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 Oak Ridge (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 Oak Ridge. 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 Oak Ridge ...
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.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 northeast 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 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.
Oak Ridge is located in Vernon County.
To see how the shape of Missouri's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Vernon County: Bourbon (KS), Crawford (KS), Linn (KS), Barton, Bates, Cedar & Saint Clair.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Vernon County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Walker
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Walker is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
- Harwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Harwood is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
- Montevallo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Montevallo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevallo
- Schell City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Milo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Milo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Nevada
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bellamy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bellamy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
- Horton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Horton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horton
- Sheldon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Temple ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Temple is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple
- Moundville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Metz
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Metz is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Deerfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Deerfield is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
- Barton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Milford
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Milford is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23 people
- Irwin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Irwin is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Newport
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Newport is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
- Bushnell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Bushnell is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushnell
- Layneville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Layneville is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layneville
- Lamar Heights
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Lamar Heights is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamar Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Lamar
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Liberal
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Liberal is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 702 people
- Kenoma
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Kenoma is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kenoma
- Oakton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Oakton is located in Barton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakton
- Bates County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Prairie City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Prairie City is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie City
- Rockville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Rockville is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
- Rich Hill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- New Home
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Home is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Home
- Foster
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Foster is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
- Hume
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Hume is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hume
- Population from the 2020 Census: 315 people
- Nyhart
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nyhart is located in Bates County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyhart
- Butler
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Cedar County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- El Dorado Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Virgil City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Virgil City is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil City
- Willowville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Willowville is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowville
- Lebeck
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Lebeck is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lebeck
- Jerico Springs
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jerico Springs is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
- Caplinger Mills
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Caplinger Mills is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caplinger Mills
- Stockton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Umber View Heights
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Umber View Heights is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umber View Heights
- Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
- Dade County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Arcola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Arcola is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 53 people
- Glen Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Glen Town is located in Dade County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Town
- Henry County
- Montrose
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Saint Clair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Roscoe
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Monegaw Springs
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Monegaw Springs is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monegaw Springs
- Cobb
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Cobb is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb
- Johnson City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Johnson City is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
- Appleton City
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Vista
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Vista is located in Saint Clair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
- Osceola
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Collins
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Lowry City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bourbon County (KS)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Garland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Garland is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland
- Barnesville ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Barnesville is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesville
- Bell Town ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bell Town is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Town
- Edward
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Edward is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edward
- Fort Scott
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Fort Scott is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Scott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,648 people
- Fort Scott has also been known as:
- Fort Scott City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Scott <1>
- Hammond
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Hammond is located in Bourbon County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Crawford County (KS)
- Arcadia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Arcadia is located in Crawford County (KS)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 309 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Oak Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Mt. Vernon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Butler Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Robinson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Warkins Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Living Faith Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Stepp Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Lefler Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- El Dorado Springs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Mound Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Marvin Chapel Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Sandstone Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (219 more) ...
- Virgil City Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Clintonville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Martin Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Greene Springs ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Greene Springs is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Springs
- Pashaw ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Pashaw is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pashaw
- Walker
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Walker is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
- Population from the 2020 Census: 253 people
- Harwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Harwood is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 45 people
- Sandstone
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sandstone is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
- Virgil City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Virgil City is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virgil City
- El Dorado Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Fair Haven
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Fair Haven is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fair Haven
- Montevallo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Montevallo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montevallo
- Ketterman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ketterman is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ketterman
- Milo
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Milo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Schell City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Nevada
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Bellamy
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bellamy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellamy
- Filley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Filley is located in Cedar County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Filley
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 66 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Missouri
- Pages specific to Vernon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barton County
- Bates County
- Cedar County
- Dade County
- Henry County
- Saint Clair County
- Bourbon County
- Crawford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Missouri
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> | 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 Oak Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |