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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 Salt Petre Cave (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 Salt Petre Cave. 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 Salt Petre Cave ...

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.

Salt Petre Cave has also been known as: Salt Peter Cave and Saltpetre.

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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Salt Petre Cave is located in Botetourt 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 Botetourt County: Alleghany, Bedford, Craig, Roanoke & Rockbridge.

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

  • Botetourt County     (The home county of Salt Petre Cave)
  • Alleghany County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salt Petre Cave, with the one closest to Salt Petre Cave listed first.
    • Rich Patch
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Iron Gate
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Low Moor
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Selma
      (14 miles [22.5 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
    • Griffith
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griffith
      • Griffith is located in Alleghany County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Griffith
      • From Salt Petre Cave to Griffith
    • Moss Run
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Amherst County
  • Bath County
  • Bedford City
  • Bedford County
  • Buena Vista City
    • Buena Vista
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • 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 <1>
  • Covington City
    • Covington
      (18 miles [29 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 <1>
  • Craig County
  • Lexington City
  • Roanoke City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salt Petre Cave, with the one closest to Salt Petre Cave listed first.
    • Buena Vista
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • 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 Roanoke City
    • Roanoke
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Garden City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Roanoke City
  • Roanoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salt Petre Cave, with the one closest to Salt Petre Cave listed first.
    • Hollins
      (21 miles [33.8 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 <1>
    • Vinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Mason Cove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Montgomery Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery Village
      • Montgomery Village is located in Roanoke County
    • Hanging Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Moomaw ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moomaw have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
      • Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
    • Cave Spring
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Rockbridge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salt Petre Cave, with the one closest to Salt Petre Cave listed first.
    • Red Mills
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Natural Bridge
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Longwood ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Glasgow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Zollman ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zollman
      • Zollman is located in Rockbridge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zollman
      • From Salt Petre Cave to Zollman
    • Buffalo Forge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • East Lexington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Kerrs Creek
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Riverside
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Goshen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Salem City
    • The following are listed by their distance from Salt Petre Cave, with the one closest to Salt Petre Cave listed first.
    • Sunset Village
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
      • Sunset Village is located in Salem City
    • Salem
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salem have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Salem is located in Salem City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,340 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <1>
  • Greenbrier County (WV)

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

Cemeteries Near Salt Petre Cave ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Salt Petre Cave.

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 Salt Petre Cave covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Rudisill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rudisill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rudisill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mays Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mays Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mays Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wesley Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wesley Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Piney Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Piney Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Piney Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Houseman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Houseman Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Houseman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Copps Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Shafer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shafer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shafer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Linkenhoker Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Linkenhoker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Linkenhoker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ponton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • 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.
  • Galatia Presbyterian Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (234 more) ...
    • Robinson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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.
    • Rapps Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.
    • High Bridge Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • 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.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Salt Petre Cave had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Salisbury
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Eagle Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Rock
    • Eagle Rock is located in Botetourt County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Rock <1>
  • Springwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bessemer
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bessemer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bessemer
    • Bessemer is located in Botetourt County
  • Buchanan
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Gala
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Dillon
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Rocky Point
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Alpine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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
  • Rapps Mill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • 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
  • Botetourt ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 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
  • Arcadia
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Haden
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haden
      • Haden is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Haden
      • From Salt Petre Cave to Haden
    • Lithia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lithia
      • Lithia is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lithia
      • From Salt Petre Cave to Lithia
    • Strom
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strom
      • Strom is located in Botetourt County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strom
      • From Salt Petre Cave to Strom

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

Newspapers Published in Salt Petre Cave ...

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 39 newspapers that have been published in the area around Salt Petre Cave.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Salt Petre Cave, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Salt Petre Cave.

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 Salt Petre Cave:

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

The official website for Botetourt County: www.co.botetourt.va.us/

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

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>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.
<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>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.
<5>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 Salt Petre Cave, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Salt Petre Cave) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Salt Petre Cave. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6128, Longitude: -79.7438    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025