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Home >> State of Virginia >> Campbell County >> Penn Forest >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Penn Forest (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 Penn Forest. 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 Penn Forest ...

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 Penn Forest: Penn Frst.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Penn Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Penn Forest.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Penn Forest is located in Campbell 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 Campbell County: Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Charlotte, Halifax & Pittsylvania.

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

  • Campbell County     (The home county of Penn Forest)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Powhatan
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Powhatan is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
    • Timberlake
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Timberlake is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
    • Bedford Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
    • Lawyers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
    • Yellow Branch
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
    • Rustburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Athos ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Mount Athos is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Athos
    • Lynch Station
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
    • Mount Zion
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Zion is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Zion
    • Concord
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Altavista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Gladys
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Leesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Leesville is located in Campbell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
  • Amherst County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Madison Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Winesap
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Winesap is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
    • Joshua Falls
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Joshua Falls is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joshua Falls
    • Pedlar Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
    • Coolwell
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Coolwell is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coolwell
    • Pleasant View
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • Sweet Briar Station
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sweet Briar Station is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Briar Station
    • Amherst
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Allwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Allwood is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
    • Monitor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Monitor is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
    • Walkers Ford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Walkers Ford is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkers Ford
    • Sandidges
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Sandidges is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
    • Forks of Buffalo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
  • Appomattox County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Spout Spring
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Spout Spring is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spout Spring
    • Spring Mills
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Spring Mills is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Mills
    • Beckham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Beckham is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beckham
    • Mineral ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Mineral is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
    • Appomattox
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Chap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Chap is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chap
    • Evergreen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Evergreen is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
    • Bent Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bent Creek is located in Appomattox County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bent Creek
  • Bedford City
    • Bedford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Forest
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellevue
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Bellevue is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Boonsboro
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
    • Goode
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cifax
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cifax is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
    • Lowry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Lowry is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Abert
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Abert is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
    • Coleman Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
    • Waugh
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Waugh is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
    • Peaksville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Peaksville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
    • Huddleston
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Joppa Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
    • Davis Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
  • Botetourt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Rocky Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
    • Buchanan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Lithia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
    • Springwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Springwood is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
    • Blue Ridge
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Charlotte County
    • Abell ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Abell is located in Charlotte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abell
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Hales Ford ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
    • North Shore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • North Shore is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
    • Westlake Corner
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
  • Halifax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Cody
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Cody is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cody
    • Rabat
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rabat is located in Halifax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rabat
  • Lynchburg City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Woodbine Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
    • Lynchburg
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lavino Village
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Gladstone
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Buffalo Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Buffalo Springs is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Springs
    • Arrington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Colleen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Colleen is located in Nelson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colleen
  • Pittsylvania County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Hurt
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
    • Brutus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
    • Renan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Renan is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renan
    • Gretna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Gretna is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gretna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gretna <1>
    • Pittsville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
    • Chalk Level
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Chalk Level is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chalk Level
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Penn Forest, with the one closest to Penn Forest listed first.
    • Glasgow
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenlee
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Buffalo Forge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
    • Natural Bridge
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Fancy Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
    • Red Mills
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
    • Springfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
    • Riverside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside

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

Cemeteries Near Penn Forest ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Penn Forest.

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 Penn Forest - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Penn Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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 Penn Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Penn Forest.

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

  • Bedford Springs
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
  • Forest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lawyers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
  • Coffee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Coffee is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coffee
  • Bellevue
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Bellevue is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
  • Evington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Evington is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evington
  • Yellow Branch
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
  • Bocock
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Bocock is located in Campbell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bocock
  • Boonsboro
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
  • Perrowville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Perrowville is located in Bedford County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrowville
  • Goode
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Rustburg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cifax
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Cifax is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
    • Lowry
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Lowry is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Abert
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Abert is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert

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

Newspapers Published in Penn Forest ...

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 100 newspapers that have been published in the area around Penn Forest.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Penn Forest, there are papers which were published within 9 miles [14.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Penn Forest.

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 Penn Forest:

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 Penn Forest, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Penn Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.