RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of West Virginia >> McDowell County >> Switchback >> 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 Switchback (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 Switchback. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Switchback is located in McDowell 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 McDowell County: Buchanan (VA), Tazewell (VA), Mercer, Mingo & Wyoming.

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

  • McDowell County     (The home county of Switchback)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Elkhorn
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
    • Kyle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Kyle is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
    • Anawalt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Anawalt is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anawalt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Keystone
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Northfork
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Thorpe
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Thorpe is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thorpe
    • Kimball
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Four
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Big Four is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Four
    • Gary
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Gary is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
    • Welch
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Welch is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welch
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,575 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Welch <1>
    • Bishop
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Newhall
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Newhall is located in McDowell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhall
  • Logan County
    • Rich Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Rich Creek is located in Logan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Creek
  • Mercer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Coaldale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
    • Coopers
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Coopers is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
    • Bramwell
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Freeman
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Freeman is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Flipping
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Nemours
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Yards
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Yards is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Montcalm
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Montcalm is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montcalm
    • Weyanoke
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Weyanoke is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyanoke
    • Matoaka
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Matoaka is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matoaka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
    • Littlesburg
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Littlesburg is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Littlesburg
    • Lashmeet
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Lashmeet is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lashmeet
  • Raleigh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Rhodell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Rhodell is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Eastgulf
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Eastgulf is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastgulf
    • Helen
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Helen is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helen
    • Ury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Ury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ury
    • Princewick
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Princewick is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Princewick
    • Slab Fork
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Slab Fork is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab Fork
    • Stotesbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Stotesbury is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stotesbury
    • Coal City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Coal City is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
    • Sophia
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Glen White
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Glen White is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen White
    • Lester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Lester is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 312 people
    • Pemberton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Pemberton is located in Raleigh County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
  • Summers County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Pipestem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mercers Saltworks ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Mercers Saltworks is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mercers Saltworks
    • True
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • True is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for True
    • Jumping Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jumping Branch is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jumping Branch
    • Nimitz
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Nimitz is located in Summers County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nimitz
  • Wyoming County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Bud
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Bud is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bud
    • Mullens
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Woosley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Woosley is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woosley
    • Pineville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mullensville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Mullensville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mullensville
    • Fanny
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Fanny is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fanny
    • Rock View
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Rock View is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock View
    • Wyoming
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Wyoming is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
    • Keyrock
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Keyrock is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keyrock
    • Stoneville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Stoneville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoneville
    • Turkey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Turkey is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey
    • Baileysville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Baileysville is located in Wyoming County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baileysville
  • Bland County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Rocky Gap
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Rocky Gap is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Gap
    • Hicksville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Hicksville is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicksville
    • Bastian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Round Bottom
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Round Bottom is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Bottom
    • Bland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Mechanicsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Mechanicsburg is located in Bland County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsburg
  • Buchanan County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Bearwallow
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bearwallow is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bearwallow
    • Peapatch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Peapatch is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peapatch
    • Height
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Height is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Height
    • Jackson Flats
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jackson Flats is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Flats
    • Paynesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Paynesville is located in Buchanan County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
  • Giles County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Glen Lyn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Glen Lyn is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Lyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Lurich
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Lurich is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lurich
    • Shumate
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Shumate is located in Giles County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shumate
    • Rich Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Tazewell County (VA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Switchback, with the one closest to Switchback listed first.
    • Pocahontas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
    • Boissevain
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Boissevain is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boissevain
    • Yards
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Yards is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yards
    • Falls Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills
    • Abbs Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Abbs Valley is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
    • Saint Clair
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Saint Clair is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
    • Bluefield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Springville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Springville is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
    • Wittens Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Wittens Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wittens Mills
    • Bishop
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bishop is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bishop
    • Shawver Mill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Shawver Mill is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawver Mill
    • Shraders
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Shraders is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shraders

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

Cemeteries Near Switchback ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Switchback.

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 Switchback - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Hollinsworth Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Bell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Belcher Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Little Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Swim Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Rutherford Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Music Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Mt. Tabor Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Algoma Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mohawk Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (491 more) ...
    • Mohawk Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mohawk Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Mohawk Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Switchback had railroad service and no post office.

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

  • Ennis
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Ennis is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ennis
  • Maybeury
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Elkhorn
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Elkhorn is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
  • Coaldale
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Coaldale is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coaldale
  • Powhatan
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Powhatan is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Powhatan
  • Algoma
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Algoma is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Algoma
  • Kyle
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Kyle is located in McDowell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kyle
  • Coopers
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Coopers is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
  • Pocahontas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Pocahontas is located in Tazewell County (VA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 348 people
  • Bramwell
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Freeman
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Freeman is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
  • Abbs Valley ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Abbs Valley is located in Mercer County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Abbs Valley
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Flipping
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Flipping is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flipping
    • Duhring
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Duhring is located in Mercer County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duhring
    • Falls Mills
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Falls Mills is located in Tazewell County (VA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Mills

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

Newspapers Published in Switchback ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Switchback.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Switchback, there are papers which were published within 14 miles [22.5 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Switchback.

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 Switchback:

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>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 Switchback, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Switchback) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.