RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Fairfax County >> Reston >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Reston (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 Reston. 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 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.

Reston is located in Fairfax 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 Fairfax County: Charles (MD), Montgomery (MD), Prince George's (MD), Arlington, Falls Church City, Loudoun & Prince William.

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

  • Fairfax County     (The home county of Reston)
  • Alexandria City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Arlandria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chinquapin Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Chinquapin Village is located in Alexandria City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chinquapin Village
    • Oakcrest
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Warwick Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Warwick Village is located in Alexandria City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warwick Village
    • Alexandria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Arlington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Williamsburg Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Williamsburg Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg Village
    • Garden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Garden City is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
    • Cherrydale
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Arlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Lyon Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Lyon Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyon Village
    • Riverwood
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Brandon Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Brandon Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon Village
    • Buckingham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Colonial Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Colonial Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
    • Arlington Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Arlington Village is located in Arlington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington Village
  • Fairfax City
  • Falls Church City
  • Fauquier County
  • Loudoun County
  • Manassas City
  • Manassas Park City
    • Manassas Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Prince William County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Yorkshire Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Yorkshire Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire Village
    • Yorkshire
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Yorkshire is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkshire
    • Catharpin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Loch Lomond
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Loch Lomond is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loch Lomond
    • Sudley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Sudley is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sudley
    • Iron Gate
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Iron Gate is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iron Gate
    • West Gate
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • West Gate is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Gate
    • Bull Run
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Bull Run is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Run
    • Crestwood Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Crestwood Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crestwood Village
    • Buckhall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Bataan Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bataan Village is located in Prince William County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bataan Village
    • Gainesville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Bristow
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Anne Arundel County (MD)
    • Maryland City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Maryland City is located in Anne Arundel County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maryland City
  • Carroll County (MD)
  • Charles County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Potomac Heights
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Potomac Heights is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac Heights
    • Riverview Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Riverview Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview Village
    • Bryans Road
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Indian Head
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • South Hampton Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • South Hampton Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Hampton Village
    • Marbury
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Marbury is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marbury
    • Pomonkey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mattawoman Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Mattawoman Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattawoman Village
    • Freedom Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Freedom Village is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
    • Bennsville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Bennsville is located in Charles County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennsville
  • Frederick County (MD)
  • Howard County (MD)
  • Montgomery County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Potomac
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Travilah
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • North Potomac
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • North Potomac is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Potomac
    • Cabin John
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Darnestown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Glen Echo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Edwards Ferry
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Edwards Ferry is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Ferry
    • Bradmoor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Brookmont
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Brookmont is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookmont
    • English Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • English Village is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for English Village
    • Georgetown Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Georgetown Village is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown Village
    • Landon Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Landon Village is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landon Village
    • Poolesville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Prince George's County (MD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Reston, with the one closest to Reston listed first.
    • Chillum
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Adelphi
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Langley Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Mount Rainier
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Brentwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Brentwood is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brentwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brentwood <1>
    • Cottage City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Cottage City is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,355 people
    • Hyattsville Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hyattsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Hyattsville is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyattsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18,217 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hyattsville <1>
    • North Brentwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • North Brentwood is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Brentwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Forest Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Forest Heights is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,558 people
    • Bladensburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • College Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Colmar Manor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Colmar Manor is located in Prince George's County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colmar Manor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,458 people

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

Cemeteries Near Reston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Reston.

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

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

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

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

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

  • Herndon
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Dranesville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Dranesville is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dranesville
  • Springvale
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Vale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Vale is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
  • Kenmore
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Great Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Daysville ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Daysville is located in Loudoun County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daysville
  • Leighs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Leighs is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leighs
  • Sterling
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Chantilly
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pender
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Pender is located in Fairfax County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pender
  • Oakton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Vienna
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ash Grove
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Ash Grove is located in Fairfax County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ash Grove
    • Great Falls
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Great Falls is located in Montgomery County (MD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Falls

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Reston ...

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 18 newspapers that have been published in the area around Reston.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Reston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Reston and those printed in the larger area surrounding Reston.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 8 miles [12.9 km]<4> of Reston.

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 Reston:

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 Reston, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Reston) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.