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 Irrigon (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 Irrigon. 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.
Irrigon is located in Morrow County.
To see how the shape of Oregon's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Morrow County: Gilliam, Grant, Umatilla, Wheeler, Benton (WA) & Klickitat (WA).
Below are the counties that are near Irrigon. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Irrigon:
- Morrow County (The home county of Irrigon)
- The following are listed by their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Boardman
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Alpine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Alpine is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Pine City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Pine City is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine City
- Umatilla County
- The following are listed by their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Umatilla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Ordnance ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ordnance is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordnance
- Power City
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Power City is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Power City
- Hermiston
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Hinkle
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hinkle is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hinkle
- Cold Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cold Springs is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Stanfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Echo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Benton County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Paterson
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Plymouth
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Plymouth is located in Benton County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Highland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Highland is located in Benton County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland
- Benton City
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Prosser
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Kennewick
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Richland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Finley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Finley is located in Benton County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finley
- West Richland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Franklin County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- West Pasco
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- West Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pasco
- Ainsworth Junction
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Ainsworth Junction is located in Franklin County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainsworth Junction
- Pasco
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pasco is located in Franklin County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pasco
- Population from the 2020 Census: 77,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pasco <1>
- Walla Walla County (WA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Wallula Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wallula Junction is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula Junction
- Burbank
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wallula
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wallula is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula
- Yakima County (WA)
- Byron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Byron is located in Yakima County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Irrigon, see our County-by-County Page for Irrigon.
Cemeteries Near Irrigon ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Irrigon.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Irrigon - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Irrigon covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Desert Lawn Memorial Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Irrigon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sunset Hills Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Umatilla Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Riverview Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hermiston Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Baumgardner Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Foster Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Echo Memorial Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Siphon Cemetery
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Koontz Gravesite
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Koontz Gravesite
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Koontz Gravesite is located outside and to the southeast of Echo.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2439415 <2>
- Wells Spring Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Sand Hollow Cemetery
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Irrigon in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Irrigon.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Irrigon, with the one closest to Irrigon listed first.
- Umatilla
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cold Springs
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Cold Springs is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Echo
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alpine
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Alpine is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpine
- Ella
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ella is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ella
- Galloway ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Galloway is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
- Nolin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Nolin is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolin
- Juniper
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Juniper is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Juniper
- Yoakum
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Yoakum is located in Umatilla County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yoakum
- Byron
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Byron is located in Yakima County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
- Willows
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Willows is located in Gilliam County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
- Cecil
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cecil is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
- Wallula Junction
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wallula Junction is located in Walla Walla County (WA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallula Junction
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Irrigon. See our List of 1890's Communities around Irrigon.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Irrigon ...
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 63 newspapers that have been published in the area around Irrigon.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Irrigon. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Irrigon and those printed in the larger area surrounding Irrigon.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Irrigon.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Irrigon:
- Websites specific to Oregon
- Pages specific to Morrow County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Umatilla County
- Benton County
- Franklin County
- Walla Walla County
- Yakima County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Oregon
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> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Irrigon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Irrigon) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |