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 Rocky Ford (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 Rocky Ford. 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 Rocky Ford ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rocky Ford: Rocky Frd.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rocky Ford. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rocky Ford.
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.
Rocky Ford is located in Bedford 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 Bedford County: Amherst, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Pittsylvania, Roanoke & Rockbridge.
Below are the counties that are near Rocky Ford. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rocky Ford:
- Bedford County (The home county of Rocky Ford)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Joppa Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Joppa Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa Mill
- Chamblissburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Montvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Davis Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Goodview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Moneta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Peaksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Villamont
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Villamont is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villamont
- Radford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Radford is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
- Lowry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Lowry is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowry
- Amherst County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Pedlar Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pedlar Mills is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pedlar Mills
- Madison Heights
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pleasant View is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant View
- Winesap
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Winesap is located in Amherst County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winesap
- Bedford City
- Bedford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Botetourt County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Blue Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Laymantown
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Laymantown is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laymantown
- Lithia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lithia is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
- Apple Tree Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Apple Tree Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Tree Village
- Cloverdale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Runaway Village is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runaway Village
- Buchanan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Troutville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amsterdam is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amsterdam
- Botetourt ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Botetourt is located in Botetourt County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botetourt
- Daleville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fincastle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Campbell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Leesville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Leesville is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leesville
- Bedford Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Bedford Springs is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford Springs
- Timberlake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Timberlake is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Lynch Station
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lynch Station is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Station
- Powhatan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Powhatan is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
- Altavista
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lawyers
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Lawyers is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawyers
- Yellow Branch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Yellow Branch is located in Campbell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yellow Branch
- Rustburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Abbott
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- New Castle
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Franklin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Hales Ford ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Hales Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hales Ford
- Westlake Corner
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Westlake Corner is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake Corner
- North Shore
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- North Shore is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
- Burnt Chimney
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Burnt Chimney is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Chimney
- Felicia ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Felicia is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felicia
- Union Hall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Villa ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Villa is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villa
- Penhook
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Boones Mill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Redwood is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
- Gogginsville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Gogginsville is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gogginsville
- Rocky Mount
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lynchburg City
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Woodbine Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Woodbine Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine Village
- Lavino Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lavino Village is located in Lynchburg City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lavino Village
- Lynchburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Pittsylvania County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Hurt
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hurt is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hurt <1>
- Pittsville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pittsville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
- Museville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Museville is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Museville
- Brutus
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brutus is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brutus
- Gretna
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Worlds
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Worlds is located in Pittsylvania County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worlds
- Roanoke City
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Buena Vista
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista
- Garden City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Garden City is located in Roanoke City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Roanoke
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Montgomery Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
- Vinton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Hollins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Hanging Rock
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Mason Cove
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Catawba
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Wabun
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Bent Mountain
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Riverside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Rockbridge County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Springfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Springfield is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springfield
- Greenlee
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Greenlee is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlee
- Natural Bridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Red Mills
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Red Mills is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mills
- Glasgow
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Longwood ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Longwood is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longwood
- Fancy Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Fancy Hill is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Hill
- Buffalo Forge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Buffalo Forge is located in Rockbridge County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Forge
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Sunset Village
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Salem
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rocky Ford, see our County-by-County Page for Rocky Ford.
Cemeteries Near Rocky Ford ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rocky Ford.
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 Rocky Ford - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rocky Ford covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Bond Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Tate Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- New Hope Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Rose Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Shady Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gray Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Wheeler Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- West Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Simmons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Otey Street Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Giles Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (656 more) ...
- Foutz Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Clair Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nichols Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
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 Rocky Ford in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rocky Ford.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rocky Ford, with the one closest to Rocky Ford listed first.
- Robertsons ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Robertsons is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robertsons
- Coonsville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Coonsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coonsville
- Chamblissburg
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chamblissburg is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chamblissburg
- Thaxton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Thaxton is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thaxton
- Bunker Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Bunker Hill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunker Hill
- Clevilas ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Clevilas is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clevilas
- Goodview
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Davis Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Davis Mill is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Mill
- Bedford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Reba
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Reba is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reba
- Montvale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Stewartsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Stewartsville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewartsville
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Moneta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Peaksville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Peaksville is located in Bedford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaksville
- Hardy Ford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hardy Ford is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy Ford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rocky Ford. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rocky Ford.
Newspapers Published in Rocky Ford ...
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 16 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rocky Ford.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rocky Ford, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rocky Ford.
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 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 Rocky Ford:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bedford County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Amherst County
- Bedford City
- Botetourt County
- Campbell County
- Craig County
- Franklin County
- Lynchburg City
- Pittsylvania County
- Roanoke City
- Roanoke County
- Rockbridge County
- Salem City
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Virginia
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 Rocky Ford, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rocky Ford) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |