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shewey Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Shewey Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<2> to the west of Bland.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #52125 <3>
- Crabtree Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Temple Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Park Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Continue List (430 more) ...
- Walnut Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Grandview Memory Gardens
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Valley Vista Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
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 Grapefield had a population of 62 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Grapefield, with the one closest to Grapefield listed first.
- Stowersville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Stowersville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowersville
- Cove Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Clear Fork
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clear Fork is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
- Burkes Garden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Effna
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
- Hicksville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Shawver Mill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Saint Clair
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Byron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Byron is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Bluefield
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Falls Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Rocky Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Bailey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bailey is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Grapefield. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grapefield.
Newspapers Published in Grapefield ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grapefield.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Grapefield, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Grapefield.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Grapefield:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Carroll County
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Wyoming 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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Grapefield) 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 Grapefield, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |