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 Point Pleasant (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 Point Pleasant. 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 Point Pleasant ...
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 Point Pleasant: Pt. Pleasant
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Point Pleasant. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Point Pleasant.
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 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.
Point Pleasant is located in Bland 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 Bland County: Giles, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Point Pleasant. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Point Pleasant:
- Bland County (The home county of Point Pleasant)
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Bland
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Bastian
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Hicksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Round Bottom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Rocky Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Sheep Town
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Shorts Creek
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sylvatus
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Oak Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Star
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Woodlawn
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Hillsville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dugspur
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Floyd County
- Indian Valley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Thessalia
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Poplar Hill
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Shumate
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Narrows
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Lyn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Bluff City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Lurich
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Pearisburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eggleston
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Pembroke
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Fries
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elk Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Childress
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Prices Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Hilton Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Pulaski
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Wurno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Draper
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dublin
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Newbern
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Mack Creek Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Parrott
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Cowan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Fairlawn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Snowville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- New Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Radford Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Radford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Mill Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Simpkins Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Smyth County
- Atkins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Bluefield
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Little Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Falls Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Yards
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Pocahontas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Springville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Boissevain
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
- Abbs Valley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Wittens Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Five Oaks
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Tazewell
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Max Meadows
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Fort Chiswell
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Kent
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Wytheville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Locust Hill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Siloam
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Austinville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Ivanhoe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Crockett
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Crossroads
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Rural Retreat
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Speedwell
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Anawalt
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Elkhorn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Northfork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- 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 Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Blake ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- East River ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Oakvale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Bluefield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edison
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Princeton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Willowton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Johnston Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Littlesburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Oak Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Elgood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Peterstown
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ballard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Pipestem
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Point Pleasant, see our County-by-County Page for Point Pleasant.
Cemeteries Near Point Pleasant ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Point Pleasant.
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 Point Pleasant - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Point Pleasant covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Hoges Chapel Methodist Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hoges Chapel Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Hidden Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Goshen Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Temple Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Newberry - Oaklawn Farm Cemetery
- The Brick Church Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Newberry Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- 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>
- Mountain View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Crockett Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Shrader Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (524 more) ...
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bivins Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Tuggle Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
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 Point Pleasant had a population of 5 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Point Pleasant, with the one closest to Point Pleasant listed first.
- Kimberling
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kimberling is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberling
- Mechanicsburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Holly Brook
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Holly Brook is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Brook
- Altoona Mines ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Altoona Mines is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona Mines
- Hicksville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Byron
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Byron is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Max Meadows
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Clear Fork
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clear Fork is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Fork
- Wytheville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kent
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Grapefield
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
- Effna
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
- Petunia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Petunia is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petunia
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Point Pleasant. See our List of 1890's Communities around Point Pleasant.
Newspapers Published in Point Pleasant ...
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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Point Pleasant.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Point Pleasant, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Point Pleasant.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Point Pleasant:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Montgomery County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Point Pleasant) 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 Point Pleasant, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |