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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> Kanawha County >> South Park >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 South Park (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 South Park. 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 South Park ...

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.

Another variation: Southpark.

  • A typical abbreviation for South Park: S. Park

You might be interested in other communities that are also named South Park. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for South Park.

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.

South Park is located in Kanawha 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 Kanawha County: Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh & Roane.

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

  • Kanawha County     (The home county of South Park)
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Kanawha City
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Kanawha City is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha City
    • South Ruffner
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • South Ruffner is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ruffner
    • Malden
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Charleston
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Loudendale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Loudendale is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loudendale
    • Airport Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Airport Village is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airport Village
      • Airport Village has also been known as:
      • Airport
    • Dupont City
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Dupont City is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dupont City
    • Coal Fork
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Coal Fork is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Fork
    • Elk
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Elk is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk
    • Marmet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • South Charleston
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Belle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Belle is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,108 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Belle <1>
    • Ruth
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Ruth is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruth
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Ashford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Dartmont
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Dartmont is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dartmont
    • Grippe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Grippe is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grippe
    • Rumble
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Rumble is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rumble
    • Bloomingrose
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Bloomingrose is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingrose
    • Brushton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Brushton is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brushton
    • Emmons
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Emmons is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
    • Comfort
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Eden
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Eden is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden
    • Peytona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Peytona is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peytona
    • Racine
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Racine is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Racine
    • Sharlow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Sharlow is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharlow
    • Johns
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Johns is located in Boone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johns
  • Cabell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Culloden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Culloden is located in Cabell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culloden
    • Milton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Bomont
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Bomont is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bomont
    • Porter
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Porter is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
    • Procious
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Procious is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Procious
    • Elkhurst
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Elkhurst is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhurst
    • Hartland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hartland is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Clay
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Valley Fork
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Valley Fork is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Fork
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cannelton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Cannelton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannelton
    • Crescent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Crescent is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent
    • Smithers
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Kimberly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Kimberly is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimberly
    • Mount Carbon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Carbon is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Carbon
    • Elkridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkridge is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkridge
    • Powellton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Powellton is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powellton
    • Falls View
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Falls View is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls View
    • Gauley Bridge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • McDunn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • McDunn is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDunn
    • Beckwith
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cotton Hill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cotton Hill is located in Fayette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton Hill
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Romance
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Romance is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
    • Fletcher
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Fletcher is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fletcher
    • Kentuck
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Kentuck is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kentuck
    • Kenna
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Aplin ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Aplin is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aplin
    • Statts Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Statts Mills is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Statts Mills
    • Fairplain
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Fairplain is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplain
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Alum Creek
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Priestley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Priestley is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Priestley
    • Sod
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Sod is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sod
    • Garretts Bend
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Garretts Bend is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretts Bend
    • Tango
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Tango is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tango
    • East ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • East is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East
    • Alkol
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Alkol is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alkol
    • Yawkey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Yawkey is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yawkey
    • Sweetland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Sweetland is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
    • Palermo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Palermo is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palermo
    • Hamlin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Myra
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Myra is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myra
    • Portersville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Portersville is located in Lincoln County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portersville
  • Logan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Banco
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Banco is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banco
    • Sodom
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Sodom is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodom
  • Mason County
    • Upland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Upland is located in Mason County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Upland
  • Nicholas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Dixie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Dixie is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dixie
    • Beech Glen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Beech Glen is located in Nicholas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beech Glen
  • Putnam County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Poca
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Morgans Landing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Morgans Landing is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgans Landing
    • Raymond City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Raymond City is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond City
    • Bancroft
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Bancroft is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
    • Scott Village
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Scott Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scott Village
    • Sigman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sigman is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sigman
    • Teays Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Teays Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Teays Village is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teays Village
    • Liberty
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Liberty is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Paradise
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Paradise is located in Putnam County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise
    • Winfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Red House
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eleanor
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Packsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Packsville is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packsville
    • Dorothy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Dorothy is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
    • Montcoal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Montcoal is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcoal
    • Stickney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Stickney is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
  • Roane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from South Park, with the one closest to South Park listed first.
    • Cicerone
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Cicerone is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cicerone
    • Mattie ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Mattie is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattie
    • Walton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodyard ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Woodyard is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodyard
    • Kester ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Kester is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kester
    • Pigeon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Pigeon is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
    • Zona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Zona is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zona
    • Looneyville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Flint Town
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Flint Town is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flint Town
    • Rushville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Rushville is located in Roane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushville

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

Cemeteries Near South Park ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of South Park.

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 South Park - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for South Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Hess Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Spring Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fisher Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Hunt - Donnally Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Matthews Church Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Mt. Joy Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Hope Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Younger Branch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Valley Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Hanson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Haws Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Adkins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (767 more) ...

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 South Park in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of South Park.

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

  • Kanawha City
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Kanawha City is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kanawha City
  • South Ruffner
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • South Ruffner is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Ruffner
  • Malden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Charleston
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Davis Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Davis Creek is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis Creek
  • Mound ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mound is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
  • Spring Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Winifrede
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Winifrede is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede
  • Winifrede Junction
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Winifrede Junction is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winifrede Junction
  • Mink ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Mink is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mink
  • Shrewsbury
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Shrewsbury is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shrewsbury
  • Coalburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Coalburg is located in Kanawha County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coalburg
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • East Bank
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • East Bank is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 857 people
    • Cedar Grove
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Grove is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 897 people
    • Jarrett
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jarrett is located in Kanawha County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jarrett

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

Newspapers Published in South Park ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around South Park.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of South Park, there are papers which were published within 12 miles [19.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for South Park.

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 helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to South Park:

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 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- South Park) 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 South Park, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.