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 Wake Forest (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 Wake Forest. 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 Wake Forest ...
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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Wake Forest: Wake Frst.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Wake Forest. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Wake Forest.
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 southeast 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 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 east 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.
Wake Forest is located in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County: Craig, Floyd, Giles, Pulaski & Roanoke.
Below are the counties that are near Wake Forest. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wake Forest:
- Montgomery County (The home county of Wake Forest)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Prices Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- McBryde Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- McBryde Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McBryde Village
- Sundance Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Sundance Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sundance Village
- Blacksburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Merrimac
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Merrimac is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
- Mount Tabor Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Mount Tabor Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor Village
- Christiansburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ellett
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Ellett is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellett
- Childress
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Childress is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childress
- Bennetts Mill
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Bennetts Mill is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Mill
- Houchins
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Houchins is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Houchins
- Old Farm Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Old Farm Village is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Farm Village
- Bland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Mechanicsburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
- Round Bottom
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Rocky Gap
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Carroll County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Dugspur
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sylvatus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Sylvatus is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvatus
- Star
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Star is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star
- Shorts Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Shorts Creek is located in Carroll County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shorts Creek
- Craig County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Huffman
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Huffman is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffman
- Captain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Captain is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Captain
- Simmonsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Simmonsville is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simmonsville
- Abbott
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Craig County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Sowers
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sowers is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sowers
- Terrys Fork
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Terrys Fork is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terrys Fork
- Duncan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Duncan is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
- Indian Valley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Simpsons
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Simpsons is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpsons
- Poff
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Poff is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poff
- Floyd
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pizarro
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Pizarro is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pizarro
- Haycock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Haycock is located in Floyd County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haycock
- Franklin County
- Algoma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Algoma is located in Franklin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
- Giles County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Goodwins Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Eggleston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Pembroke
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mountain Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mountain Lake is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake
- Poplar Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Poplar Hill is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Hill
- Pearisburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Thessalia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Thessalia is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thessalia
- Kire
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Kire is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
- Narrows
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Shumate
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Shumate is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Pulaski County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Cowan
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Cowan is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cowan
- Parrott
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Parrott is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parrott
- Fairlawn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Fairlawn is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairlawn
- Dublin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Snowville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Snowville is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowville
- Newbern
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wurno
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Wurno is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wurno
- Sassin ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sassin is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sassin
- Hilton Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Hilton Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilton Village
- Pulaski
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Mack Creek Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Mack Creek Village is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mack Creek Village
- Draper
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Radford City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Mill Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Mill Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Village
- Radford Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Radford Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radford Village
- Radford
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sunset Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Sunset Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- New Town
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- New Town is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Simpkins Village
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Simpkins Village is located in Radford City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpkins Village
- Roanoke County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Riverside
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Riverside is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
- Wabun
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Wabun is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabun
- Bent Mountain
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Moomaw ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Moomaw is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moomaw
- Catawba
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Mason Cove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Mason Cove is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason Cove
- Cave Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Cave Spring is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Spring
- Hanging Rock
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hanging Rock is located in Roanoke County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanging Rock
- Salem City
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Salem
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Sunset Village is located in Salem City
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
- Wythe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Locust Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- Max Meadows
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Chiswell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fort Chiswell is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Chiswell
- Siloam
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Siloam is located in Wythe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siloam
- Logan County (WV)
- Rich Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- Mercer County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Willowton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Willowton is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowton
- Oakvale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Elgood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- East River ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- East River is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- Blake ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Blake is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blake
- Athens
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Princeton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Monroe County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Peterstown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Assurance
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wikel
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Ballard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Union
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Union is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Wayside
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Hillsdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hillsdale is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Hollywood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Hollywood is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
- Creamery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wolfcreek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Summers County (WV)
- The following are listed by their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Forest Hill
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Bargers Springs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Bargers Springs is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bargers Springs
- Buck
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buck is located in Summers County (WV)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Pipestem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Wake Forest, see our County-by-County Page for Wake Forest.
Cemeteries Near Wake Forest ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wake Forest.
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 Wake Forest - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Wake Forest covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Wake Forest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Brown Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Snider Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Hickman Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Burton Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stanger Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Price Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Morgan Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- New River Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sunrise Burial Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Central Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Continue List (369 more) ...
- Walker Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Emmanuel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 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 Wake Forest in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wake Forest.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Wake Forest, with the one closest to Wake Forest listed first.
- Churchwood ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Churchwood is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchwood
- Belspring
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Belspring is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belspring
- Dry Branch
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dry Branch is located in Pulaski County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- Goodwins Ferry
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Goodwins Ferry is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodwins Ferry
- Prices Fork
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Prices Fork is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prices Fork
- East Radford
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- East Radford is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Radford
- Eggleston
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Maybrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Maybrook is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maybrook
- New River
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Vicker
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Vicker is located in Montgomery County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vicker
- Newport
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newport is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Trigg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Trigg is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trigg
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Pembroke
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Blacksburg
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Bane
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Bane is located in Giles County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bane
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Wake Forest. See our List of 1890's Communities around Wake Forest.
Newspapers Published in Wake Forest ...
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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wake Forest.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wake Forest, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wake Forest.
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 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 Wake Forest:
- Websites specific to Virginia
- Pages specific to Montgomery County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Bland County
- Carroll County
- Craig County
- Floyd County
- Franklin County
- Giles County
- Pulaski County
- Radford City
- Roanoke County
- Salem City
- Wythe County
- Logan County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers 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> | 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 Wake Forest, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wake Forest) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |