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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 Brownlee (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 Brownlee. 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.

Brownlee is located in Baker County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Baker County: Adams (ID), Grant, Malheur, Union, Wallowa & Washington.

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

  • Baker County     (The home county of Brownlee)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Robinette ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Robinette. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinette
      • Robinette is located in Baker County
    • Halfway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Oxbow
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Richland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland
      • Richland is located in Baker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 176 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richland <2>
    • Jimtown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
      • Jimtown is located in Baker County
    • New Bridge
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridge
      • New Bridge is located in Baker County
    • Homestead ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Homestead is located in Baker County
    • Cornucopia ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornucopia
      • Cornucopia is located in Baker County
    • Sparta ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
      • Sparta is located in Baker County
    • Durkee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Weatherby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby
      • Weatherby is located in Baker County
  • Adams County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Fruitvale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
      • Fruitvale is located in Adams County (ID)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitvale <2>
    • Council
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Council have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Council
      • Council is located in Adams County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 924 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Council <2>
    • Mesa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mesa have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mesa
      • Mesa is located in Adams County (ID)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mesa <2>
    • Tamarack
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Rubicon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubicon
      • Rubicon is located in Adams County (ID)
    • Indian Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
      • Indian Valley is located in Adams County (ID)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Valley <2>
  • Washington County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Brownlee, with the one closest to Brownlee listed first.
    • Cambridge
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Midvale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Midvale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
      • Midvale is located in Washington County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midvale <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Brownlee ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Brownlee.

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

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

  • Pine Haven Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Haven Cemetery
    • The Pine Haven Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pine Creek Cemetery
    • Pine Valley Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39273 <4>
  • Eagle Valley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • The Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Homestead Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38680 <4>
  • Hornet Creek Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Bear Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Sparta Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
  • Cambridge Cemetery
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Kessler Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Winkler Cemetery
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Hibbard Creek Cemetery
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hibbard Creek Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hibbard Creek Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<5> to the west of Weatherby.
    • The Hibbard Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hibbard Creek Pioneer Cemetery
    • Home Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171605 <4>
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...
    • Cottonwood Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Midvale Eastside Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Goose Creek Cemetery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goose Creek Cemetery
      • The Goose Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Keating Cemetery
      • Lower Powder Cemetery

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.<6>

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

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

  • Mineral
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
    • Mineral is located in Washington County (ID)
  • Cornucopia ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornucopia
    • Cornucopia is located in Baker County
  • Sparta ‑ Historic
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
    • Sparta is located in Baker County
  • Conner Creek ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conner Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conner Creek
    • Conner Creek is located in Baker County
  • Salubria
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salubria have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salubria
    • Salubria is located in Washington County (ID)

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

Newspapers Published in Brownlee ...

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 13 newspapers that have been published in the area around Brownlee.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Brownlee, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Brownlee.

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 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 Brownlee:

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

The official website for Baker County: www.bakercounty.org/

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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>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 from Point A (ie- Brownlee) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brownlee. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8115, Longitude: -116.9343       In this case, the coordinates for Brownlee have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>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 Brownlee, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025