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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 New Castle (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 New Castle. 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.

New Castle is located in Craig County and is the County Seat.

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 Craig County: Alleghany, Botetourt, Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke & Monroe (WV).

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

  • Craig County     (The home county of New Castle)
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Abbott
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Simmonsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Huffman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Huffman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
      • Huffman is located in Craig County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Huffman
      • From New Castle to Huffman
    • Captain
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Captain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
      • Captain is located in Craig County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Captain
      • From New Castle to Captain
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Rich Patch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Moss Run
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Low Moor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Selma
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Alleghany County
    • Clifton Forge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Iron Gate
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
      • Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
  • Bedford County
  • Botetourt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Fincastle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Daleville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Troutville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Apple Tree Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Apple Tree Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
      • Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
    • Runaway Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runaway Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
      • Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
    • Botetourt ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Botetourt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
      • Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
    • Laymantown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laymantown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
      • Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
    • Strom
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strom. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strom
      • From New Castle to Strom
    • Blue Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Ridge
      • Blue Ridge is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Ridge <2>
    • Lithia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lithia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lithia
      • From New Castle to Lithia
    • Salisbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gala
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Covington City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,639 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <2>
  • Franklin County
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Kire
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
      • Kire is located in Giles County
    • Mountain Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Newport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Elliston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Bennetts Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Tabor Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Tabor Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
      • Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Shawsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shawsville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawsville
      • Shawsville is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shawsville <2>
    • Blacksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Ellett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • McBryde Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McBryde Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
      • McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Sundance Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sundance Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
      • Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Montgomery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Montgomery is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Montgomery
      • From New Castle to Montgomery
    • Alleghany Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Houchins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Houchins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
      • Houchins is located in Montgomery County
    • Merrimac
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
    • Prices Fork
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Roanoke City
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Roanoke
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Buena Vista
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
    • Garden City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Roanoke City
  • Roanoke County
  • Salem City
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Salem
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Salem is located in Salem City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <2>
    • Sunset Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
      • Sunset Village is located in Salem City
  • Greenbrier County (WV)
  • Monroe County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from New Castle, with the one closest to New Castle listed first.
    • Hollywood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Hillsdale
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hillsdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Monroe County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hillsdale
      • From New Castle to Hillsdale
    • Union
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Wikel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wikel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
      • Wikel is located in Monroe County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wikel
      • From New Castle to Wikel
    • Assurance
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Assurance. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
      • Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Assurance
      • From New Castle to Assurance
    • Wolfcreek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near New Castle ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of New Castle.

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

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

  • West View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Leffel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leffel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leffel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Huffman Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Looney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Looney Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Looney Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nutter Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nutter Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nutter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harper Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harper Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Paxton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Crawford Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Huffman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Huffman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Huffman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brickey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brickey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brickey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCartney Family Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (311 more) ...
    • Hebron UMC Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Caldwell Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Caldwell Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Caldwell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sarver Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sarver Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sarver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that New Castle had a population of 214 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, New Castle had a population of 155 people.

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

  • Looney
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Looney have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looney
    • Looney is located in Craig County
  • Abbott
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Craigs Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
    • Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
  • Gunn
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gunn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
    • Gunn is located in Craig County
  • Catawba
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catawba have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catawba
    • Catawba is located in Roanoke County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Catawba <2>
  • Moomaw ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moomaw have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
    • Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
  • Potts Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potts Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potts Creek
    • Potts Creek is located in Alleghany County
  • Paint Bank
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paint Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paint Bank
    • Paint Bank is located in Craig County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paint Bank <2>
  • Sinking Creek
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sinking Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinking Creek
    • Sinking Creek is located in Craig County
  • Sweet Springs
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Springs
    • Sweet Springs is located in Monroe County (WV)
  • Daleville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Amsterdam
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amsterdam have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
    • Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Fincastle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Sweet Chalybeate
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Chalybeate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Chalybeate
      • Sweet Chalybeate is located in Alleghany County
    • Centennial
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centennial have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
      • Centennial is located in Monroe County (WV)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of New Castle ...

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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around New Castle.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of New Castle. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of New Castle and those printed in the larger area surrounding New Castle.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of New Castle.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 New Castle:

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

The official website for Craig County: www.co.craig.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- New Castle) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in New Castle. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5024, Longitude: -80.1115    
<5>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 New Castle, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025