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The Commemorative Quarter for Oregon





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 Halfway (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 Halfway. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Halfway 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 Halfway. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Halfway:

  • Baker County     (The home county of Halfway)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Halfway, with the one closest to Halfway listed first.
    • Jimtown
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jimtown
      • Jimtown is located in Baker County
    • New Bridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Bridge
      • New Bridge is located in Baker County
    • Richland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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>
    • Cornucopia ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornucopia
      • Cornucopia is located in Baker County
    • Robinette ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robinette have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinette
      • Robinette is located in Baker County
    • Sparta ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
      • Sparta is located in Baker County
    • Oxbow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Homestead ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
      • Homestead is located in Baker County
    • Keating
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keating
      • Keating is located in Baker County
    • Durkee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Weatherby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby
      • Weatherby is located in Baker County
  • Washington County (ID)
    • Cambridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Halfway ...

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 7 newspapers that have been published in the area around Halfway.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Halfway. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Halfway and those printed in the larger area surrounding Halfway.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Halfway.

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 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 Halfway:

Cemeteries Near Halfway ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Halfway.

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

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

  • Pine Haven Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Eagle Valley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Sparta Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • 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.<5>
    • The Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Homestead Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Copperfield - Homestead Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38680 <4>
  • Goose Creek Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • The Goose Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Keating Cemetery
    • Lower Powder Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Goose Creek Cemetery
  • Love Family Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Bear Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Durkee Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hibbard Creek Cemetery
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Hibbard Creek Cemetery is located 8 miles [12.9 km]<3> to the west of Weatherby.
    • The Hibbard Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Hibbard Creek Pioneer Cemetery
    • Home Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hibbard Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2171605 <4>
  • Dunham Wright Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Dunham Wright Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunham Wright Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2557785 <4>
  • Big Creek Cemetery
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Big Creek Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • The Big Creek Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Beagle Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Creek Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2191042 <4>
  • Hornet Creek Cemetery
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Cambridge Cemetery
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Pioneer Cemetery In The Park
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pioneer Cemetery In The Park is located 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the northwest of Union.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery In The Park

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

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

  • Cornucopia ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornucopia
    • Cornucopia is located in Baker County
  • Sparta ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
    • Sparta is located in Baker County
  • Conner Creek ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conner Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conner Creek
    • Conner Creek is located in Baker County
  • Mineral
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mineral have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mineral
    • Mineral is located in Washington County (ID)
  • Durkee
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Medical Springs
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medical Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medical Springs
    • Medical Springs is located in Union County
  • Pleasant Valley
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Valley
    • Pleasant Valley is located in Baker County
  • Weatherby
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weatherby
    • Weatherby is located in Baker County

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Halfway. 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>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Halfway) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Halfway. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.8788, Longitude: -117.1103    
<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>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.
<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 Halfway, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024