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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 Oregon City (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 Oregon City. 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 Oregon City ...

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.

Prior to its current name of Oregon City, it was known as Bloomingdale.

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

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.

Oregon City is located in Butte County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Butte County: Colusa, Glenn, Plumas, Sutter, Tehama & Yuba.

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

  • Butte County     (The home county of Oregon City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Cherokee ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Cherokee is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
    • Longs Bar ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Longs Bar is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longs Bar
    • Elsey
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Bidwell ‑ Historic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Bidwell is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell
    • Oroville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bidwell Bar ‑ Historic
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bidwell Bar is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bidwell Bar
    • Lynchburg ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Lynchburg is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynchburg
    • South Oroville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • South Oroville is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Oroville
    • South Fork ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • South Fork is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Fork
    • Thermalito
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Thermalito is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thermalito
    • Berry Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Bend
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Big Bend is located in Butte County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Colusa County
  • Glenn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Afton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Afton is located in Glenn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
    • Butte City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Glenn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Hamilton City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Nevada County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Birchville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Birchville is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchville
    • Bridgeport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Bridgeport is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • North San Juan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Wildwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Wildwood is located in Nevada County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wildwood
  • Plumas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Storrie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bucks Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Bucks Lake is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Lake
    • Tobin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Tobin is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tobin
    • La Porte
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Little Grass Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Little Grass Valley is located in Plumas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Grass Valley
  • Santa Cruz County
  • Sierra County
    • Brandy City ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Brandy City is located in Sierra County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandy City
  • Sutter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Live Oak
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Live Oak is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Live Oak
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,048 people
    • Pennington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Pennington is located in Sutter County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
  • Yuba County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oregon City, with the one closest to Oregon City listed first.
    • Rackerby
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Brownsville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Challenge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Loma Rica
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Loma Rica is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loma Rica
    • Iowa City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Iowa City is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa City
    • Strawberry Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Oregon House
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bullards Bar ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Bullards Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bullards Bar
    • Dobbins
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Foster Bar ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Foster Bar is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster Bar
    • Browns Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Garden Valley ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Garden Valley is located in Yuba County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden Valley

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

Cemeteries Near Oregon City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oregon City.

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 Oregon City - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Oregon City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Cherokee Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Cherokee Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north of Oroville.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1967787 <3>
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Thompson Flat Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Butte County Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Clear Creek Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Oroville Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Lake Madrone Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Clarks Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Memorial Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Memorial Park
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Memorial Park is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Oroville.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #8154 <3>
  • Indian Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (47 more) ...
    • Hamilton Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Paradise Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Nelson Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Cherokee ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cherokee is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
  • Oroville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Pentz
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Pentz is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pentz
  • Yankee Hill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Yankee Hill is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yankee Hill
  • Big Bend
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Bend is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend
  • Wyandotte
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Wyandotte is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyandotte
  • Enterprise ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Enterprise is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enterprise
  • Palermo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Hurleton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hurleton is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurleton
  • Nelson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Paradise
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Brush Creek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Brush Creek is located in Butte County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brush Creek
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Forbestown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Durham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Bigg's
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Oregon City ...

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 42 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oregon City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oregon City, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oregon City.

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 Oregon City:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oregon City) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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>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 Oregon City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.