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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 Porters Crossroads (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 Porters Crossroads. 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 Porters Crossroads ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Porters Crossroads: Porters Xrds.
  • While the name of this community is Porters Crossroads, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Porters Crossroads may originally have been Porter's Crossroads.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Porters Crossroads might be written as Porter Crossroads.

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.

Porters Crossroads 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 Porters Crossroads. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Porters Crossroads:

  • Wythe County     (The home county of Porters Crossroads)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Ivanhoe
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Austinville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Siloam
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Fort Chiswell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Kent
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Max Meadows
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Locust Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Wytheville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rowe Crossroads
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
    • Crockett
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Speedwell
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Speedwell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
    • Rural Retreat
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Bland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Bland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Mechanicsburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
    • Bastian
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hicksville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Rocky Gap
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
    • Round Bottom
      (27 miles [43.5 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 Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Sheep Town
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Shorts Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Oak Grove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Sylvatus
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Woodlawn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Star
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Hillsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Pipers Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Dugspur
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Drenn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Drenn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
    • Fancy Gap
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Lambsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Duncan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Duncan is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
  • Galax City
    • Galax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Poplar Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 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 north)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Fries
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Elk Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Baywood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Baywood is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
    • Independence
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Low Gap
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Low Gap is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Bridle Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
    • Flat Ridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
    • Mouth-of-Wilson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Trout Dale
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Montgomery County
    • Childress
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Draper
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pulaski
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilton Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
    • Mack Creek Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Wurno
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
    • Newbern
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
    • Dublin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Snowville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
    • Fairlawn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • New Town
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • New Town is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • Sunset Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Radford Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
    • Radford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Simpkins Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
    • Mill Village
      (30 miles [48.3 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 Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Atkins
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Sugar Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
    • Mount Carmel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
    • Marion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Tazewell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads 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
    • Shawver Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
  • Alleghany County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Edmonds
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
    • Ennice
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Hooker
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Amelia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
    • Sparta
      (26 miles [41.8 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 <2>
    • Glade Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Piney Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Topia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
  • Ashe County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Grassy Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 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
  • Surry County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Low Gap
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Round Peak
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
    • Devotion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
  • Mercer County (WV)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Porters Crossroads, with the one closest to Porters Crossroads listed first.
    • Bethel ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
    • Blake ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
    • Bluefield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Porters Crossroads ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Porters Crossroads.

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 Porters Crossroads - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Trigg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Sanders Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Mt. Hope Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Burnett - Hanks Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Alley Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Burnett - Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • King Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Frazier Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (632 more) ...
    • Fosters Falls Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • James McGavock Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Edwards Chapel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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

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

  • Ivanhoe
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Walton Furnace
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
  • Austinville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Grayson
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Grayson is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
  • Kent
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Kent is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
  • Cripple Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cripple Creek is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cripple Creek
  • Shorts Creek
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
  • Fosters Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
  • Grahams Forge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
  • Max Meadows
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Bertha
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Bertha is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
  • Wytheville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Spring Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Valley is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Stevens Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Stevens Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Creek
    • Petunia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 Porters Crossroads. See our List of 1890's Communities around Porters Crossroads.

Newspapers Published in Porters Crossroads ...

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 34 newspapers that have been published in the area around Porters Crossroads.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Porters Crossroads, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Porters Crossroads.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Porters Crossroads:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 Porters Crossroads, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Porters Crossroads) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.