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 Sharon Springs (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 Sharon Springs. 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 Sharon Springs ...
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 Sharon Springs: Sharon Spgs. (or less commonly used: Sharon Spngs. or Sharon Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sharon Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sharon Springs.
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 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.
Sharon Springs is located in Bland 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 Bland County: Giles, Pulaski, Smyth, Tazewell, Wythe & Mercer (WV).
Below are the counties that are near Sharon Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sharon Springs:
- Bland County (The home county of Sharon Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Bland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Bastian
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hicksville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
- Rocky Gap
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Round Bottom
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Mechanicsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Buchanan County
- Bearwallow
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Sheep Town
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Sheep Town is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheep Town
- Oak Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Oak Grove is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Shorts Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Shumate
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Thessalia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Grayson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Elk Creek
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Flat Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Flat Ridge is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flat Ridge
- Trout Dale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Fries
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bridle Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Bridle Creek is located in Grayson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridle Creek
- Independence
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Hilton Village
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Pulaski
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Draper
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Smyth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Atkins
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Mount Carmel is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carmel
- Ellendale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Ellendale is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Marion
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Sugar Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Sugar Grove is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Broadford
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Broadford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Broadford
- Adwolf
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Adwolf is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adwolf
- Seven Mile Ford
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Seven Mile Ford is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Mile Ford
- Chilhowie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Saltville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Allison Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Allison Gap is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allison Gap
- Cardwell Town
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Cardwell Town is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardwell Town
- Tazewell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Little Town
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Little Town is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Town
- Shawver Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Springville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Saint Clair
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
- Five Oaks
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Five Oaks is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Oaks
- Wittens Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
- Tazewell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Bluefield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Asberrys
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Asberrys is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asberrys
- Thompson Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Thompson Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson Valley
- Falls Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Abbs Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Fleet
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Loves Mill is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Mill
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Rural Retreat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Crockett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Wytheville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Rowe Crossroads is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowe Crossroads
- Kent
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Kent is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent
- Speedwell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Speedwell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Speedwell
- Max Meadows
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Fort Chiswell
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Siloam
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Locust Hill
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Ivanhoe
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Austinville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- McDowell County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Bishop
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Bishop is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
- Anawalt
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Newhall
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Newhall is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
- Elkhorn
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Kyle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Thorpe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Keystone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Northfork
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Gary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Gary is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
- Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
- War
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- War is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for War
- Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
- Big Four
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Kimball
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Bluefield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Yards
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Yards is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Bethel ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
- Nemours
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Edison
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Edison is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edison
- Bramwell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coopers
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Coopers is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
- Freeman
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Freeman is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Littlesburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Littlesburg is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
- Flipping
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Blake ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sharon Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Sharon Springs.
Cemeteries Near Sharon Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sharon Springs.
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 Sharon Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sharon Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Red Oak Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Crabtree Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Shewey Cemetery
- The Shewey Cemetery is located on private property - be sure to secure permission before visiting.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shewey Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #52125 <2>
- Houndshell Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Sharon Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Burkes Garden Central Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Thompson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Floglesong Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Earhart Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cooper Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (535 more) ...
- Tilson Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Newberry Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberry Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Newberry Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<3> to the southwest of Bland.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #51439 <2>
- Harmon Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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.<4>
While we didn't find Sharon Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Sharon Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sharon Springs, with the one closest to Sharon Springs listed first.
- Effna
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Effna is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effna
- Ceres
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ceres is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceres
- Burkes Garden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Grapefield
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Grapefield is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapefield
- Shawver Mill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
- Cove Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Cove Creek is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Creek
- Gratton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Gratton is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gratton
- Summit
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Summit is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- Rural Retreat
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Stowersville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Stowersville is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stowersville
- Groseclose
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Groseclose is located in Smyth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groseclose
- Grubb
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grubb is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grubb
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Petunia
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petunia is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petunia
- Springville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Springville is located in Tazewell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Crockett
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sharon Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sharon Springs.
Newspapers Published in Sharon Springs ...
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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sharon Springs.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sharon Springs, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sharon Springs.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Sharon Springs:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Bland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buchanan County
- Carroll County
- Giles County
- Grayson County
- Pulaski County
- Smyth County
- Tazewell County
- Washington County
- Wythe County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sharon Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <4> | 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 Sharon Springs, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |