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 Poletown (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 Poletown. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Poletown 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 Poletown. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Poletown:
- Wythe County (The home county of Poletown)
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Locust Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Fort Chiswell
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Siloam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Kent
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Austinville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ivanhoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Wytheville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Rowe Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Crockett
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Speedwell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Rural Retreat
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Bland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Bastian
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- 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
- Rocky Gap
(21 miles [33.8 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 Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Sheep Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Shorts Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Sylvatus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Oak Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Star
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Woodlawn
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hillsville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Dugspur
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pipers Gap
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
- Fancy Gap
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Drenn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Drenn is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
- Gladesboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Indian Valley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Duncan
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Sowers
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Galax City
- Galax
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Poplar Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Thessalia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Shumate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Narrows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Bluff City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Eggleston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Glen Lyn
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Lurich
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lurich is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Pembroke
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Fries
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Elk Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Baywood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Baywood is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
- Independence
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Low Gap
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Low Gap is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
- Bridle Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Flat Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Childress
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Riner
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Prices Fork
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- Rogers
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rogers is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
- Christiansburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Draper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pulaski
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hilton Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Mack Creek Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Wurno
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Newbern
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Dublin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Snowville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Fairlawn
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Parrott
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Cowan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- New Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Sunset Village
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Radford Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Radford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Simpkins Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Mill Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Atkins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Sugar Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Little Town
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Bluefield
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shawver Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Saint Clair
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Falls Mills
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Alleghany County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Edmonds
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
- Ennice
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Surry County (NC)
- Low Gap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Blake ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- East River ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Oakvale
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Willowton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Bluefield
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Edison
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Princeton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Johnston Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Littlesburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Elgood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Monroe County (WV)
- Peterstown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Poletown, see our County-by-County Page for Poletown.
Cemeteries Near Poletown ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Poletown.
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 Poletown - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Poletown covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- James McGavock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Jacob McGavock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Drapers Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Graham Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Oglesby Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Sanders Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Davis Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Fosters Falls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bertha Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Trigg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- The Brick Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- IOOF Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (658 more) ...
- Hidden Valley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Crockett Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Oakwood Memorial Gardens
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
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>
While we didn't find Poletown in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Poletown.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Poletown, with the one closest to Poletown listed first.
- Max Meadows
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Grahams Forge
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
- Walton Furnace
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
- Kent
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Fosters Falls
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
- Bertha
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bertha is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
- Austinville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Barren Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Kayoulah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Kayoulah is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kayoulah
- Altoona Mines ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Altoona Mines is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona Mines
- Ivanhoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Shorts Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Draper
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pulaski
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Wytheville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Poletown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Poletown.
Newspapers Published in Poletown ...
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 32 newspapers that have been published in the area around Poletown.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Poletown, 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 Poletown.
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 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 Poletown:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Wythe County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Galax City
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Montgomery County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Alleghany County
- Surry County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe 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' (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- Poletown) 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 Poletown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |