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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 Richlands (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 Richlands. 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 Richlands ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Richland.

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.

Richlands is located in Greenbrier 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 Greenbrier County: Alleghany (VA), Bath (VA), Fayette, Monroe, Nicholas, Pocahontas, Summers & Webster.

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

  • Greenbrier County     (The home county of Richlands)
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richlands, with the one closest to Richlands listed first.
    • Spring Dale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Bellwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Maywood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maywood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
      • Maywood is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maywood
      • From Richlands to Maywood
    • Meadow Bridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bridge
      • Meadow Bridge is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
    • Hilton Village
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Clifftop
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Lookout
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Alaska ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alaska have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alaska
      • Alaska is located in Fayette County
    • East Sewell ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Sewell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sewell
      • East Sewell is located in Fayette County
    • Quinnimont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Sewell ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sewell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sewell
      • Sewell is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sewell
      • From Richlands to Sewell
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richlands, with the one closest to Richlands listed first.
    • Wolfcreek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hillsdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
      • Hillsdale is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hillsdale
      • From Richlands to Hillsdale
    • Hollywood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Creamery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Creamery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
      • Creamery is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Creamery
      • From Richlands to Creamery
    • Union
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Wikel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wikel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wikel
      • Wikel is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wikel
      • From Richlands to Wikel
    • Assurance
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Assurance. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assurance
      • Assurance is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Assurance
      • From Richlands to Assurance
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richlands, with the one closest to Richlands listed first.
    • Peaser Junction ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Carl
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
      • Carl is located in Nicholas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carl
      • From Richlands to Carl
    • Richwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
      • Richwood is located in Nicholas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,842 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richwood <1>
    • Saxman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Saxman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saxman
      • Saxman is located in Nicholas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Saxman
      • From Richlands to Saxman
    • Snow Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Tolbert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Nettie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Odell Town
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Runa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Runa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runa
      • Runa is located in Nicholas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Runa
      • From Richlands to Runa
    • Donald
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
      • Donald is located in Nicholas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Donald
      • From Richlands to Donald
  • Pocahontas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richlands, with the one closest to Richlands listed first.
    • Hillsboro
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Hillsboro is located in Pocahontas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 236 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <1>
    • Watoga ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watoga. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watoga
      • Watoga is located in Pocahontas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Watoga
      • From Richlands to Watoga
    • Buckeye
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Raleigh County
    • Abraham
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Abraham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abraham
      • Abraham is located in Raleigh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Abraham
      • From Richlands to Abraham
  • Summers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richlands, with the one closest to Richlands listed first.
    • Riffe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Riffe. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riffe
      • Riffe is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Riffe
      • From Richlands to Riffe
    • Lowell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lowell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowell
      • Lowell is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lowell
      • From Richlands to Lowell
    • Talcott
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bargers Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hilldale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hilldale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilldale
      • Hilldale is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hilldale
      • From Richlands to Hilldale
    • New Richmond ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Sandstone
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Hinton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Bellepoint
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brooklin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklin
      • Brooklin is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Brooklin
      • From Richlands to Brooklin
    • Buck
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Buck. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
      • Buck is located in Summers County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Buck
      • From Richlands to Buck
    • Forest Hill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Packs Ferry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packs Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packs Ferry
      • Packs Ferry is located in Summers County
  • Alleghany County (VA)
  • Bath County (VA)
    • Greenwood ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greenwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Greenwood is located in Bath County (VA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greenwood
      • From Richlands to Greenwood
  • Covington City (VA)
    • Covington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Covington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
      • Covington is located in Covington City (VA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,639 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Covington <1>
  • Giles County (VA)
    • Kire
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kire
      • Kire is located in Giles County (VA)

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

Cemeteries Near Richlands ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Richlands.

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

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

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 Richlands had a population of 14 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Alta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
    • Alta is located in Greenbrier County
  • Lewisburg
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hughart
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hughart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hughart
    • Hughart is located in Greenbrier County
  • Asbury
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Asbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Asbury
    • Asbury is located in Greenbrier County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Asbury <1>
  • Whitcomb ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whitcomb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitcomb
    • Whitcomb is located in Greenbrier County
  • Frankford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Clintonville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clintonville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
    • Clintonville is located in Greenbrier County
  • Caldwell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Williamsburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Fort Spring
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ronceverte
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Blaker Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blaker Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaker Mills
    • Blaker Mills is located in Greenbrier County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Rockland
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
      • Rockland is located in Greenbrier County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rockland
      • From Richlands to Rockland
    • Meadow Bluff
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Bluff
      • Meadow Bluff is located in Greenbrier County
    • Friars Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friars Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friars Hill
      • Friars Hill is located in Greenbrier County

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

Newspapers Published in Richlands ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Richlands.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Richlands, there are papers which were published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Richlands.

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 websites either 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 Richlands:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Richlands. 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 Richlands, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Richlands) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Richlands. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.8662, Longitude: -80.4829    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 31 Mar 2025