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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 Orono (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 Orono. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Orono is located in Penobscot County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Penobscot County: Aroostook, Hancock, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo & Washington.

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

  • Penobscot County     (The home county of Orono)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orono, with the one closest to Orono listed first.
    • Webster
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Webster is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Stillwater
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Stillwater is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
    • Old Town
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Bradley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Veazie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <1>
    • Milford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Eddington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lucky Landing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Lucky Landing is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucky Landing
    • East Eddington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • Bangor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Bangor is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,998 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
    • Brewer
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Brewer is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,948 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brewer <1>
    • East Bangor
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • East Bangor is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bangor
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orono, with the one closest to Orono listed first.
    • Dedham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Amherst
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Amherst is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 256 people
    • Otis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Otis is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otis
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 659 people
    • Aurora
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Mariaville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Mariaville is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 540 people
    • Great Pond
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Great Pond is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Pond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • North Ellsworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • North Ellsworth is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Ellsworth
    • Bucksport Center
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bucksport Center is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucksport Center
    • Waltham
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Waltham is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waltham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 340 people
    • East Orland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Orland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Bucksport
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
  • Piscataquis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orono, with the one closest to Orono listed first.
    • Boyd Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyd Lake is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd Lake
    • Medford Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Medford Center is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford Center
    • Atkinson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Atkinson is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 311 people
    • Atkinson Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Atkinson Mills is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atkinson Mills
    • South Dover
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • South Dover is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dover
    • Medford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Medford is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Dover South Mills
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Dover South Mills is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover South Mills
    • Milo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Milo is located in Piscataquis County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,314 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milo <1>
  • Waldo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orono, with the one closest to Orono listed first.
    • North Winterport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • North Winterport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Winterport
    • Winterport
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Frankfort
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Prospect Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Prospect Ferry is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Ferry
    • Prospect
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Monroe
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
    • Sandy Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Monroe Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Monroe Center is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe Center
    • North Searsport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • North Searsport is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Searsport
    • Stockton Springs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Jackson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Jackson is located in Waldo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
    • Swanville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County
    • Beddington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Orono ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orono.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orono, with the one closest to Orono 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 Orono had a population of 2,300 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Orono had a population of 10,636 people.

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

  • Basin Mills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Basin Mills is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Basin Mills
  • Webster
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Webster is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
  • Great Works
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Great Works is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Works
  • Veazie
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Veazie is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veazie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,824 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Veazie <1>
  • Bradley
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Old Town
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Eddington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Milford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Six Mile Falls
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Six Mile Falls is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Six Mile Falls
  • East Bangor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • East Bangor is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Bangor
  • Bangor
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bangor is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 31,998 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bangor <1>
  • Brewer
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Brewer is located in Penobscot County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brewer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,948 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brewer <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • East Eddington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • East Eddington is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Eddington
    • Pea Cove
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Pea Cove is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pea Cove
    • North Bangor
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • North Bangor is located in Penobscot County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bangor

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Orono ...

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 122 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orono.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Orono. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Orono and those printed in the larger area surrounding Orono.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Orono.

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 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 Orono:

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 Orono, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Orono) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.