RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Russell County >> RockdellIndex...

Welcome to Rockdell ...

Rockdell is located in Russell County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rockdell, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1884.

Rockdell is 2,190 feet [668 m] above sea level.<2> In other words, the altitude of Rockdell is about ½ mile above sea level.

Time Zone: Rockdell lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Rockdell: 276

Communities near Rockdell ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rockdell.

  • Abingdon
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abingdon
    • Abingdon is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,856 people
  • Richlands
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lebanon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Saltville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Chilhowie
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Glade Spring
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Honaker
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Cedar Bluff
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cedar Bluff. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
    • Cedar Bluff is located in Tazewell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 998 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Bluff <3>
  • Saint Paul
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Cleveland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
    • Cleveland is located in Russell County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rockdell. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rockdell.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rockdell. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rockdell.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rockdell. See our Newspapers Page for Rockdell.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rockdell ...

Looking for more information about Rockdell? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Rockdell, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Rockdell.

Adding Rockdell to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rockdell in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rockdell was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Rockdell post office opened in 1884.

We also found Rockdell in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rockdell.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Virginia's counties, including Russell, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rockdell - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/