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 Cool Ridge (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 Cool Ridge. 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 Cool Ridge ...
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 Cool Ridge: Cool Rdg. (or less commonly used: Cool Rdge. or Cool Ridg.)
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 hospitals and doctors 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.
Cool Ridge is located in Raleigh 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 Raleigh County: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha, Mercer, Summers & Wyoming.
Below are the counties that are near Cool Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Cool Ridge:
- Raleigh County (The home county of Cool Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Shady Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Beaver
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Daniels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Sullivan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sullivan is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sullivan
- Tilden
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Tilden is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilden
- Coal City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Coal City is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
- Princewick
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Princewick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
- Clifftop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Pemberton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Raleigh
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Raleigh is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raleigh
- Beckley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Crab Orchard
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- MacArthur
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Fayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Prince
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Quinnimont
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Quinnimont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinnimont
- McKendree
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Kilsyth
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Kilsyth is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kilsyth
- Mount Hope
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- White Oak Junction
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- White Oak Junction is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Junction
- Harvey
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Harvey is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Redstar
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Redstar is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstar
- Meadow Bridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Pax
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Pax is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Alderson
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Vale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Rainelle
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Frazier
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Frazier is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazier
- McRoss
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Fort Spring
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Fort Spring is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Spring
- Charmco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Crawley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hines
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Rupert
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kanawha County
- Carbon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Logan County
- Rich Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Rich Creek is located in Logan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
- McDowell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Kyle
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Kyle is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
- Northfork
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhorn
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Keystone
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Kimball
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Big Four
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Big Four is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
- Anawalt
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Anawalt is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
- Thorpe
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Thorpe is located in McDowell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
- Welch
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mercer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Athens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Lashmeet
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
- Oak Grove
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Oak Grove is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Matoaka
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Matoaka is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Weyanoke
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
- Johnston Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Johnston Town is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston Town
- Princeton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Elgood
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Elgood is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elgood
- Montcalm
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Montcalm is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
- East River ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- East River is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East River
- El Centro ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- El Centro is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for El Centro
- Oakvale
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oakvale is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakvale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Flipping
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Flipping is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Ballard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Ballard is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballard
- Creamery
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wayside
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Wayside is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayside
- Peterstown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcreek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Assurance
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Assurance is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
- Wikel
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Wikel is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
- Union
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Union is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 539 people
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Jumping Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Nimitz
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Brooklin
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Pipestem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- True
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Bellepoint
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Hinton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Packs Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Buck
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Buck is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Hilldale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
- Wyoming County
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Mullens
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Bud
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bud is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
- Keyrock
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
- Pineville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rock View
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rock View is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
- Mullensville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
- Kopperston
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Kopperston is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kopperston
- Turkey
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Turkey is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
- Woosley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Woosley is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
- Wyoming
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
- Fanny
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Fanny is located in Wyoming County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
- Oceana
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Bland County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Round Bottom
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
- Rocky Gap
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
- Giles County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Glen Lyn
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
- Lurich
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
- Rich Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Narrows
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shumate
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
- Bluff City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bluff City is located in Giles County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff City
- Pearisburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Tazewell County (VA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Pocahontas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
- Yards
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
- Falls Mills
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
- Bluefield
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Boissevain
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Cool Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Cool Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Cool Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cool Ridge.
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 Cool Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Cool Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Williams Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Russ Lilly Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Crook Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Lilly Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Camp Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hall Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Family Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Hall Family Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the north of Shady Spring.
- Brammer Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Hatcher Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Hatcher Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lilly - Crews Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilly - Crews Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Lilly - Crews Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the south of Nimitz.
- The Lilly - Crews Cemetery has also been known as:
- Crews Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960819 <2>
- Pemberton Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Meador Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (442 more) ...
- Dunns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Greenwood Memorial Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Wildwood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
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 Cool Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Cool Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Cool Ridge, with the one closest to Cool Ridge listed first.
- Shady Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Flat Top
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Odd
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Odd is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odd
- Daniels
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Jumping Branch
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Ellison
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ellison is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellison
- Crow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Crow is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
- Pemberton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Dunns
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Dunns is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunns
- Egeria
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Egeria is located in Mercer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egeria
- Pipestem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- True
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- True is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Packs Ferry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Hinton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Grandview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Cool Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cool Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Cool Ridge ...
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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cool Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cool Ridge, there are papers which were published within 11 miles [17.7 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cool Ridge.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Cool Ridge:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Raleigh County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fayette County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Logan County
- McDowell County
- Mercer County
- Monroe County
- Summers County
- Wyoming County
- Bland County
- Giles County
- Tazewell 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> | 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 '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- Cool Ridge) 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 Cool Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |