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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 Ocoee (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 Ocoee. 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 northeast 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 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 east 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.

Ocoee is located in Orange County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Orange County: Brevard, Lake, Osceola, Polk & Seminole.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Ocoee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Minorville ‑ Historic
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minorville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
      • Minorville is located in Orange County
    • Winter Garden
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Paradise Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Heights
      • Paradise Heights is located in Orange County
    • Gotha
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Tildenville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tildenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tildenville
      • Tildenville is located in Orange County
    • Clarcona
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Butter
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Butter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Butter
      • Lake Butter is located in Orange County
    • Pine Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Windermere
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Orlovista
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orlovista have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orlovista
      • Orlovista is located in Orange County
    • Oakland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Killarney
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Montverde
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waits Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waits Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waits Junction
      • Waits Junction is located in Lake County
    • Ferndale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Minneola
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Clermont
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Astatula
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Jem
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Jem
      • Lake Jem is located in Lake County
    • Mount Plymouth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Plymouth
      • Mount Plymouth is located in Lake County
    • Sorrento
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Mount Dora
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Howey-in-the-Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Four Corners
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Celebration
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Kissimmee
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Reunion
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Buena Ventura Lakes
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • ChampionsGate
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for ChampionsGate
      • ChampionsGate is located in Osceola County
    • Intercession City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Campbell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Osceola County
    • Runnymede
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Runnymede have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Runnymede
      • Runnymede is located in Osceola County
    • Saint Cloud
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Poinciana Place
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poinciana Place have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poinciana Place
      • Poinciana Place is located in Osceola County
    • Poinciana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Loughman
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Davenport
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Seminole County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Forest City
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
      • Forest City is located in Seminole County
    • Wekiwa Springs
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wekiwa Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wekiwa Springs
      • Wekiwa Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Altamonte Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fern Park
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Sanlando Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sanlando Springs
      • Sanlando Springs is located in Seminole County
    • Casselberry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Longwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Winter Springs
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Heathrow
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Mary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Oviedo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oviedo
      • Oviedo is located in Seminole County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oviedo <2>
    • Lake Monroe
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sumter County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Mabel
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
      • Mabel is located in Sumter County
    • Center Hill
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Linden
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Linden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Linden is located in Sumter County
    • Tarrytown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tarrytown
      • Tarrytown is located in Sumter County
  • Volusia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Ocoee, with the one closest to Ocoee listed first.
    • Fort Florida
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Florida
      • Fort Florida is located in Volusia County
    • Valdez
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valdez
      • Valdez is located in Volusia County
    • De Bary
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Enterprise
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City Hills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange City Hills
      • Orange City Hills is located in Volusia County
    • Deltona
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Lemon Bluff
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Bluff
      • Lemon Bluff is located in Volusia County
    • Osteen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Orange City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Ocoee ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Ocoee.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Ocoee. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Ocoee and those printed in the larger area surrounding Ocoee.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> of Ocoee.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Ocoee:

Cemeteries Near Ocoee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Ocoee.

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

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

  • Ocoee Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ocoee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ocoee Cemetery
  • West Orange Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Orange Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Orange Memorial Park
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Orange Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Orange Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Orange Memorial Gardens
  • Winter Garden Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winter Garden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winter Garden Cemetery
  • Woodlawn Memorial Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Memorial Park
  • Williams Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Williams Cemetery
  • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
  • Florida Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florida Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florida Memorial Park
  • Doctor Phillips Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Doctor Phillips Cemetery
  • Edgewood - Greenwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
  • Continue List   (86 more) ...
    • Washington Park Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washington Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washington Park Cemetery
    • Montverde Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Montverde Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Montverde Cemetery
    • Plymouth Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Plymouth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Plymouth Cemetery

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 Ocoee had a population of 307 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Ocoee had a population of 49,168 people.

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

  • Minorville ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minorville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
    • Minorville is located in Orange County
  • Crown Point
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crown Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crown Point
    • Crown Point is located in Orange County
  • Winter Garden
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Tildenville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tildenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tildenville
    • Tildenville is located in Orange County
  • Gotha
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Clarcona
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Oakland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Windermere
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Killarney
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Piedmont
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piedmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piedmont
    • Piedmont is located in Orange County
  • Plymouth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Apopka
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Montverde
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Waits Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waits Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waits Junction
      • Waits Junction is located in Lake County
    • McDonald
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McDonald have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McDonald
      • McDonald is located in Orange County

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

The official website for Ocoee: www.ci.ocoee.fl.us/

The official website for Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/

The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Ocoee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ocoee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.5706, Longitude: -81.5442    
<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 Ocoee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024