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 Mechanicsville (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 Mechanicsville. 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 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.
Mechanicsville is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.
Below are the counties that are near Mechanicsville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Mechanicsville:
- Rockbridge County (The home county of Mechanicsville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Buffalo Forge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- East Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Fancy Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Riverside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Glasgow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Greenlee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Natural Bridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Red Mills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Kerrs Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
- Springfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Fairfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Fairfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
- Alleghany County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Griffith
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Iron Gate
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Clifton Forge
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Selma
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Low Moor
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Rich Patch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Forks of Buffalo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
- Alto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Alto is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
- Allwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Allwood is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
- Pleasant View
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Pedlar Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Sandidges
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Sandidges is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
- Lowesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Monitor
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Monitor is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
- Sweet Briar Station
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
- Amherst
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Coolwell is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
- Winesap
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Madison Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Augusta County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Steeles Tavern
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spottswood is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
- Newport
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Newport is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Greenville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Craigsville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Middlebrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pond Gap ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Pond Gap is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pond Gap
- Marble Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Marble Valley is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Valley
- Chapin
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Chapin is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
- Arbor Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Arbor Hill is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arbor Hill
- Sherando
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sherando is located in Augusta County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherando
- Stuarts Draft
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Millboro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yost
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Yost is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
- Bath Alum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bath Alum is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
- Carloover
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carloover is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Fort Lewis ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Lewis is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Lewis
- Healing Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Mitchelltown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Waugh
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Waugh is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
- Coleman Falls
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
- Abert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Abert is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
- Boonsboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
- Cifax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Cifax is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
- Peaksville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Bellevue
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Bellevue is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
- Forest
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Goode
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Lowry
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Montvale
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Rocky Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
- Buchanan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Salt Petre Cave
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- 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
- Springwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Springwood is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
- Salisbury
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Gala
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Glen Wilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Haden
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Lithia
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Strom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Strom is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
- Fincastle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Buena Vista City
- Buena Vista
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Powhatan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Timberlake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Bedford Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Mount Athos ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
- Lawyers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Lexington City
- Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Lavino Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Woodbine Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lynchburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Massies Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Massies Mill is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Massies Mill
- Jonesboro
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Jonesboro is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesboro
- Tyro
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bryant
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Bryant is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryant
- Colleen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Colleen is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
- Arrington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
- Old Myndus
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Old Myndus is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Myndus
- Shipman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Shipman is located in Nelson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipman
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Mechanicsville, see our County-by-County Page for Mechanicsville.
Cemeteries Near Mechanicsville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mechanicsville.
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 Mechanicsville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Mechanicsville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Wesley Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Paxton Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Green Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Falling Spring Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mt. Lidia Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rockbridge Memorial Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Salling Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Grove Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Lexington.
- The Oak Grove Cemetery has also been known as:
- Presbyterian Cemetery
- Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2158181 <2>
- Glasgow Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Roberts Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Miller Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (189 more) ...
- Diamond Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Old Monmouth Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 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.<3>
While we didn't find Mechanicsville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mechanicsville.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Mechanicsville, with the one closest to Mechanicsville listed first.
- Buffalo Forge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- South River
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- South River is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South River
- Zollman ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
- Fancy Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- East Lexington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
- Balcony Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Balcony Falls is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcony Falls
- Glasgow
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Murat
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Murat is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
- Snowden
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Snowden is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowden
- Cornwall
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Cornwall is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Oronoco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Oronoco is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oronoco
- Natural Bridge
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Willow
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willow is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Mechanicsville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Mechanicsville.
Newspapers Published in Mechanicsville ...
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 Mechanicsville.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mechanicsville, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mechanicsville.
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 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 Mechanicsville:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Rockbridge County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alleghany County
- Amherst County
- Augusta County
- Bath County
- Bedford City
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Buena Vista City
- Campbell County
- Lexington City
- Lynchburg City
- Nelson 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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Mechanicsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mechanicsville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |