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 Orchard Park (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 Orchard Park. 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.
Orchard Park is located in Calhoun County.
To see how the shape of Michigan's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Calhoun County: Barry, Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Kalamazoo & Saint Joseph.
Below are the counties that are near Orchard Park. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orchard Park:
- Calhoun County (The home county of Orchard Park)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Battle Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Verona Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Verona Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verona Park
- Brownlee Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
- Springfield
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Oak Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Oak Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Pennfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Pennfield is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennfield
- Bedford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Level Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Level Park is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Level Park
- Beadle Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Beadle Lake is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beadle Lake
- Sonoma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Ceresco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
- Fort Custer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Fort Custer is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Custer
- Former name for Fort Custer:
- Camp Custer
- Joppa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Allegan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Neeley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Neeley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neeley
- Hooper
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Hooper is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooper
- Plainwell
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Martin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Otsego
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Shelbyville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Watson
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Watson is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
- Bradley
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Bradley is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradley
- Barry County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Banfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Banfield is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
- Hickory Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dowling
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Dowling is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dowling
- Maple Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Maple Grove is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
- Cedar Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Creek is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
- Delton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Cloverdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Cloverdale is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Prairieville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Prairieville is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairieville
- Nashville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Morgan
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Morgan is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
- Doster
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Doster is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doster
- Hastings
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Irving
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Irving is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
- Branch County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Union City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Hodunk
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Hodunk is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hodunk
- Sherwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Sherwood is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Girard
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Girard is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Girard
- Matteson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Matteson is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matteson
- Batavia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Batavia is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batavia
- Coldwater
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Trailtree Village
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Trailtree Village is located in Branch County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trailtree Village
- Eaton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Bellevue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Olivet
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ainger
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ainger is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainger
- Carlisle
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Carlisle is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
- Vermontville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Chester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Chester is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Charlotte
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Gresham
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Gresham is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Stalls Corner
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stalls Corner is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stalls Corner
- Charlesworth
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Charlesworth is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesworth
- Little Venice
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Little Venice is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Venice
- Needmore
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Needmore is located in Eaton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Needmore
- Eaton Rapids
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hillsdale County
- Litchfield
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ionia County
- Lake Odessa
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Devereaux
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Devereaux is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devereaux
- Springport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Concord
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Parma
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Kalamazoo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Augusta
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Climax
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- South Gull Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- South Gull Lake is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Gull Lake
- Yorkville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Galesburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Highland Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Highland Park is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Park
- Richland
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Scotts
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fulton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Fulton is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
- Pavillion Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pavillion Center is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pavillion Center
- Comstock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Comstock is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- East Cooper
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- East Cooper is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Cooper
- Eastwood
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Eastwood is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastwood
- Saint Joseph County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Factoryville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Factoryville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Factoryville
- Leonidas
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Mendon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Colon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Colon is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,155 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colon <1>
- Fairfax
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Fairfax is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfax
- Parkville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Parkville is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkville
- Wasepi
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wasepi is located in Saint Joseph County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasepi
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orchard Park, see our County-by-County Page for Orchard Park.
Cemeteries Near Orchard Park ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard Park.
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 Orchard Park - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orchard Park covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Haskell Home Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Holiday Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Mt. Olive Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mt. Olivet Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Olivet Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Olivet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Battle Creek.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1153 <2>
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Hill Cemetery is a very large cemetery that is located outside and to the south of Battle Creek.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1260 <2>
- Covey Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Reese Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sunset Gardens Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Youngs Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Memorial Park Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- West Pennfield 'Hicks' Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pennfield 'Hicks' Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the West Pennfield 'Hicks' Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northwest of Pennfield.
- The West Pennfield 'Hicks' Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hicks Cemetery
- Hicks / West Pennfield Cemetery
- Pennfield Charter Twp. Hicks Cemetery
- West Pennfield Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #171020 <2>
- Continue List (294 more) ...
- Bedford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bedford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Bedford Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
While we didn't find Orchard Park in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orchard Park.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orchard Park, with the one closest to Orchard Park listed first.
- Battle Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Bedford
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Sonoma
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sonoma is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sonoma
- Ceresco
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
- Assyria
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Assyria is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assyria
- Banfield
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Banfield is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banfield
- Climax
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Climax is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- West Leroy
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- West Leroy is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leroy
- Joppa
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Joppa is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joppa
- Lacey
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lacey is located in Barry County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacey
- Bellevue
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Hickory Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Yorkville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Yorkville is located in Kalamazoo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yorkville
- Galesburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Pine Creek
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Pine Creek is located in Calhoun County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orchard Park. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orchard Park.
Newspapers Published in Orchard Park ...
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 181 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard Park.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orchard Park, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orchard Park.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Orchard Park:
- Websites specific to Michigan
- Pages specific to Calhoun County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Allegan County
- Barry County
- Branch County
- Eaton County
- Hillsdale County
- Ionia County
- Jackson County
- Kalamazoo County
- Saint Joseph County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Michigan
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 Orchard Park, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orchard Park) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |