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 Orrville (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 Orrville. 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 Orrville ...
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.
Another variation: Orville.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Orrville. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Orrville.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.
Orrville is located in Wayne County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Wayne County: Ashland, Holmes, Medina, Stark, Summit & Tuscarawas.
Below are the counties that are near Orrville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Orrville:
- Wayne County (The home county of Orrville)
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Burton City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Burton City is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton City
- Marshallville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- East Union
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Union is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Union
- Smithville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weilersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weilersville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weilersville
- Dalton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
- Apple Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Rittman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Wooster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Doylestown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Sterling
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Devil Town
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- Ashland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Rowsburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Redhaw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Albion
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Jeromesville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Polk
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Polk is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Hayesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Hayesville is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- McKay
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- McKay is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKay
- Loudonville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ashland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Nova
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Perrysville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Coshocton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- New Bedford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Layland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Layland is located in Coshocton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Layland
- Cuyahoga County
- Bennetts Corners
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bennetts Corners is located in Cuyahoga County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennetts Corners
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Mount Hope
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Holmesville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Benton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Benton is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Berlin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Millersburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Miley Crossroads
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Miley Crossroads is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miley Crossroads
- Charm
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Nashville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Nashville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Farmerstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Farmerstown is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmerstown
- Killbuck
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Glenmont
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Lorain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Belden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Huntington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Acme
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Acme is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
- Wadsworth
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Seville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- River Styx
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- River Styx is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Styx
- Westfield Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Westfield Center is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,188 people
- Friendsville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Gloria Glens Park
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Gloria Glens Park is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloria Glens Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Chippewa Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Chippewa Lake is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Former name for Chippewa Lake:
- Chippewa-on-the-Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chippewa Lake <1>
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Poe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Poe is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poe
- Sharon Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lodi
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Windfall
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Windfall is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windfall
- Portage County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Mishler
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Mishler is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mishler
- Suffield Station
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Suffield Station is located in Portage County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suffield Station
- Brimfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Kent
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Stark County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- North Lawrence
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- East Greenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- East Greenville is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenville
- Sippo
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Sippo is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sippo
- Canal Fulton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Forty Corners Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Rolling Hills Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Brookfield
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- West Brookfield is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Brookfield
- Mayflower Village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Mayflower Village is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayflower Village
- Brewster
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Massillon
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Westarado
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Westarado is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westarado
- Justus
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Justus is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Justus
- Navarre Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Navarre Village is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navarre Village
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Clinton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- New Franklin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- New Franklin is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Franklin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,101 people
- Comet
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Comet is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Norton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Barberton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Portage Lakes
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Portage Lakes is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage Lakes
- Greensburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Greensburg is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greensburg
- Paxton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Paxton is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Green
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Copley
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pigeon Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pigeon Creek is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Creek
- Akron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Akron
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- East Akron is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Akron
- Tuscarawas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Dundee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Bolivar
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Strasburg
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Barrs Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Barrs Mills is located in Tuscarawas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrs Mills
- Shanesville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Shanesville is located in Tuscarawas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanesville
- Sugarcreek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Parral
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Parral is located in Tuscarawas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parral
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Zoar
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Heritage Village is located in Tuscarawas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Dover
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mineral City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Zoarville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Zoarville is located in Tuscarawas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoarville
- Baltic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Orrville, see our County-by-County Page for Orrville.
Cemeteries Near Orrville ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orrville.
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 Orrville - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Orrville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- Crown Hill Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Orrs Community Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Kapp - Gish Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kapp - Gish Cemetery
- The Kapp - Gish Cemetery has also been known as:
- Arick Cemetery
- Eby Cemetery
- Gish Cemetery
- Haltzer Cemetery
- Holzer Cemetery
- Kapp Cemetery
- Kapps Cemetery
- Knapp Cemetery
- Van Kirk Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Kirk Cemetery
- The Van Kirk Cemetery has also been known as:
- Johnson Cemetery
- Jones Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #43888 <2>
- Martins Mennonite Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Conrad Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Paradise Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Maple Grove Memorial Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove Memorial Park
- The Maple Grove Memorial Park has also been known as:
- Salem Mennonite Church Cemetery
- Bodine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fountain Hill Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Old Dunkard Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Smithville Mennonite Church Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (652 more) ...
- Oak Grove Mennonite Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Steele Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Cemetery
- The Steele Cemetery has also been known as:
- Sommer Cemetery
- Erb Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Orrville had a population of 1,765 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Orrville had a population of 8,433 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Orrville, with the one closest to Orrville listed first.
- McQuaid ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McQuaid is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McQuaid
- Burton City
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Burton City is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burton City
- East Union
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- East Union is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Union
- Marshallville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Smithville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weilersville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Weilersville is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weilersville
- Dalton
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Apple Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Summit ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Summit is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
- North Lawrence
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Easton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Easton is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Madisonburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Madisonburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madisonburg
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Wooster
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- East Greenville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- East Greenville is located in Stark County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Greenville
- Rittman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Orrville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Orrville.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Orrville ...
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 110 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orrville.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Orrville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Orrville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Orrville.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 16 miles [25.7 km]<4> of Orrville.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Orrville:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Wayne County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ashland County
- Coshocton County
- Cuyahoga County
- Holmes County
- Lorain County
- Medina County
- Portage County
- Stark County
- Summit County
- Tuscarawas County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
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 Orrville, 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 from Point A (ie- Orrville) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |