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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 Hightown (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 Hightown. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Hightown is located in Highland 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 Highland County: Augusta, Bath, Pendleton (WV) & Pocahontas (WV).

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

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

Cemeteries Near Hightown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hightown.

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

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

  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blue Grass Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blue Grass Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blue Grass Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Hobart Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Hobart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Hobart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Griffin Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griffin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griffin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Yeager Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Yeager Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Yeager Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arbovale Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arbovale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arbovale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Totten Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Totten Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Totten Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Mark Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mark Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mark Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Goodsell Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goodsell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Goodsell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Keller Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Keller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Keller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Big Valley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hauchen Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hauchen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hauchen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (59 more) ...
    • Buzzard Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Buzzard Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Buzzard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Dilly Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dilly Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dilly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Hightown had a population of 13 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Monterey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monterey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>
  • Meadowdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowdale
    • Meadowdale is located in Highland County
  • Vanderpool
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanderpool have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanderpool
    • Vanderpool is located in Highland County
  • New Hampden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Hampden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hampden
    • New Hampden is located in Highland County
  • Mill Gap
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Gap
    • Mill Gap is located in Highland County
  • McDowell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Doe Hill
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doe Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doe Hill
    • Doe Hill is located in Highland County
  • Green Bank
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Buckeye ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
    • Buckeye is located in Highland County
  • Clover Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Dry Run
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dry Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Run
    • Dry Run is located in Pendleton County (WV)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dry Run
    • From Hightown to Dry Run
  • Dunmore
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunmore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunmore
    • Dunmore is located in Pocahontas County (WV)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunmore <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bolar
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Palo Alto
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • 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.<3>
      • 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 Hightown to Palo Alto
    • Williamsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsville
      • Williamsville is located in Bath County

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

Newspapers Published in Hightown ...

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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hightown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hightown, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hightown.

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 Hightown:

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

The official website for Highland County: www.highlandcova.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Hightown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Hightown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hightown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.4312, Longitude: -79.6319       In this case, the coordinates for Hightown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025