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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 Mountain Falls (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 Mountain Falls. 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.

Name Variations for Mountain Falls ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Mountain Falls: Mtn. Falls

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Mountain Falls is located in Frederick 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 Frederick County: Clarke, Shenandoah, Warren, Berkeley (WV), Hampshire (WV), Hardy (WV) & Morgan (WV).

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

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

Cemeteries Near Mountain Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mountain Falls.

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

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

  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laurel Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laurel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gravel Springs Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gravel Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gravel Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lebanon Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lebanon Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lebanon Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quaker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quaker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Racey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Racey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Racey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wisecarver Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wisecarver Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wisecarver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lamps Memorial Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lamps Memorial Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lamps Memorial Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Carmel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Stephens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Stephens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walnut Springs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walnut Springs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walnut Springs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (184 more) ...

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Mountain Falls had a population of 28 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Gravel Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gravel Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravel Springs
    • Gravel Springs is located in Frederick County
  • Wheatfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatfield
    • Wheatfield is located in Shenandoah County
  • Lebanon Church
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lebanon Church have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebanon Church
    • Lebanon Church is located in Shenandoah County
  • Marlboro
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marlboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlboro
    • Marlboro is located in Frederick County
  • Fawcett Gap
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mount Williams
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Williams have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Williams
    • Mount Williams is located in Frederick County
  • Capon Springs
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Capon Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Capon Springs
    • Capon Springs is located in Hampshire County (WV)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Capon Springs <3>
  • Lehew
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lehew. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehew
    • Lehew is located in Hampshire County (WV)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Lehew
    • From Mountain Falls to Lehew
  • Rock Enon Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Oranda
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oranda have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oranda
    • Oranda is located in Shenandoah County
  • Rosenberger
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Yellow Spring
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Strasburg Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Strasburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strasburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strasburg
      • Strasburg is located in Shenandoah County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,716 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Strasburg <3>
    • Meadow Mills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Mills
      • Meadow Mills is located in Frederick County

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

Newspapers Published in Mountain Falls ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Mountain Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mountain Falls, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mountain Falls.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Mountain Falls:

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

The official website for Frederick County: www.co.frederick.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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mountain Falls) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mountain Falls. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.1171, Longitude: -78.3963       In this case, the coordinates for Mountain Falls have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Mountain Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025