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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 Spring Garden (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 Spring Garden. 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 Spring Garden ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Spring Garden: Spring Gdn. (or less commonly used: Spring Gardn., Spring Grden. or Spring Grdn.)

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Spring Garden is located in Pittsylvania 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 Pittsylvania County: Caswell (NC), Rockingham (NC), Bedford, Campbell, Franklin, Halifax & Henry.

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

  • Pittsylvania County     (The home county of Spring Garden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Transco Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Transco Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Transco Village
      • Transco Village is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Tightsqueeze
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Java
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lucks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Chatham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
      • Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
    • Sheva
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sheva. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheva
      • Sheva is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sheva
      • From Spring Garden to Sheva
    • Henrys Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Sonans
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
      • Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sonans
      • From Spring Garden to Sonans
    • Markham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Whittles
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Kentuck
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kentuck. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
      • Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kentuck
      • From Spring Garden to Kentuck
    • Laurel Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Chalk Level
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Bedford County
    • Radford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Radford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford
      • Radford is located in Bedford County
  • Campbell County
  • Danville City
  • Fluvanna County
    • Scottsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
      • Scottsburg is located in Fluvanna County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <3>
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Laprades Mill
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Penhook
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Union Hall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Hall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hall
      • Union Hall is located in Franklin County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union Hall <3>
    • North Shore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Shore
      • North Shore is located in Franklin County
  • Halifax County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Sign Rock
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Elmo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elmo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmo
      • Elmo is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elmo
      • From Spring Garden to Elmo
    • Sutherlin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rodden
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rodden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodden
      • Rodden is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rodden
      • From Spring Garden to Rodden
    • Leda
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leda. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leda
      • Leda is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leda
      • From Spring Garden to Leda
    • Jones
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Delila
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Delila. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delila
      • Delila is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Delila
      • From Spring Garden to Delila
    • Cody
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Halifax
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Westside Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westside Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside Village
      • Westside Village is located in Halifax County
    • Loftis
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loftis. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loftis
      • Loftis is located in Halifax County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Loftis
      • From Spring Garden to Loftis
    • Banister Town
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Banister Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banister Town
      • Banister Town is located in Halifax County
    • Alton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Axton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Leatherwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Irisburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irisburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irisburg
      • Irisburg is located in Henry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irisburg
      • From Spring Garden to Irisburg
    • Sandy Level
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Level have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Level
      • Sandy Level is located in Henry County
    • Laurel Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
      • Laurel Park is located in Henry County
    • Chatmoss
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatmoss have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatmoss
      • Chatmoss is located in Henry County
  • Madison County
  • Caswell County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Gatewood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Milton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Milton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton
      • Milton is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milton <3>
    • Blanch
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanch
      • Blanch is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blanch <3>
    • Whitetown
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Estelle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Estelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estelle
      • Estelle is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Estelle
      • From Spring Garden to Estelle
    • Providence
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Providence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
      • Providence is located in Caswell County (NC)
    • Pelham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pelham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pelham
      • Pelham is located in Caswell County (NC)
    • Semora
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Semora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Semora
      • Semora is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Semora <3>
    • Bethel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bethel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethel
      • Bethel is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bethel
      • From Spring Garden to Bethel
    • Yanceyville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • West Yanceyville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Leasburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leasburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasburg
      • Leasburg is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leasburg <3>
    • Quick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quick
      • Quick is located in Caswell County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Quick
      • From Spring Garden to Quick
  • Person County (NC)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Garden, with the one closest to Spring Garden listed first.
    • Ceffo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ceffo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
      • Ceffo is located in Person County (NC)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ceffo
      • From Spring Garden to Ceffo
    • Concord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Concord have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Person County (NC)
    • Hicks Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hicks Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
      • Hicks Village is located in Person County (NC)
  • Rockingham County (NC)

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

Cemeteries Near Spring Garden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Garden.

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 Spring Garden covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Spring Garden had a population of 150 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Shockoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shockoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shockoe
    • Shockoe is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Keeling
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keeling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeling
    • Keeling is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Dry Fork
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dry Fork have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Fork
    • Dry Fork is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Chatham
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
    • Chatham is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,413 people
  • Pickaway
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickaway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickaway
    • Pickaway is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Sonans
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sonans. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonans
    • Sonans is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sonans
    • From Spring Garden to Sonans
  • Kentuck
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kentuck. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
    • Kentuck is located in Pittsylvania County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kentuck
    • From Spring Garden to Kentuck
  • Laurel Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Ingram
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ingram have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ingram
    • Ingram is located in Halifax County
  • Peytonsburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peytonsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytonsburg
    • Peytonsburg is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Whittles
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Pleasant Gap
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Gap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Gap
    • Pleasant Gap is located in Pittsylvania County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Chalk Level
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Weal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Ray
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ray
      • Ray is located in Pittsylvania County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Spring Garden ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Garden.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Spring Garden. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Spring Garden and those printed in the larger area surrounding Spring Garden.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> of Spring Garden.

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 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 Spring Garden:

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

The official website for Pittsylvania County: www.pittgov.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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- Spring Garden) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spring Garden. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7806, Longitude: -79.3052       In this case, the coordinates for Spring Garden have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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.
<6>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 Spring Garden, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025