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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 Orchard Homes (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 Homes. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Orchard Homes is located in Missoula County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Missoula County: Clearwater (ID), Idaho (ID), Flathead, Granite, Lake, Mineral, Powell, Ravalli & Sanders.

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

  • Missoula County     (The home county of Orchard Homes)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Homes, with the one closest to Orchard Homes listed first.
    • Missoula
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missoula have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missoula
      • Missoula is located in Missoula County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 76,848 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missoula <2>
    • Travois Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Travois Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Travois Village
      • Travois Village is located in Missoula County
    • East Missoula
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Missoula
      • East Missoula is located in Missoula County
    • De Smet
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Smet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
      • De Smet is located in Missoula County
    • Grass Valley
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grass Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
      • Grass Valley is located in Missoula County
    • Milltown
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Wye
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wye have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wye
      • Wye is located in Missoula County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wye <2>
    • Lolo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Bonner
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Piltzville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piltzville
      • Piltzville is located in Missoula County
    • Evaro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evaro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evaro
      • Evaro is located in Missoula County
    • Frenchtown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
      • Frenchtown is located in Missoula County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frenchtown <2>
    • Clinton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
      • Clinton is located in Missoula County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <2>
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Homes, with the one closest to Orchard Homes listed first.
    • Arlee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Ravalli
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravalli have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravalli
      • Ravalli is located in Lake County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ravalli <2>
  • Mineral County
    • Alberton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Ravalli County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Homes, with the one closest to Orchard Homes listed first.
    • Florence
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Ravalli County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Florence <2>
    • Stevensville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Cinnabar Court
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cinnabar Court
      • Cinnabar Court is located in Ravalli County
    • Bing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bing
      • Bing is located in Ravalli County

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

Cemeteries Near Orchard Homes ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard Homes.

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

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

  • Post Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Post Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Post Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Mary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Missoula Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Woodman Pioneer Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Florence - Carlton Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Florence - Carlton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Florence - Carlton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Frenchtown Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Frenchtown Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Frenchtown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph's Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Jocko Valley Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jocko Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jocko Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunnyside Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Maplewood Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...

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>

While we didn't find Orchard Homes in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orchard Homes.

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

  • Missoula
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missoula have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missoula
    • Missoula is located in Missoula County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 76,848 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missoula <2>
  • De Smet
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for De Smet. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Smet
    • De Smet is located in Missoula County
  • Grass Valley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Grass Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
    • Grass Valley is located in Missoula County
  • Lolo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bonner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Evaro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evaro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evaro
    • Evaro is located in Missoula County
  • Carlton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
    • Carlton is located in Missoula County
  • Frenchtown
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frenchtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchtown
    • Frenchtown is located in Missoula County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frenchtown <2>
  • Clinton
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton
    • Clinton is located in Missoula County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clinton <2>
  • Huson
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bitter Root ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bitter Root have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitter Root
    • Bitter Root is located in Ravalli County
  • Arlee
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ninemile
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ninemile have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ninemile
      • Ninemile is located in Missoula County
    • Lothrop
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lothrop have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lothrop
      • Lothrop is located in Missoula County
    • Potomac
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potomac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potomac
      • Potomac is located in Missoula County

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

Newspapers Published in Orchard Homes ...

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 56 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard Homes.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orchard Homes, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orchard Homes.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Orchard Homes:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Orchard Homes. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Missoula County: www.co.missoula.mt.us/

The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.gov/

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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<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 Orchard Homes, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 Homes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orchard Homes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.8633, Longitude: -114.0484       In this case, the coordinates for Orchard Homes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025