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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 Gaston (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 Gaston. 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 hospitals 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.

Gaston is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook & Yamhill.

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Gaston)
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Tualatin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Wilsonville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Rivergrove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rivergrove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivergrove
      • Rivergrove is located in Clackamas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Lake Oswego
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Oswego have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Oswego
      • Lake Oswego is located in Clackamas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,821 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Oswego <1>
    • Stafford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Stafford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
      • Stafford is located in Clackamas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stafford
      • From Gaston to Stafford
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Marylhurst
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Willamette
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willamette have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willamette
      • Willamette is located in Clackamas County
    • Barlow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Barlow. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barlow
      • Barlow is located in Clackamas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Barlow
      • From Gaston to Barlow
    • Oak Grove
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
      • Oak Grove is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Grove <1>
    • West Linn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Linn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Linn
      • West Linn is located in Clackamas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,747 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Linn <1>
    • Canby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Canemah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Columbia County
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Champoeg ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Paul
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Butteville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Butteville Station ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Donald
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donald have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donald
      • Donald is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,064 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Donald <1>
    • Aurora
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,039 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <1>
    • Hubbard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodburn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodburn
      • Woodburn is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 26,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodburn <1>
    • Gervais
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gervais have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gervais
      • Gervais is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,774 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gervais <1>
    • Brooks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • McKee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for McKee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKee
      • McKee is located in Marion County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to McKee
      • From Gaston to McKee
    • Labish Village
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Labish Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labish Village
      • Labish Village is located in Marion County
    • Keizer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keizer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keizer
      • Keizer is located in Marion County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,593 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Keizer <1>
  • Multnomah County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Lincoln
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Zena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Tillamook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ryan's Camp. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
      • Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
      • Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
      • Idiotville
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ryan's Camp
      • From Gaston to Ryan's Camp
    • Jordan Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Blaine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Cove Orchard
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Yamhill
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Carlton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Dundee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundee have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Yamhill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,320 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundee <1>
    • Newberg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newberg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberg
      • Newberg is located in Yamhill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,982 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newberg <1>
    • Lafayette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Saint Joseph
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Dayton
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Yamhill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,753 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dayton <1>
    • McMinnville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Eola Village
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eola Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
      • Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
    • Whiteson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Whiteson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Whiteson
      • From Gaston to Whiteson
    • Amity
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amity have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Amity is located in Yamhill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,722 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amity <1>
    • Bellevue
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Gaston, with the one closest to Gaston listed first.
    • Lake Shore
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shore have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
      • Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Vancouver
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Felida
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Felida have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Hazel Dell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Minnehaha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minnehaha have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
      • Minnehaha is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Salmon Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salmon Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Creek
      • Salmon Creek is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Sara
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sara. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
      • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sara
      • From Gaston to Sara
    • Walnut Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
      • Walnut Grove is located in Clark County (WA)

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

Cemeteries Near Gaston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Gaston.

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

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

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Gaston had a population of 182 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Gaston had a population of 715 people.

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

  • Forest Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Laurel
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
    • Laurel is located in Washington County
  • Cornelius
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Centerville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
    • Centerville is located in Washington County
  • Carlton
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Farmington
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Farmington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmington
    • Farmington is located in Washington County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Farmington
    • From Gaston to Farmington
  • Fairdale ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairdale
    • Fairdale is located in Yamhill County
  • Newton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
    • Newton is located in Washington County
  • Greenville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
    • Greenville is located in Washington County
  • Gales Creek
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Hillsboro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Newberg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newberg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newberg
    • Newberg is located in Yamhill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,982 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newberg <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Reedville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
      • Reedville is located in Washington County
    • Saint Joseph
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Lafayette
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Gaston ...

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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around Gaston.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Gaston, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Gaston.

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 Gaston:

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

The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.or.us/

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

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>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.
<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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gaston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gaston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4361, Longitude: -123.1417    
<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 Gaston, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025