Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
So far, we found very little information about Fire Creek. The little that we've found leads us believe that the community is historic.<1>
We've added Fire Creek to our Gazetteer with the hope that we can develop more information. If you can help us with Fire Creek, please Contact Us.
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 Fire Creek (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 Fire Creek. 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 Fire Creek ...
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 Fire Creek: Fire Crk. (or less commonly used: Fire Ck. or Fire Cr.)
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.
Although our information shows that the community of Fire Creek is historic, it would have been located within present day Fayette 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 Fayette County: Greenbrier, Kanawha, Nicholas, Raleigh & Summers.
Below are the counties that are near Fire Creek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Fire Creek:
- Fayette County (The home county of Fire Creek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Sewell ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Sewell Knob ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Sewell Knob is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell Knob
- Sewell Knob has also been known as:
- Swell Knob
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- Rush Run ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rush Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Run
- Thurmond
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Concho
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Concho is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concho
- Newlyn ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Newlyn is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newlyn
- Keeneys Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Clifftop
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Garten
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Garten is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garten
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Janie
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Janie is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janie
- Former name for Janie:
- Mordue
- Whitesville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whitesville is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
- Former names for Whitesville:
- Jarrods Valley
- Pritchard City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whitesville <2>
- Elk Run Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Elk Run Junction is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Run Junction
- Sylvester
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Joes Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Joes Creek is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joes Creek
- Keith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Keith is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keith
- Orgas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Orgas is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orgas
- Greenbrier County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Rainelle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- McRoss
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- McRoss is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McRoss
- Charmco
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hines
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Hines is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hines
- Orient Hill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Orient Hill is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orient Hill
- Vale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Vale is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vale
- Crichton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Crichton is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crichton
- Quinwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Quinwood is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quinwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Rupert
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Crawley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kieffer
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Kieffer is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kieffer
- Brushy Junction ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brushy Junction is located in Greenbrier County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushy Junction
- Kanawha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Carbon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Carbon is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon
- Acme
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Acme is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Handley
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Handley is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Handley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
- Eskdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Eskdale is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eskdale
- Hollygrove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hollygrove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollygrove
- Hollygrove has also been known as:
- Hollygrove Station
- Hudnall
- Hugheston
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hugheston is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugheston
- Pratt
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pratt is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
- Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
- Ronda
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Ronda is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronda
- Glasgow
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
- Dry Branch
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Dry Branch is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dry Branch
- East Bank
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- East Bank is located in Kanawha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
- Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Creamery
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Creamery is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Wolfcreek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Wolfcreek is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolfcreek
- Nicholas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Runa
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Runa is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
- Albion ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Albion is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Snow Hill
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Snow Hill is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snow Hill
- Beech Glen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
- Keslers Cross Lanes
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Keslers Cross Lanes is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keslers Cross Lanes
- Morrison ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Morrison is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrison
- Tipton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Tipton is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tipton
- Carl
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Carl is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
- Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Peaser Junction is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaser Junction
- Dixie
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Dixie is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
- Zela
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Zela is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zela
- Odell Town
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Odell Town is located in Nicholas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell Town
- Odell Town has also been known as:
- Odell
- Raleigh County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Royal ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Royal is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Terry
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Terry is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
- Grandview
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Grandview is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
- Piney View
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Piney View is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney View
- Bradley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bradley is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Stanaford
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Stanaford is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanaford
- Abraham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Abraham is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
- Prosperity
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Prosperity is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosperity
- White Stick
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- White Stick is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Stick
- Clifftop
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Clifftop is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifftop
- Skelton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Skelton is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skelton
- Sprague
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Sprague is located in Raleigh County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sprague
- Summers County
- The following are listed by their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- New Richmond ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Richmond is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Sandstone
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Brooklin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Brooklin is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
- Jumping Branch
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
- Hinton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Nimitz
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Nimitz is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
- Bellepoint
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Bellepoint is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellepoint
- Packs Ferry
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
- Hilldale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Hilldale is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
- Talcott
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Lowell is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
- Riffe
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Riffe is located in Summers County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Fire Creek, see our County-by-County Page for Fire Creek.
Cemeteries Near Fire Creek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fire Creek.
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 Fire Creek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Fire Creek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Layland Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layland Cemetery
- The Layland Cemetery has also been known as:
- Chestnut Knob Church Cemetery
- Anderson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Smailes Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- High Lawn Memorial Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Hilltop Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Royal Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Shuck Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Huse Memorial Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Amick Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Tyree Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (294 more) ...
- Bays Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Beechnut Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beechnut Cemetery
- The Beechnut Cemetery has also been known as:
- Charles Harrah Cemetery
- Harrah Cemetery
- Jim Harrah Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2608668 <3>
- Goddard Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 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.
Fire Creek itself is historic and was described in the Rand McNally Atlas as having a population of 250 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Fire Creek, with the one closest to Fire Creek listed first.
- Beury
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Beury is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beury
- East Sewell ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- East Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
- Stonecliff ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Stonecliff is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stonecliff
- Stonecliff has also been known as:
- Stone Cliff
- Sewell ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Sewell is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
- Rush Run ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rush Run is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rush Run
- Dimmock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dimmock is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmock
- Thurmond
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Claremont
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Claremont is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claremont
- Alaska ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Alaska is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
- Gatewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Gatewood is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gatewood
- Caperton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Caperton is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caperton
- Keeneys Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Keeneys Creek is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keeneys Creek
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- McKendree
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- McKendree is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKendree
- Clifftop
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Beauty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Beauty is located in Fayette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauty
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Fire Creek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Fire Creek.
Newspapers Published in Fire Creek ...
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 Fire Creek.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fire Creek, there are papers which were published within 7 miles [11.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fire Creek.
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 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 Fire Creek:
- Websites specific to West Virginia
- Pages specific to Fayette County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Greenbrier County
- Kanawha County
- Monroe County
- Nicholas County
- Raleigh County
- Summers County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for West Virginia
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Fire Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Fire Creek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |