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 Centralia (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 Centralia. 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.
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.
Centralia is located in Braxton County.
To see how the shape of West 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 Braxton County: Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Lewis, Nicholas & Webster.
Below are the counties that are near Centralia. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Centralia:
- Braxton County (The home county of Centralia)
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Palmer
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Palmer is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- McNutt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Corley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Milroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Flatwoods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Little Birch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Sutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Falls Mill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Falls Mill is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mill
- Heaters
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lloydsville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydsville
- Canfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Bulltown
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bulltown is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bulltown
- Gassaway
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Calhoun County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Losie ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Losie is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Losie
- Walnut
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Walnut is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
- Mudfork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Mudfork is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mudfork
- Stinson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Stinson is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stinson
- Gomez ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gomez is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gomez
- Orma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Orma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orma
- Oka
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Oka is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oka
- Clay County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Wattsville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Wattsville is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wattsville
- Widen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Widen is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
- Ira
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Ira is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Harrison
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Harrison is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harrison
- Lydia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Lydia is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
- Dink
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Dink is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dink
- Gould
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gould is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
- Spread
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Spread is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
- Clay
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Valley Fork is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
- Gilmer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Cedarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Cedarville is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedarville
- Stouts Mills
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stouts Mills is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stouts Mills
- Sand Fork
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sand Fork is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Fork
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Truebada
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Truebada is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truebada
- Shock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shock is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shock
- Glenville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Normantown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Baldwin is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Stumptown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Stumptown is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stumptown
- Troy
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Troy is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troy
- Alice
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Alice is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alice
- De Kalb
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- De Kalb is located in Gilmer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Kalb
- Lewis County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Duffy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Duffy is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duffy
- Crawford
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Crawford is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crawford
- Alkires Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Alkires Mills is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkires Mills
- Cox Town
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Cox Town is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cox Town
- Garton Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Garton Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garton Village
- Alum Bridge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Alum Bridge is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alum Bridge
- Camden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Camden is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camden
- Vadis
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Vadis is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vadis
- Weston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Smith Village
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Smith Village is located in Lewis County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Village
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Birch River
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Tioga
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Beaver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Beaver is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
- Craigsville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Muddlety
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Muddlety is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muddlety
- Donald
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Donald is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
- Richwood
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Nettie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Saxman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Saxman is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
- Summersville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Odell Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Tolbert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Tolbert is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolbert
- Pocahontas County
- Slaty Fork
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Randolph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Florence ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Florence is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Pickens
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Helvetia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Blue Spring is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Spring
- Monterville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Mingo
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Valley Head
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Elkwater
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elkwater is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkwater
- Lee Bell
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Lee Bell is located in Randolph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee Bell
- Upshur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Goshen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Goshen is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
- Kanawha Head
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha Head is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Head
- Wilsontown
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wilsontown is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilsontown
- Rock Cave
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Rock Cave is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Cave
- Frenchton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchton
- Alexander
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Alexander is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
- Hoover Town
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hoover Town is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoover Town
- Alton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Alton is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
- Abbott
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Abbott is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbott
- Beans Mill
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Beans Mill is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beans Mill
- Adrian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Adrian is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
- Sellers ‑ Historic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Sellers is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers
- Tenmile
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Tenmile is located in Upshur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenmile
- Webster County
- The following are listed by their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Big Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Replete
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- Erbacon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Erbacon is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erbacon
- Orndoff
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Orndoff is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orndoff
- Hacker Valley
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cleveland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Halo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Halo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halo
- Excelsior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Excelsior is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Excelsior
- Addison
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Addison is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Addison
- Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
- Cowen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Ralph
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Ralph is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ralph
- Upperglade
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Upperglade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upperglade
- Welch Glade
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Welch Glade is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch Glade
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Centralia, see our County-by-County Page for Centralia.
Cemeteries Near Centralia ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Centralia.
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 Centralia - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Centralia covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Centralia Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- McCourt - Cogar Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Clifton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Baker Ridge Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Columbus McCourt Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Big Run Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Hall Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Mt. Hebron Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ware Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Morton Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Hoover Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (290 more) ...
- Elizabeth Chapel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Harris Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Green Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Centralia in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Centralia.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Centralia, with the one closest to Centralia listed first.
- Bakers Run
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Bakers Run is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bakers Run
- Newville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Newville is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Caress
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Caress is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caress
- Diana
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Diana is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
- Replete
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Replete is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Replete
- McNutt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- McNutt is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McNutt
- Little Birch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Little Birch is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Birch
- Corley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Corley is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
- Milroy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Milroy is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milroy
- Flatwoods
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Sutton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Pugh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Pugh is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pugh
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Canfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Canfield is located in Braxton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canfield
- Heaters
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Jumbo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Jumbo is located in Webster County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumbo
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Centralia. See our List of 1890's Communities around Centralia.
Newspapers Published in Centralia ...
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 17 newspapers that have been published in the area around Centralia.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Centralia, there are papers which were published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Centralia.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Centralia:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Braxton County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Calhoun County
- Clay County
- Gilmer County
- Lewis County
- Nicholas County
- Pocahontas County
- Randolph County
- Upshur County
- Webster County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West 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> | 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 Centralia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 from Point A (ie- Centralia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |