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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 Dunes City (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 Dunes City. 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 Dunes City ...

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 have occurred.

While the name of this city is Dunes City, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Dunes City may originally have been Dune's City.

Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Dunes City might be written as Dune City.

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 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.

Dunes City is located in Lane 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 Lane County: Benton, Deschutes, Douglas, Klamath, Lincoln & Linn.

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

  • Lane County     (The home county of Dunes City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dunes City, with the one closest to Dunes City listed first.
    • Westlake
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Florence
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Point Terrace
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Point Terrace. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Terrace
      • Point Terrace is located in Lane County
    • Mapleton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Swisshome
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Deadwood
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Walton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Alpha
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alpha. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Alpha is located in Lane County
  • Coos County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dunes City, with the one closest to Dunes City listed first.
    • Lakeside
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
      • Lakeside is located in Coos County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,802 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakeside <2>
    • Saunders Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saunders Lake
      • Saunders Lake is located in Coos County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dunes City, with the one closest to Dunes City listed first.
    • Gardiner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Reedsport
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsport have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsport
      • Reedsport is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reedsport <2>
    • Umpqua City ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Umpqua City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Umpqua City
      • Umpqua City is located in Douglas County
    • Winchester Bay
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winchester Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winchester Bay
      • Winchester Bay is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winchester Bay <2>
    • Scottsburg ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lincoln County
    • Yachats
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yachats have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yachats
      • Yachats is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 797 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Yachats <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Dunes City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dunes City.

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

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

  • Heceta Lodge #11 IOOF Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Heceta Lodge #11 IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Heceta Lodge #11 IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Fir Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spruce Point Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spruce Point Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spruce Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pacific Sunset Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pacific Sunset Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pacific Sunset Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Drew Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Drew Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Drew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • 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.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Haring Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Haring Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Haring Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gardiner Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gardiner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gardiner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lower Smith River Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lower Smith River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lower Smith River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • IOOF - Mapleton Lodge #3139 Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF - Mapleton Lodge #3139 Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF - Mapleton Lodge #3139 Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Masonic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Masonic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Indian Creek Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Bray Family Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bray Family Cemetery
      • The Bray Family Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Stonefield Beach Cemetery
    • Linslaw Cemetery
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Linslaw Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Linslaw Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Dunes City in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dunes City.

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

  • Glenada
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenada have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenada
    • Glenada is located in Lane County
  • Florence
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Acme
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
    • Acme is located in Lane County
  • Point Terrace
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Point Terrace. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Terrace
    • Point Terrace is located in Lane County
  • Gardiner
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Sulphur Springs
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
    • Sulphur Springs is located in Douglas County
  • Siuslaw ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Siuslaw have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siuslaw
    • Siuslaw is located in Lane County
  • Deadwood
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Scottsburg ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Walton
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
  • Alpha
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alpha. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
    • Alpha is located in Lane County

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

Newspapers Published in Dunes City ...

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 9 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dunes City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dunes City, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dunes City.

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 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 Dunes City:

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

The official website for Lane County: www.lanecounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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 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.
<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 Dunes City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Dunes City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dunes City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9085, Longitude: -124.0982       In this case, the coordinates for Dunes City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025