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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 Cotton Hill (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 Cotton Hill. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County.

To see how the shape of West Virginia's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Fayette County: Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Raleigh & Summers.

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

  • Fayette County     (The home county of Cotton Hill)
  • Boone County
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Hill, with the one closest to Cotton Hill listed first.
    • Hartland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Elkhurst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkhurst. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elkhurst
      • From Cotton Hill to Elkhurst
    • Clay
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Porter
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Porter have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Porter is located in Clay County
    • Procious
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Spread
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spread have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spread
      • Spread is located in Clay County
    • Gould
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gould. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gould
      • Gould is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gould
      • From Cotton Hill to Gould
    • Harrison
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Valley Fork
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Widen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Widen. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Widen
      • Widen is located in Clay County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Widen
      • From Cotton Hill to Widen
  • Greenbrier County
  • Kanawha County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Hill, with the one closest to Cotton Hill listed first.
    • Handley
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Handley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
      • Handley is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
    • Hollygrove
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Pratt
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pratt have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
      • Pratt is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
    • Carbon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Eskdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Glasgow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glasgow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glasgow
      • Glasgow is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 823 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glasgow <1>
    • Ronda
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • East Bank
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Bank have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Acme
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Dry Branch
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Cabin Creek
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Witcher
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
  • Nicholas County
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cotton Hill, with the one closest to Cotton Hill listed first.
    • Bradley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
      • Bradley is located in Raleigh County
    • Terry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Piney View
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney View have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
      • Piney View is located in Raleigh County
    • Prosperity
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Royal ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Royal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Royal is located in Raleigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Royal
      • From Cotton Hill to Royal
    • Sweeneyburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Dorothy
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Grandview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grandview. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Raleigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Grandview
      • From Cotton Hill to Grandview
    • Skelton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Stanaford
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanaford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
      • Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
    • Sprague
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • White Stick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Beckley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Roane County
  • Summers County

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

Cemeteries Near Cotton Hill ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cotton Hill.

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 Cotton Hill covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Abbot Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbot Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbot Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • John Nugen Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the John Nugen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the John Nugen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Abbott - Huddleston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westlake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westlake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westlake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Huse Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Huse Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Huse Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Willis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Robson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Robson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Robson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pierce Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Restlawn Memory Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Restlawn Memory Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Restlawn Memory Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Blake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Blake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Blake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (399 more) ...
    • Sugar Creek Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugar Creek Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugar Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Guthrie Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Guthrie Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Guthrie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Page Tabernackle Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Page Tabernackle Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Page Tabernackle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Cotton Hill had a population of 24 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Beckwith
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Hawks Nest
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawks Nest have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawks Nest
    • Hawks Nest is located in Fayette County
  • Dempsey
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Sunnyside ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunnyside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyside
    • Sunnyside is located in Fayette County
  • Gauley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley
    • Gauley is located in Fayette County
  • Gaymont
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gaymont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaymont
    • Gaymont is located in Fayette County
  • Ansted
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ansted have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansted
    • Ansted is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,300 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ansted <1>
  • Kanawha Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kanawha Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha Falls
    • Kanawha Falls is located in Fayette County
  • Fayetteville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Gauley Bridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gauley Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gauley Bridge
    • Gauley Bridge is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 545 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gauley Bridge <1>
  • Fayette
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
    • Fayette is located in Fayette County
  • Lansing
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Mountain Cove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Cove
      • Mountain Cove is located in Fayette County
    • Mulvane ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mulvane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulvane
      • Mulvane is located in Fayette County
    • Deep Water
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep Water have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Water
      • Deep Water is located in Fayette County

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

Newspapers Published in Cotton Hill ...

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 21 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cotton Hill.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Cotton Hill, there are papers which were published within 10 miles [16.1 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Cotton Hill.

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 Cotton Hill:

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

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

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 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.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Cotton Hill, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Cotton Hill) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cotton Hill. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.1085, Longitude: -81.1532       In this case, the coordinates for Cotton Hill have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025