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 Oak Ridge (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 Oak Ridge. 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 Oak Ridge ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 hospitals and 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.
Oak Ridge 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 Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Pittsylvania County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Mount Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Ridgecrest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Swansonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Kentuck
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
- Grady
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Tightsqueeze
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Tightsqueeze is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tightsqueeze
- Weal
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Worlds
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Chatham
(18 miles [29 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
- Laurel Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Laurel Grove is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Grove
- Spring Garden
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Garden
- Danville City
- Danville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Laprades Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Sydnorsville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Penhook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Henry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Halifax County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Sutherlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Sutherlin is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherlin
- Delila
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Delila is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
- Elmo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Elmo is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
- Sign Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Sign Rock is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sign Rock
- Alton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jones
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Jones is located in Halifax County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
- Henry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Sandy Level
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Sandy Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
- Axton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Irisburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Laurel Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Leatherwood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Leatherwood is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Chatmoss
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Ridgeway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Collinsville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Horse Pasture
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Fieldale
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Preston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Preston is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Madison County
- Beaver Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Beaver Park is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Park
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Patrick County
- Stella
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Alamance County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Altamahaw
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Altamahaw is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altamahaw
- Clover Garden
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Clover Garden is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Garden
- Union Ridge
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Union Ridge is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Ridge
- Ossipee
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Ossipee is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ossipee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 593 people
- McCray
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- McCray is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCray
- Pleasant Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant Grove is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
- Birchwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Birchwood is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Green Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Green Acres is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Lakeview
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Lakeview is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Just Crossroads
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Whitetown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Gatewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Bethel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Providence
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Quick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
- Blanch
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- West Yanceyville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Locust Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Yanceyville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Estelle
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
- Ashland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Ashland is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashland
- Guilford County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Browns Summit
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Scalesville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Scalesville is located in Guilford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scalesville
- Rudd
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rudd is located in Guilford County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudd
- Person County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Concord
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Concord is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Ruffin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Draper ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- Meadow Summit
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Eden
(12 miles [19.3 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>
- Spray ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Lawsonville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lawsonville is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- College Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Fairview
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Wentworth
(17 miles [27.4 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
- Belmont
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Belmont is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belmont
- Matrimony
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Stokes County (NC)
- Amostown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Oak Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Moss Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Soyar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Scearce Gammon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Berry Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Hickory Grove UMC Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Danville Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mayfield MB Church Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Stokesland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Schoolfield Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Happy Home Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Grove Street Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View Cemetery
- The Mountain View Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. View Cemetery
- Continue List (365 more) ...
- Mt. View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ruffin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Buford
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Buford is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buford
- Vandola
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Vandola is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandola
- Bachelors Hall
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Bachelors Hall is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bachelors Hall
- Oak Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Hill is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill
- Mayfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Mayfield is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
- Brosville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brosville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brosville
- Mount Cross
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Vance
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Vance is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vance
- Pelham
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Cascade
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Gatewood
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Gatewood is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Whitmell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Whitmell is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitmell
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Aiken Summit
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Aiken Summit is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aiken Summit
- Ruffin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Blackwell
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Blackwell is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwell
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Pittsylvania County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Danville City
- Franklin County
- Halifax County
- Henry County
- Madison County
- Martinsville City
- Patrick County
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Guilford County
- Person County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes 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> | 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 Oak Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |