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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 Riverside (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 Riverside. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Riverside is located in Grayson 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 Grayson County: Alleghany (NC), Ashe (NC), Surry (NC), Johnson (TN), Carroll, Smyth, Washington & Wythe.

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

  • Grayson County     (The home county of Riverside)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Fries
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Baywood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Baywood is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baywood
    • Independence
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Low Gap
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Low Gap is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Low Gap
    • Elk Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Bridle Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
    • Flat Ridge
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
    • Mouth-of-Wilson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Trout Dale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Rugby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Rugby is located in Grayson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rugby
  • Bland County
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Pipers Gap
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Oak Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Woodlawn
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Sheep Town
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
    • Drenn
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Drenn is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drenn
    • Lambsburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Shorts Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
    • Hillsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fancy Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Star
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Star is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
    • Sylvatus
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
    • Cana
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Floyd County
  • Galax City
    • Galax
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Patrick County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Ararat
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Carters Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Carters Mill is located in Patrick County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carters Mill
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Draper
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Mack Creek Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
    • Pulaski
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Smyth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Sugar Grove
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
    • Atkins
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Mount Carmel
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
    • Marion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Wythe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Ivanhoe
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Austinville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Speedwell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Speedwell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
    • Rowe Crossroads
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
    • Siloam
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Siloam is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
    • Crockett
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Fort Chiswell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
    • Kent
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Kent is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
    • Wytheville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Locust Hill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
    • Rural Retreat
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Max Meadows
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Alleghany County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Ennice
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Edmonds
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
    • Hooker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Sparta
      (12 miles [19.3 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
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Amelia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
    • Glade Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Piney Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Roaring Gap
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Topia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Topia is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Topia
    • Scottville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Laurel Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ashe County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Weavers Ford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Weavers Ford is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weavers Ford
    • Grassy Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Crumpler
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Transou
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Transou is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transou
    • Helton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Helton is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helton
    • Wagoner
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Wagoner is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagoner
    • Sturgills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Sturgills is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sturgills
    • Brandon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Brandon is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
    • Lansing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Orion
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Orion is located in Ashe County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orion
    • Glendale Springs
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jefferson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Surry County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Low Gap
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Devotion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Devotion is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devotion
    • Round Peak
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Round Peak is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Peak
    • Thurmond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Mountain Park
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mountain Park is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
    • Red Brush
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Red Brush is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Brush
    • Zephyr
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Zephyr is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zephyr
    • Toast
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Toast is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toast
    • State Road
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Dobson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Dobson is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dobson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,534 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dobson <1>
    • Mount Airy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Mulberry
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Mulberry is located in Surry County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Wilkes County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Abshers
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Abshers is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abshers
    • Traphill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Moxley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Moxley is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moxley
    • Springfield ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Springfield is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
    • Zebra ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Zebra is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zebra
    • Dehart
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Dehart is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dehart
    • Lomax
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Lomax is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lomax
    • McGrady
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • McGrady is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrady
    • Hays
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Wilkes County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill

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

Cemeteries Near Riverside ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverside.

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

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

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

  • Benjamin Moore Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Warrick Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Providence Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Fries Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Nuckolls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Pisgah Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Leonard Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Mt. View Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • McKenzie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Isom Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Dixon Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Summerfield UMC Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (679 more) ...

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

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

  • Carsonville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Carsonville is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carsonville
  • Stevens Creek
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Stevens Creek is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Creek
  • Spring Valley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Valley is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
  • Peach Bottom
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Peach Bottom is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Bottom
  • Fallville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Fallville is located in Grayson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallville
  • Wolf Glade
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wolf Glade is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Glade
  • Grayson
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Grayson is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grayson
  • Independence
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ennice
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Edmonds
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Edmonds is located in Alleghany County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmonds
  • Elk Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Edwards Crossroads
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Edwards Crossroads is located in Alleghany County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards Crossroads
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Pipers Gap
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Pipers Gap is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pipers Gap
    • Hooker
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Hooker is located in Alleghany County (NC)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Cripple Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Cripple Creek is located in Wythe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cripple Creek

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

Newspapers Published in Riverside ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverside.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Riverside, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Riverside.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Riverside:

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 Riverside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Riverside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.