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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 Orion (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 Orion. 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 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.

Orion is located in Grant County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Grant County: Cleveland, Dallas, Hot Spring, Jefferson, Pulaski & Saline.

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

  • Grant County     (The home county of Orion)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • Ico ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Ico is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ico
    • Center Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Center Grove is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Center Grove
    • Ebb
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Ebb is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebb
    • Sheridan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Slabtown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Slabtown is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slabtown
    • Cherry Grove ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Cherry Grove is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Grove
    • Tull
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Tull is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tull
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
    • Turin ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Turin is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turin
    • Prattsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Grapevine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Grapevine is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grapevine
    • Dogwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dogwood is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogwood
    • Poyen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Poyen is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poyen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
  • Cleveland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • Staves
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Staves is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staves
    • White Oak Bluff
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • White Oak Bluff is located in Cleveland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Oak Bluff
  • Hot Spring County
    • Perla
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Perla is located in Hot Spring County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perla
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • Redfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jefferson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
    • Wright
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Wright is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Plum Bayou ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Plum Bayou is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Bayou
    • Pastoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Pastoria is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pastoria
    • White Hall
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tucker
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Tucker is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tucker
    • Sherrill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Sherrill is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherrill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Sulphur Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Sulphur Springs is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
    • Pine Bluff
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Rob Roy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rob Roy is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rob Roy
    • Altheimer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Lonoke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • England
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Keo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Keo is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keo <1>
    • Cobbs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Cobbs is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobbs
    • Coy
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Coy is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Seaton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Seaton is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seaton
    • Allport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Allport is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Bayou Meto
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Bayou Meto is located in Lonoke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayou Meto
    • Humnoke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Lonoke
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Pulaski County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • Hensley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Woodson
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Woodson is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodson
    • Bingham
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Bingham is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham
    • Landmark
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Landmark is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landmark
      • Landmark has also been known as:
      • Parkers - Iron Springs
    • Wrightsville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wrightsville is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,054 people
    • Sweet Home
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Sweet Home is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Home
    • Windamere
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Windamere is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windamere
    • Mabelvale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wakefield Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Wakefield Village is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wakefield Village
    • Alexander
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • College Station
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Scott
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Saline County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion listed first.
    • East End
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • East End is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East End
    • Shannon Hills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Shannon Hills is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannon Hills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,087 people
    • Bauxite
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Bauxite is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauxite
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 555 people
    • Bryant
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Shaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Shaw is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaw
    • Benton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Salem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Salem is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
    • Congo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Congo is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congo
    • Haskell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Traskwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Traskwood is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traskwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Avilla
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Avilla is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avilla
    • Fairplay ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Fairplay is located in Saline County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairplay

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

Cemeteries Near Orion ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orion.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orion, with the one closest to Orion 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.<3>

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

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

  • Redfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Ico ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Ico is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ico
  • Obin ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Obin is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obin
  • Red Bluff ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Red Bluff is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Bluff
  • Kearney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Kearney is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kearney
  • Jefferson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jefferson is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
  • Samples
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Samples is located in Jefferson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Samples
  • Wrightsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Wrightsville is located in Pulaski County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightsville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,054 people
  • Altharp ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Altharp is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altharp
  • Hurricane ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hurricane is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane
  • Ebb
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Ebb is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebb
  • Junet
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Junet is located in Grant County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junet
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Plum Bayou ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Plum Bayou is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum Bayou
    • Wampoo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Wampoo is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wampoo
    • Dickey ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dickey is located in Pulaski County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickey

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

Newspapers Published in Orion ...

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 228 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orion.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orion, there are papers which were published within 18 miles [29 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orion.

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 Orion:

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>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 Orion, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orion) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.