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.
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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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 Orange County.
To see how the shape of North Carolina's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Orange County: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham & Person.
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:
- Orange 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.
- Piney Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Piney Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Brigadoon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Brigadoon is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brigadoon
- University
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- University is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
- Hillsborough
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Pleasant Green Estates
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Eno
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eno is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eno
- Oakdale Farms
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Oakdale Farms is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale Farms
- Dimmocks Mill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dimmocks Mill is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimmocks Mill
- Fairview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Rosewood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Rosewood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
- West Hillsborough
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- West Hillsborough is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Hillsborough
- New Hope
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- New Hope is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hope
- Garland Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Garland Acres is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garland Acres
- Alamance County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Mebane
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Stagecoach Trail
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Stagecoach Trail is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Trail
- Brook Hollow
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Brook Hollow is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brook Hollow
- Buena Vista Estates
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Buena Vista Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buena Vista Estates
- Woodlawn
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Woodlawn is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn
- Just Crossroads
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Just Crossroads is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Just Crossroads
- Florence Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Florence Town is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence Town
- Hawfields
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Hawfields is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawfields
- Melville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Melville is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melville
- Green Level
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Green Level is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Level
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,341 people
- Cooper Estates
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Cooper Estates is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooper Estates
- Granite Village
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Granite Village is located in Alamance County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Village
- Haw River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Caswell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Prospect Hill
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Prospect Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect Hill
- Ridgeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Ridgeville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Anderson
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Anderson is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anderson
- Leasburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Jericho
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jericho is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jericho
- Stony Creek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Stony Creek is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Yanceyville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Semora
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Locust Hill
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Locust Hill is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Hill
- West Yanceyville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- West Yanceyville is located in Caswell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Yanceyville
- Chatham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Fearrington Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fearrington Village is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fearrington Village
- Bynum
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Bynum is located in Chatham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bynum
- Cary
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pittsboro
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Durham County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- The American Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- The American Village is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for The American Village
- Durham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bahama
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Rougemont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Gorman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Gorman is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gorman
- Parkwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Parkwood is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkwood
- Hampton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Hampton is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
- Brassfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Brassfield is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brassfield
- Nelson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Nelson is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
- Morrisville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Franklin County
- Wake Forest
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Granville County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Butner
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Lyons is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Creedmoor
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Stem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Stem is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 474 people
- Hester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Hester is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hester
- Mount Energy
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Mount Energy is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Energy
- Berea
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Berea is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
- Tar River
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Tar River is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tar River
- Providence
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Providence is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
- Wilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilton is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Clay
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clay is located in Granville County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay
- Oxford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Guilford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Gibsonville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Whitsett
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Person County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Hurdle Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cates
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Cates is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cates
- Timberlake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Mount Tirzah
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mount Tirzah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tirzah
- Allens Level
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Allens Level is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allens Level
- Moriah
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Moriah is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moriah
- Roseville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Roseville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
- Whitt Town
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Whitt Town is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitt Town
- Hicks Village
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Hicks Village is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hicks Village
- Roxboro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Allensville
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Allensville is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Allensville
- Concord
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Concord is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
- Ceffo
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Ceffo is located in Person County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceffo
- Wake County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Hazelwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hazelwood is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelwood
- Dutchess Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dutchess Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Village
- Pickwick Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Pickwick Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Village
- New Light
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- New Light is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Stony Hill
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Stony Hill is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Hill
- Apex
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Trail
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Indian Trail is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Trail
- Meredith Townes
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Meredith Townes is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meredith Townes
- Woodbury Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Woodbury Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury Village
- New Hill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Falls is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls
- Glenwood Village
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Glenwood Village is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood Village
- Method
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Method is located in Wake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
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.
- Governor Burke Grave
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- Mars Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Rosewood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Dunagan Family Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Chapel Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cross Roads Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Restland Memorial Gardens
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Latta Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Temple of Light Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Temple of Light Church Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Temple of Light Church Cemetery is located 5 miles [8 km]<2> to the north of Hillsborough.
- The Temple of Light Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- Mt. Zion AME Church Cemetery
- Mt. Zion Memorial Gardens
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2254144 <3>
- Old Eno Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- County Home Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Continue List (110 more) ...
- Partin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Maplewood Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
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.<4>
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.
- Hillsborough
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Blackwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Blackwood is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackwood
- Efland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Cedar Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Cedar Grove is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Durham
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chapel Hill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Laws
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Laws is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laws
- Fairntosh
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Fairntosh is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairntosh
- Bahama
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mebane
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Teer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Teer is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Teer
- Rougemont
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Red Mountain
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Red Mountain is located in Durham County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mountain
- Hurdle Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Oaks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Oaks is located in Orange County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oaks
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 33 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 11 miles [17.7 km]<2>. 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 start 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to North Carolina
- Pages specific to Orange County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Alamance County
- Caswell County
- Chatham County
- Durham County
- Franklin County
- Granville County
- Guilford County
- Person County
- Wake County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for North Carolina
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |