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 Rangeley (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 Rangeley. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.
Rangeley is located in Henry 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 Henry County: Rockingham (NC), Stokes (NC), Franklin, Patrick & Pittsylvania.
Below are the counties that are near Rangeley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rangeley:
- Henry County (The home county of Rangeley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Fieldale
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Collinsville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Preston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Preston is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Villa Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Villa Heights is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa Heights
- Stanleytown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Bassett
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Horse Pasture
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Reed Creek Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Chatmoss
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Chatmoss is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
- Laurel Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Laurel Park is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
- Oak Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Ridgeway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Irisburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Carroll County
- Pike City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Pike City is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pike City
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Haycock
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Pizarro
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Pizarro is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
- Floyd
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Poff
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Simpsons
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Simpsons is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
- Terrys Fork
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Henry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Prilliman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Sydnorsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Sydnorsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sydnorsville
- Ferrum
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Barfoot
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Barfoot is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barfoot
- Rocky Mount
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hickman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hickman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickman
- Gogginsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Redwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Laprades Mill
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Laprades Mill is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laprades Mill
- Algoma
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Algoma is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
- Villa ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Union Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Martinsville City
- Martinsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Patrick County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Stella
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Critz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dodson
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Dodson is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
- Nettleridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Patrick Springs
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Elamsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Elamsville is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elamsville
- Charity
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Charity is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charity
- Stuart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Woolwine
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Peters Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Peters Creek is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peters Creek
- Meadows of Dan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Carters Mill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Cascade
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Cascade is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cascade
- Grady
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Grady is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grady
- Swansonville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Swansonville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swansonville
- Worlds
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Museville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Mount Cross
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Mount Cross is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Cross
- Weal
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Weal is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weal
- Ridgecrest
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ridgecrest is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgecrest
- Caswell County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Whitetown
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Whitetown is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitetown
- Pelham
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
- Forsyth County (NC)
- Stonewood Acres
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Stonewood Acres is located in Forsyth County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonewood Acres
- Rockingham County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Matrimony
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Matrimony is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matrimony
- Fairview
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Stoneville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Spray ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Spray is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spray
- Eden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Eden is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,867 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden <1>
- Providence
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Providence is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Mayodan
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shiloh
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Shiloh is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shiloh
- Meadow Summit
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Meadow Summit is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Summit
- Draper ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Draper is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draper
- College Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- College Village is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for College Village
- Madison
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Wentworth
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wentworth is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wentworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,734 people
- Stokes County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Amostown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amostown is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amostown
- Sandy Ridge
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Ridge is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Campbell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Campbell is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Snow Hill
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Snow Hill is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Lawsonville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Lawsonville is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonville
- Aarons Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Aarons Corner is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aarons Corner
- Upper Sawra Town ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Upper Sawra Town is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upper Sawra Town
- Danbury
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
- Pine Hall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Bailey Town
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Bailey Town is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Town
- Vade Mecum
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Vade Mecum is located in Stokes County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vade Mecum
- Surry County (NC)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Albion
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Albion is located in Surry County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Westfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Herman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- 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 Rangeley, see our County-by-County Page for Rangeley.
Cemeteries Near Rangeley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rangeley.
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 Rangeley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rangeley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Mt. Olive East Christian Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Chestnut Knob Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Knob Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Chestnut Knob Cemetery is located
- The Chestnut Knob Cemetery has also been known as:
- Barnes Cemetery
- Barnes Family Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2303562 <2>
- Peoples Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Roselawn Burial Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Old Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Henry Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Shady Rest Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Adkins - Stone Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Barrow Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Young Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Williams Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Continue List (713 more) ...
- Metz - Nunn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wray Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Goodwill Cemetery
(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.<3>
While we didn't find Rangeley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rangeley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rangeley, with the one closest to Rangeley listed first.
- Preston
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Preston is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston
- Horse Pasture
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Horse Pasture is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Pasture
- Blackberry
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Blackberry is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry
- Spencer
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Spencer is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spencer
- Reed Creek Village
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Reed Creek Village is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Creek Village
- Stella
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Stella is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stella
- Figsboro
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Figsboro is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figsboro
- Oak Level
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Oak Level is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Level
- Ridgeway
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Critz
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Price
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Price is located in Rockingham County (NC)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Price
- Prilliman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Prilliman is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prilliman
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Nettleridge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nettleridge is located in Patrick County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nettleridge
- Irisburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Irisburg is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
- Stockton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Stockton is located in Henry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rangeley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rangeley.
Newspapers Published in Rangeley ...
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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rangeley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rangeley, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rangeley.
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 Rangeley:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Henry County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Carroll County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Martinsville City
- Patrick County
- Pittsylvania County
- Caswell County
- Forsyth County
- Rockingham County
- Stokes County
- Surry 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> | 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 Rangeley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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- Rangeley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |