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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 Red Mills (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 Red Mills. 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 Red Mills ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Red Mills: Red Mls. (or less commonly used: Red Mlls.)

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 and hospitals 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.

Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County.

To see how the shape of Virginia's counties 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 Red Mills. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Red Mills:

  • Rockbridge County     (The home county of Red Mills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Natural Bridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
      • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
    • Greenlee
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenlee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
      • Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
    • Fancy Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fancy Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
      • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Fancy Hill
      • From Red Mills to Fancy Hill
    • Glasgow
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo Forge
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zollman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zollman
      • From Red Mills to Zollman
    • East Lexington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Kerrs Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Riverside
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riverside. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riverside
      • From Red Mills to Riverside
    • Fairfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Marlbrook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Iron Gate
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iron Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
      • Iron Gate is located in Alleghany County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Clifton Forge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Griffith
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Griffith. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
      • Griffith is located in Alleghany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griffith
      • From Red Mills to Griffith
    • Selma
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Selma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Selma
      • Selma is located in Alleghany County
    • Low Moor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rich Patch
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Amherst County
  • Augusta County
  • Bath County
  • Bedford City
  • Bedford County
  • Botetourt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Rocky Point
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Buchanan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Salt Petre Cave
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Salt Petre Cave. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salt Petre Cave
      • Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt County
      • Salt Petre Cave has also been known as:
      • Salt Peter Cave
      • Saltpetre
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Salt Petre Cave
      • From Red Mills to Salt Petre Cave
    • Springwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Salisbury
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Gala
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Lithia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lithia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lithia
      • From Red Mills to Lithia
    • Glen Wilton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Botetourt ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Botetourt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
      • Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
    • Haden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Haden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
      • Haden is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haden
      • From Red Mills to Haden
    • Strom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strom. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strom
      • From Red Mills to Strom
    • Fincastle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buena Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
      • Buena Vista is located in Buena Vista City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buena Vista <2>
  • Campbell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Powhatan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Timberlake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timberlake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
      • Timberlake is located in Campbell County
    • Bedford Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Lawyers
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lawyers. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
      • Lawyers is located in Campbell County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lawyers
      • From Red Mills to Lawyers
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Covington City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,639 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <2>
  • Lexington City
  • Lynchburg City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Woodbine Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
      • Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
    • Lavino Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lavino Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
      • Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
    • Lynchburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Roanoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Red Mills, with the one closest to Red Mills listed first.
    • Hollins
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollins
      • Hollins is located in Roanoke County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollins <2>
    • Vinton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Red Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Red Mills.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • High Bridge Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the High Bridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the High Bridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Diamond Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Diamond Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Diamond Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Olivet Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Miller Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Miller Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Miller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tolley Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tolley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tolley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rapps Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rapps Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rapps Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ponton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ponton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ponton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Glasgow Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Glasgow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Glasgow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salling Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salling Family Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salling Family Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Lidia Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Lidia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Lidia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Falling Spring Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Falling Spring Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Falling Spring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pullen Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pullen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pullen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Deacons Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deacons Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deacons Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Robinson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robinson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bryant Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bryant Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bryant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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

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

  • Natural Bridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Gilmore Mills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilmore Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore Mills
    • Gilmore Mills is located in Rockbridge County
  • Longwood ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Longwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
    • Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
  • Alpine
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpine have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Alpine is located in Botetourt County
  • Fancy Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Fancy Hill. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
    • Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Fancy Hill
    • From Red Mills to Fancy Hill
  • Rapps Mill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rapps Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapps Mill
    • Rapps Mill is located in Rockbridge County
  • Rocky Point
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Balcony Falls
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balcony Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balcony Falls
    • Balcony Falls is located in Rockbridge County
  • Oakdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Oakdale is located in Rockbridge County
  • Glasgow
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Arcadia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arcadia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
    • Arcadia is located in Botetourt County
  • Buffalo Forge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zollman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zollman
      • From Red Mills to Zollman
    • Murat
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murat have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murat
      • Murat is located in Rockbridge County
    • Dillon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dillon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dillon
      • Dillon is located in Botetourt County

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

Newspapers Published in Red Mills ...

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 Red Mills.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Red Mills, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Red Mills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Red Mills:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Red Mills. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Rockbridge County: www.co.rockbridge.va.us/

The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<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 Red Mills, 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 from Point A (ie- Red Mills) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Red Mills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6404, Longitude: -79.5614       In this case, the coordinates for Red Mills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025