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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 Rapps Mill (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 Rapps Mill. 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 Rapps Mill ...

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 Rapps Mill: Rapps Ml. (or less commonly used: Rapps Mll.)
  • While the name of this community is Rapps Mill, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Rapps Mill may originally have been Rapp's Mill.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Rapps Mill might be written as Rapp Mill.

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 southeast 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 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.

Rapps Mill is located in Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge County: Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt & Nelson.

Below are the counties that are near Rapps Mill. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rapps Mill:

  • Rockbridge County     (The home county of Rapps Mill)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Springfield
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Red Mills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
    • Natural Bridge
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fancy Hill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
    • Greenlee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
    • Glasgow
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Forge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
    • East Lexington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • East Lexington is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lexington
    • Kerrs Creek
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Kerrs Creek is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrs Creek
    • Riverside
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Iron Gate
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Griffith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Griffith is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
    • Clifton Forge
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Low Moor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Selma
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Selma is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
    • Rich Patch
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Rich Patch is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Patch
    • Moss Run
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Moss Run is located in Alleghany County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moss Run
  • Amherst County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Pleasant View
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
    • Allwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Allwood is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allwood
    • Forks of Buffalo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Forks of Buffalo is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks of Buffalo
    • Pedlar Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
    • Alto
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Alto is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alto
    • Sandidges
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Sandidges is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandidges
    • Winesap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Winesap is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
    • Monitor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Monitor is located in Amherst County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monitor
  • Augusta County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Newport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Newport is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
    • Steeles Tavern
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Spottswood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Spottswood is located in Augusta County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spottswood
  • Bath County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Millboro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Carloover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Carloover is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carloover
    • Healing Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Healing Springs is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
    • Mitchelltown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
    • Bath Alum
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Bath Alum is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath Alum
    • Yost
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Yost is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yost
    • Greenwood ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Warm Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cowardin ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Cowardin is located in Bath County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowardin
  • Bedford City
    • Bedford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Bedford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Peaksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Peaksville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
    • Waugh
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Waugh is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waugh
    • Montvale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Villamont
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Villamont is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
    • Cifax
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Cifax is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cifax
    • Coleman Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Coleman Falls is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Falls
    • Abert
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Abert is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abert
    • Lowry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Lowry is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
    • Coonsville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Coonsville is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
    • Bellevue
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellevue is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Boonsboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Boonsboro is located in Bedford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boonsboro
    • Goode
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Botetourt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Rocky Point
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
    • Salt Petre Cave
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
      • Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
      • Salt Peter Cave
      • Saltpetre
    • Salisbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Gala
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Gala is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gala
    • Buchanan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Springwood
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Springwood is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
    • Glen Wilton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Glen Wilton is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Wilton
    • Haden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Haden is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
    • Botetourt ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
    • Lithia
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
    • Strom
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
    • Fincastle
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Craig County
    • New Castle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lexington City
    • Lexington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Lynchburg City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Lavino Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
    • Woodbine Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
  • Roanoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rapps Mill, with the one closest to Rapps Mill listed first.
    • Hollins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Montgomery Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
    • Vinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Rapps Mill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rapps Mill.

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 Rapps Mill - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rapps Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Deacons Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Pullen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • High Bridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ponton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Natural Bridge Baptist Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Diamond Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Oxford Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Rudisill Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mays Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (186 more) ...
    • Cedar Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Robinson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rapps Mill had a population of 48 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Longwood ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
  • Oakdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakdale is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
  • Natural Bridge
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Rocky Point
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Rocky Point is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Point
  • Alpine
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Alpine is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
  • Gilmore Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gilmore Mills is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Mills
  • Salt Petre Cave
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
    • Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
    • Salt Peter Cave
    • Saltpetre
  • Fancy Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
  • Murat
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Murat is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
  • Arcadia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Arcadia is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
  • Collierstown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Collierstown is located in Rockbridge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collierstown
  • Eagle Rock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Salisbury
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Salisbury is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Dillon
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Dillon is located in Botetourt County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman

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

Newspapers Published in Rapps Mill ...

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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rapps Mill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rapps Mill, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rapps Mill.

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 Rapps Mill:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rapps Mill) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<4>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.
<5>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 Rapps Mill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.