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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 McMinnville (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 McMinnville. 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 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.

McMinnville is located in Yamhill County and is the County Seat.

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 Yamhill County: Clackamas, Marion, Polk, Tillamook & Washington.

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

  • Yamhill County     (The home county of McMinnville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from McMinnville, with the one closest to McMinnville listed first.
    • Saint Joseph
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Whiteson
      (3 miles [4.8 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Whiteson
      • From McMinnville to Whiteson
    • Lafayette
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eola Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Dayton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • 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 <2>
    • Carlton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Amity
      (6 miles [9.7 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 <2>
    • Bellevue
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Yamhill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hopewell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Dundee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Cove Orchard
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McMinnville, with the one closest to McMinnville listed first.
    • Wilsonville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Barlow
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • 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.<1>
      • 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 McMinnville to Barlow
    • Tualatin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Canby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Needy ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Macksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macksburg
      • Macksburg is located in Clackamas County
    • Rivergrove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
    • Stafford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
      • Stafford is located in Clackamas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Stafford
      • From McMinnville to Stafford
    • Willamette
      (27 miles [43.5 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
    • Lake Oswego
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Canemah
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McMinnville, with the one closest to McMinnville listed first.
    • Saint Paul
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Champoeg ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Woodburn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • 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 <2>
    • Brooks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Gervais
      (16 miles [25.7 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 <2>
    • Keizer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 <2>
    • Butteville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Donald
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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 <2>
    • Labish Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Hubbard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hayesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hayesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
      • Hayesville is located in Marion County
    • Butteville Station ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
  • Multnomah County
  • Polk County
  • Tillamook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from McMinnville, with the one closest to McMinnville listed first.
    • Blaine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Dolph ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dolph. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph
      • Dolph is located in Tillamook County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dolph
      • From McMinnville to Dolph
    • Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • 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.<1>
      • 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 McMinnville to Ryan's Camp
    • Jordan Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellwood ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bellwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
      • Bellwood is located in Tillamook County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bellwood
      • From McMinnville to Bellwood
  • Washington County

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

Cemeteries Near McMinnville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McMinnville.

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

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

  • St. James Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Masonic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • 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.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Taylor Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Taylor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Taylor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lafayette Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lafayette Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lafayette Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Yamhill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Yamhill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Yamhill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brookside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brookside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brookside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lafayette Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Happy Valley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Happy Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Happy Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McBride Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Amity Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Amity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Amity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • O'Dell Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the O'Dell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the O'Dell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (201 more) ...

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 McMinnville had a population of 1,368 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, McMinnville had a population of 35,185 people.

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

  • Whiteson
    (3 miles [4.8 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
    • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Whiteson
    • From McMinnville to Whiteson
  • Saint Joseph
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Lafayette
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Dayton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • 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 <2>
  • Carlton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Amity
    (6 miles [9.7 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 <2>
  • Bellevue
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Wheatland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Wheatland is located in Yamhill County
  • Fairfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fairfield have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairfield
    • Fairfield is located in Marion County
  • Saint Paul
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ballston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ballston have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ballston
    • Ballston is located in Polk County
  • Perrydale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perrydale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrydale
    • Perrydale is located in Polk County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • McCoy
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCoy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
      • McCoy is located in Polk County
    • Sheridan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fairdale ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • 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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of McMinnville ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around McMinnville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of McMinnville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of McMinnville and those printed in the larger area surrounding McMinnville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of McMinnville.

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 McMinnville:

The official website for McMinnville: www.ci.mcminnville.or.us/

The official website for Yamhill County: www.co.yamhill.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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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>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- McMinnville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in McMinnville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.2107, Longitude: -123.1944    
<5>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.
<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 McMinnville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025