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 Potts Creek (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 Potts Creek. 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 Potts Creek ...
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 Potts Creek: Potts Crk. (or less commonly used: Potts Ck. or Potts Cr.)
- While the name of this community is Potts Creek, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Potts Creek may originally have been Pott's Creek.
Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Potts Creek might be written as Pott Creek.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.
Potts Creek is located in Alleghany 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 Alleghany County: Bath, Botetourt, Craig, Rockbridge, Greenbrier (WV) & Monroe (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Potts Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Potts Creek:
- Alleghany County (The home county of Potts Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Moss Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
- Rich Patch
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
- Low Moor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Selma
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Selma is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
- Clifton Forge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Gate
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
- Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
- Griffith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Griffith is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
- Bath County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Carloover
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Carloover is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
- Greenwood ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Greenwood is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
- Healing Springs
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Bedford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Villamont
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Montvale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Oriskany
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Haymakertown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Haymakertown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haymakertown
- Strom
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Strom is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
- Fincastle
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Haden
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Haden is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
- Amsterdam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Daleville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Gala
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Gala is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Salisbury
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
- Glen Wilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
- Troutville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Cloverdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Covington City
- Covington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- New Castle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Abbott
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Simmonsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Captain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Captain is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Huffman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Huffman is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Kire
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kire is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Mountain Lake
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Newport
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Montgomery County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Bennetts Mill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Elliston
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Mount Tabor Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
- Blacksburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McBryde Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Sundance Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Roanoke
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Catawba
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Mason Cove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Hanging Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Hollins
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Wabun
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Riverside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Cave Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Vinton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Salem
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sunset Village
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Greenbrier County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Tuckahoe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tuckahoe is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
- White Sulphur Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Caldwell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Wild Meadow
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Wild Meadow is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Meadow
- Brink ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Brink is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brink
- Ronceverte
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fairlea
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lewisburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Rockland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Rockland is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Anthony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Anthony is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anthony
- Clendenenville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clendenenville is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clendenenville
- Fort Spring
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Frazier
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Hollywood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Hillsdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Union
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Union is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Wolfcreek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Creamery
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wikel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Assurance
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wayside
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Riffe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Riffe is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
- Lowell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lowell is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Potts Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Potts Creek.
Cemeteries Near Potts Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Potts Creek.
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 Potts Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Potts Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Rowan Memorial Home Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Carter Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Mountain View Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Ruble Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bryan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Paxton Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Crawford Memorial Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford Memorial Cemetery
- The Crawford Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
- Paxton Chapel Church Cemetery
- Rowan Family Cemetery
- The Rowan Family Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowan Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2146761 <3>
- Nutter Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Bostic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Lewis Tunnel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (197 more) ...
- McCartney Family Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Caldwell Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Leffel Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Potts Creek had a population of 17 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Potts Creek, with the one closest to Potts Creek listed first.
- Sweet Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Sweet Springs is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Springs
- Sweet Chalybeate
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Sweet Chalybeate is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Chalybeate
- Paint Bank
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Centennial
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Centennial is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centennial
- Gunn
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Gunn is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gunn
- Alleghany
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Alleghany is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleghany
- New Castle
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Glace
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Glace is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glace
- Laurel Branch
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Laurel Branch is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Branch
- Looney
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Looney is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Looney
- Craigs Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Craigs Creek is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Craigs Creek
- Tuckahoe
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Tuckahoe is located in Greenbrier County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tuckahoe
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Backbone
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Backbone is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Backbone
- Gap Mills
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Moss Run
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Potts Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Potts Creek.
Newspapers Published in Potts Creek ...
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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Potts Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Potts Creek, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Potts Creek.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Potts Creek:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Alleghany County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bath County
- Bedford County
- Botetourt County
- Covington City
- Craig County
- Giles County
- Montgomery County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Salem City
- Greenbrier County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Potts Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <5> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Potts Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |