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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 Rackettown (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 Rackettown. 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 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.

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

  • Wythe County     (The home county of Rackettown)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Austinville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Ivanhoe
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Fort Chiswell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Locust Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Siloam
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Max Meadows
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Kent
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Wytheville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Rowe Crossroads
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
    • Speedwell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Speedwell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
    • Crockett
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Rural Retreat
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
  • Bland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Mechanicsburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
    • Bland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Bastian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Hicksville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Round Bottom
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Rocky Gap
      (30 miles [48.3 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 Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Shorts Creek
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Sylvatus
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Sheep Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Oak Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Star
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Hillsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodlawn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Dugspur
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Pipers Gap
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Fancy Gap
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Drenn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Drenn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
    • Gladesboro
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Gladesboro is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladesboro
    • Nester
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Nester is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nester
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Indian Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Duncan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Duncan is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
    • Sowers
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Sowers is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
    • Floyd
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Poff
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Poff is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
    • Haycock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Haycock is located in Floyd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
  • Galax City
    • Galax
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Giles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Poplar Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
    • Thessalia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Thessalia is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
    • Goodwins Ferry
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
  • Grayson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Fries
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Baywood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Baywood is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
    • Elk Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Independence
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bridle Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 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 west)
      • 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 Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Childress
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Childress is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
    • Riner
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Pilot
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rogers
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Rogers is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Christiansburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oak Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Prices Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
  • Patrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Meadows of Dan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Ararat
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Carters Mill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
    • Woolwine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Draper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mack Creek Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Pulaski
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Hilton Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
    • Wurno
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wurno is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
    • Newbern
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Dublin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Snowville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Snowville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
    • Sassin ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Sassin is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
    • Fairlawn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
    • Cowan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cowan is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
    • Parrott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Parrott is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
  • Radford City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • New Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • New Town is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
    • 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
    • Sunset Village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Radford Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Radford Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
    • Radford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Mill Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Mill Village is located in Radford City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
  • Alleghany County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown 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
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Hooker
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Glade Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sparta
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Amelia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
  • Surry County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rackettown, with the one closest to Rackettown listed first.
    • Low Gap
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Round Peak
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
    • Red Brush
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
    • Mount Airy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Toast
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
    • Flat Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Flat Rock is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Rock
    • Sheltontown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Sheltontown is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheltontown
    • Devotion
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
    • White Plains
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • White Plains is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Plains
    • Mount Herman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Herman is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Herman

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

Cemeteries Near Rackettown ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rackettown.

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 Rackettown - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Shorts Creek - Frazier Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Fosters Falls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Round Knob Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Myers Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Parnell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Alexander Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Allen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Little Vine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson Peak Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Quesenberry - Dalton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Osbourne Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (572 more) ...
    • Bertha Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Sanders Cemetery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Frazier Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)

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

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

  • Shorts Creek
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
  • Fosters Falls
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Fosters Falls is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fosters Falls
  • Bertha
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Bertha is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
  • Sylvatus
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
  • Barren Springs
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Austinville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Kayoulah
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kayoulah is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kayoulah
  • Walton Furnace
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Walton Furnace is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walton Furnace
  • Grahams Forge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Grahams Forge is located in Wythe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grahams Forge
  • Ivanhoe
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Star
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Star is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
  • Allisonia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Allisonia is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allisonia
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hillsville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Grayson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Grayson is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
    • Woodlawn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rackettown. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rackettown.

Newspapers Published in Rackettown ...

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 Rackettown.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rackettown, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rackettown.

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 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 Rackettown:

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>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- Rackettown) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rackettown, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.