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 Open Fork (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 Open Fork. 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 Open Fork ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Open Fork: Open Frk.
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 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.
Open Fork is located in Dickenson 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 Dickenson County: Pike (KY), Buchanan, Russell & Wise.
Below are the counties that are near Open Fork. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Open Fork:
- Dickenson County (The home county of Open Fork)
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Nora
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Nora is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora
- Aily
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- Herald
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Herald is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herald
- Omaha
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Omaha is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Omaha
- Bucu
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Carrie
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Carrie is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrie
- Clinchco
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Darwin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Darwin is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darwin
- Tarpon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Clintwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Haysi
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Buchanan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Council
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Council is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
- Leemaster
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Leemaster is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leemaster
- Rowe
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Rowe is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe
- Vansant
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Royal City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Royal City is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal City
- Grundy
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Janey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Janey is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janey
- Mavisdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Mavisdale is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mavisdale
- Big Rock
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Big Rock is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Matney
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Matney is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matney
- Norton City
- Norton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Russell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Dante
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Dante is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dante
- Bickley Mill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Bickley Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bickley Mill
- Castlewood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Carterton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Carterton is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carterton
- Kiser ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kiser is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiser
- Cleveland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Cleveland is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
- Jessees Mill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jessees Mill is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jessees Mill
- Artrip
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Artrip is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Artrip
- Dickensonville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dickensonville is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickensonville
- Spring City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spring City is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring City
- Creswell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Creswell is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creswell
- Lebanon
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Dungannon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dungannon is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungannon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Grigbys Store
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Grigbys Store is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grigbys Store
- Nickelsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Lano
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Lano is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lano
- Fort Blackmore
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Maces Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Maces Spring is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maces Spring
- Snowflake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Snowflake is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
- Hiltons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Gate City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Raven
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Raven is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven
- Red Ash
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Red Ash is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Ash
- Richlands
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Craigs Mill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Craigs Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Mill
- Mendota
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mendota is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mendota
- Holston
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Holston is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holston
- Leonard
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Leonard is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
- Brumley Gap
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Brumley Gap is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brumley Gap
- Benhams
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Benhams is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benhams
- Greendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Greendale is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greendale
- Burson Place
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Burson Place is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burson Place
- Lowland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lowland is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowland
- Rust Hollow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rust Hollow is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust Hollow
- Glenford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Glenford is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenford
- Lindell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Lindell is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindell
- Wise County
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Virginia City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Dwina
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Saint Paul
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Coeburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Wise
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hamilton town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hamilton town is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton town
- Pound
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Haddonfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Haddonfield is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haddonfield
- Esserville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Esserville is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esserville
- Almira
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Almira is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almira
- Blackwood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Blackwood is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Kent Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kent Junction is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Junction
- Floyd County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Weeksbury
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Weeksbury is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weeksbury
- Melvin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Melvin is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
- Wheelwright
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelwright is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Beaver
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Beaver is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Bypro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelwright Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Wheelwright Junction is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheelwright Junction
- Teaberry
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Teaberry is located in Floyd County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teaberry
- Letcher County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Burdine
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Burdine is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdine
- Jenkins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- McRoberts
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- McRoberts is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoberts
- Cromona
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Cromona is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromona
- Fleming - Neon
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fleming - Neon is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleming - Neon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 610 people
- Tolliver Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Tolliver Town is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolliver Town
- Hemphill
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hemphill is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemphill
- Hemphill has also been known as:
- Jackhorn
- Neon
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Seco
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Seco is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seco
- Whitaker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Whitaker is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitaker
- Mayking
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mayking is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayking
- Millstone
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Millstone is located in Letcher County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Pike County (KY)
- The following are listed by their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Ashcamp
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Ashcamp is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashcamp
- Elkhorn City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Cedarville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Cedarville is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Hellier
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Hellier is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hellier
- Lookout
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Lookout is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Belcher
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Belcher is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belcher
- Draffin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Draffin is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draffin
- Rockhouse
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rockhouse is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockhouse
- Dorton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Myra
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Myra is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
- Marrowbone
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Marrowbone is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marrowbone
- Jonancy
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jonancy is located in Pike County (KY)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonancy
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Open Fork, see our County-by-County Page for Open Fork.
Cemeteries Near Open Fork ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Open Fork.
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 Open Fork - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Open Fork covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Grizzle Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Long Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Rose Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Kiser Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- McCoy Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Long Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Rasnick Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mullins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Continue List (1199 more) ...
- Jenkins Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Turner Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
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 Open Fork in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Open Fork.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Open Fork, with the one closest to Open Fork listed first.
- Stratton
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Stratton is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratton
- Aily
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Aily is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aily
- John
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- John is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for John
- Banner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Banner is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banner
- Bucu
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Bucu is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucu
- Virginia City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Virginia City is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia City
- Coeburn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dwina
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dwina is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dwina
- Saint Paul
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Judge ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Judge is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judge
- Colley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Colley is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colley
- Tarpon
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tarpon is located in Dickenson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarpon
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Clintwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Hurricane
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hurricane is located in Wise County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
- Dorado
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Dorado is located in Russell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorado
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Open Fork. See our List of 1890's Communities around Open Fork.
Newspapers Published in Open Fork ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Open Fork.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Open Fork, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Open Fork.
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 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 Open Fork:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Dickenson County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Norton City
- Russell County
- Scott County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wise County
- Floyd County
- Letcher County
- Pike 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 Open Fork, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Open Fork) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |