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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 Hermiston (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 Hermiston. 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.

Hermiston is located in Umatilla 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 Umatilla County: Grant, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Benton (WA), Columbia (WA) & Walla Walla (WA).

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

  • Umatilla County     (The home county of Hermiston)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hermiston, with the one closest to Hermiston listed first.
    • Hinkle
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hinkle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
      • Hinkle is located in Umatilla County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hinkle
      • From Hermiston to Hinkle
    • Power City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Power City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power City
      • Power City is located in Umatilla County
    • Umatilla
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanfield
      • Stanfield is located in Umatilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stanfield <3>
    • Cold Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ordnance ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Echo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Echo is located in Umatilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <3>
    • Pendleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
      • Pendleton is located in Umatilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,593 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pendleton <3>
    • Riverside
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
      • Riverside is located in Umatilla County
    • Helix
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helix have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helix
      • Helix is located in Umatilla County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 191 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Helix <3>
  • Morrow County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hermiston, with the one closest to Hermiston listed first.
    • Irrigon
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irrigon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irrigon
      • Irrigon is located in Morrow County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,799 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irrigon <3>
    • Pine City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Alpine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alpine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
      • Alpine is located in Morrow County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alpine
      • From Hermiston to Alpine
    • Boardman
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boardman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boardman
      • Boardman is located in Morrow County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boardman <3>
  • Benton County (WA)
  • Franklin County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hermiston, with the one closest to Hermiston listed first.
    • Pasco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • West Pasco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pasco have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pasco
      • West Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
    • Ainsworth Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Walla Walla County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hermiston, with the one closest to Hermiston listed first.
    • Wallula Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wallula
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
      • Wallula is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
    • Burbank
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Hermiston ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hermiston.

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

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

  • Hermiston Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hermiston Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hermiston Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant View Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sunset Hills Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Hills Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Hills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baumgardner Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baumgardner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baumgardner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Foster Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Foster Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Foster Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Umatilla Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Umatilla Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Umatilla Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Echo Memorial Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Echo Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Echo Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Siphon Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Siphon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Siphon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Koontz Gravesite
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Desert Lawn Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Irrigon Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Irrigon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Irrigon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2252861 <4>
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Nolin Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nolin Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nolin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holdman Cemetery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holdman Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holdman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Despain Gulch Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Despain Gulch Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Despain Gulch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Hermiston in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Hermiston.

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

  • Umatilla
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Cold Springs
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Echo
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Echo is located in Umatilla County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 705 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <3>
  • Nolin
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nolin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolin
    • Nolin is located in Umatilla County
  • Yoakum
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yoakum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoakum
    • Yoakum is located in Umatilla County
  • Juniper
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Juniper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
    • Juniper is located in Umatilla County
  • Alpine
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alpine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
    • Alpine is located in Morrow County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Alpine
    • From Hermiston to Alpine
  • Galloway ‑ Historic
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galloway have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
    • Galloway is located in Morrow County
  • Barnhart
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barnhart have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnhart
    • Barnhart is located in Umatilla County
  • Wallula Junction
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Pendleton
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pendleton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pendleton
    • Pendleton is located in Umatilla County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,593 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pendleton <3>
  • Wallula
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallula have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
    • Wallula is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Vinson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinson
      • Vinson is located in Umatilla County
    • Fulton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fulton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
      • Fulton is located in Umatilla County
    • Ella
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ella have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
      • Ella is located in Morrow County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hermiston ...

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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hermiston.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hermiston. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hermiston and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hermiston.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Hermiston.

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 Hermiston:

The official website for Hermiston: www.hermiston.or.us/

The official website for Umatilla County: www.co.umatilla.or.us/

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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 Hermiston, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hermiston) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hermiston. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8399, Longitude: -119.2907    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025