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 Hopewell (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 Hopewell. 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 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.
Hopewell is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.
Below are the counties that are near Hopewell. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hopewell:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Hopewell)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Tightsqueeze
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Weal
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Chatham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Ridgecrest
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Mount Cross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Swansonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Spring Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Transco Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
- Grady
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Whittles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
- Sheva
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
- Worlds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Kentuck
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Huddleston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Radford
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Leesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Altavista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Danville City
- Danville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Penhook
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Union Hall
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- North Shore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Redwood
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Rocky Mount
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Villa ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Westlake Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- Henry
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Barfoot
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Sutherlin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Elmo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sign Rock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Delila
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Rodden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Rodden is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
- Leda
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Leda is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
- Jones
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Cody
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cody is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
- Westside Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Westside Village is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside Village
- Alton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Halifax
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Loftis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Loftis is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
- Banister Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Banister Town is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister Town
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Axton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Leatherwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Irisburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Sandy Level
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Laurel Park
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Chatmoss
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Ridgeway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Villa Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Collinsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Fieldale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Level
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Stanleytown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Gatewood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Whitetown
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Blanch
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Estelle
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Milton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Quick
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- West Yanceyville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Yanceyville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Semora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Person County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Ceffo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Concord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Concord is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Draper ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Ruffin
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Meadow Summit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Spray ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Eden
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Fairview
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Lawsonville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- College Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Matrimony
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Providence
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Wentworth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Reidsville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Norwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Norwood is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hopewell, see our County-by-County Page for Hopewell.
Cemeteries Near Hopewell ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hopewell.
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 Hopewell - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hopewell covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Harris Homestead Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Weal Presbyterian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jones Family Farm Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillcrest Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham Burial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chestnut Level Baptist Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Gregory Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Highland Burial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Burial Park
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Highland Burial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the north of Danville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #50621 <3>
- Scearce Gammon Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cunningham Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Danville Memorial Gardens
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Leemont Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (510 more) ...
- Atkinson Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Whitethorn Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Soyar Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
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 Hopewell in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hopewell.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hopewell, with the one closest to Hopewell listed first.
- Pleasant Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Gap is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
- Dry Fork
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Dry Fork is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
- Whitmell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Banister
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Banister is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister
- Weal
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Chatham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
- Vance
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Mount Cross
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Swansonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Callands
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Callands is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callands
- Keeling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Keeling is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
- Spring Garden
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grady
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Bachelors Hall
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bachelors Hall is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelors Hall
- Whittles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Whittles is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whittles
- Whittles has also been known as:
- Whittle's Depot
- Whittle's Station
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hopewell. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hopewell.
Newspapers Published in Hopewell ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hopewell.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Hopewell, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Hopewell.
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 helpful 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 Hopewell:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bedford County
- Campbell County
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Caswell County
- Person County
- Rockingham 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 '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- Hopewell) 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 Hopewell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |