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 Petunia (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 Petunia. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Petunia is located in Wythe 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 Wythe County: Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Pulaski & Smyth.
Below are the counties that are near Petunia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Petunia:
- Wythe County (The home county of Petunia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Wytheville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Kent
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Crockett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Crossroads
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Siloam
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Fort Chiswell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Max Meadows
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Speedwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rural Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Locust Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Ivanhoe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Bland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bastian
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Hicksville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Mechanicsburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Rocky Gap
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Sheep Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Oak Grove
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Shorts Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sylvatus
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Woodlawn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Star
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Hillsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pipers Gap
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Dugspur
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Drenn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Fancy Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Galax City
- Galax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Poplar Hill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Thessalia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Shumate
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Elk Creek
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Fries
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Flat Ridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Independence
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Baywood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Bridle Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Trout Dale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mouth-of-Wilson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Rugby
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Rugby is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Pulaski
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Hilton Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Draper
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Mack Creek Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Wurno
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Newbern
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Dublin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Atkins
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Mount Carmel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Marion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Ellendale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Adwolf
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Seven Mile Ford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Broadford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Little Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Bluefield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Clair
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Springville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Asberrys
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Five Oaks
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Tazewell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Wittens Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Thompson Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Yards
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Abbs Valley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Amelia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
- Ennice
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Edmonds
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Piney Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hooker
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Sparta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Sparta is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,723 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sparta <1>
- Ashe County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Grassy Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weavers Ford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
- McDowell County (WV)
- Bishop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Bluefield
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Blake ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Edison
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- East River ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Littlesburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Nemours
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yards
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bramwell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flipping
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Freeman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Coopers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Petunia, see our County-by-County Page for Petunia.
Cemeteries Near Petunia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Petunia.
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 Petunia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Petunia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- West End Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Berea Christian Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Galilee Christian Church Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- East End Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Memorial Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Davis Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Davis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Crockett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- The Brick Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (681 more) ...
- Earhart Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Zion Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Newberry Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberry Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Newberry Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Bland.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51439 <2>
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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Petunia had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Petunia, with the one closest to Petunia listed first.
- Grubb
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Grubb is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubb
- Wytheville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Crockett
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Kent
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Cripple Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Cripple Creek is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cripple Creek
- Rural Retreat
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Speedwell
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Max Meadows
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Summit
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Summit is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Effna
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
- Ivanhoe
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Walton Furnace
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Groseclose
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Groseclose is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groseclose
- Fallville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Fallville is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallville
- Austinville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Petunia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Petunia.
Newspapers Published in Petunia ...
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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Petunia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Petunia, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Petunia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Petunia:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Wythe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Galax City
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Alleghany County
- Ashe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer 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> | 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Petunia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Petunia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |