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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 Oak Grove (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 Oak Grove. 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.

Name Variations for Oak Grove ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: Oakgrove.

  • A typical abbreviation for Oak Grove: Oak Grv.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Grove. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Grove.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and doctors 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.

Oak Grove is located in Hood River 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 Hood River County: Clackamas, Multnomah, Wasco, Clark (WA), Klickitat (WA) & Skamania (WA).

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

  • Hood River County     (The home county of Oak Grove)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Pine Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Pine Grove is located in Hood River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
    • Lenz
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Lenz is located in Hood River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenz
      • Lenz has also been known as:
      • Sherman Spur
    • Odell
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hood River
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Mount Hood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Mount Hood is located in Hood River County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hood
    • Parkdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Cascade Locks
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Government Camp
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Rhododendron
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Zigzag
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Brightwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mount Hood Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mount Hood Village is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hood Village
    • Welches
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Multnomah County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Bonneville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Bonneville is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonneville
    • Warrendale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Warrendale is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrendale
    • Dodson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Dodson is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
    • Bridal Veil
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Wasco County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Mosier
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Ortley ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Ortley is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ortley
    • Rowena
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Chenoweth
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Chenoweth is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chenoweth
    • City of The Dalles
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • City of The Dalles is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of The Dalles
    • The Dalles
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Endersby
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Endersby is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endersby
    • Dufur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Friend ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Friend is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friend
    • Boyd ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Boyd is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Fairbanks
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Fairbanks is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairbanks
    • Rice ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Rice is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
  • Klickitat County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Bingen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Bingen is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 748 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bingen <1>
    • White Salmon
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Husum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • B Z Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • B Z Corner is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B Z Corner
    • Lyle
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Appleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Dallesport
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Trout Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Klickitat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wahkiacus
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Wahkiacus is located in Klickitat County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahkiacus
    • Glenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wishram
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Skamania County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Oak Grove, with the one closest to Oak Grove listed first.
    • Hood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Hood is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hood
    • Underwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Carson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Stevenson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Moffetts Hot Springs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Moffetts Hot Springs is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moffetts Hot Springs
    • Stabler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Stabler is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stabler
    • North Bonneville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Skamania
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Skamania is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skamania
    • Cruzatt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Cruzatt is located in Skamania County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cruzatt

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

Cemeteries Near Oak Grove ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Grove.

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 Oak Grove - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Grove covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Mountain View Memorial Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Mary's Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Idlewilde Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Frankton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankton Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Frankton Cemetery is located outside and to the west of Hood River.
    • The Frankton Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Backus Cemetery
    • Irving Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2276895 <2>
  • Shelley Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jackson Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Grove Butte Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove Butte Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pine Grove Butte Cemetery is located in the vicinity of Pine Grove
    • The Pine Grove Butte Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39270 <2>
  • St. Mark the Evangelist Church Columbarium
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Hood Community Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Upper Valley Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mosier Pioneer Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Mosier Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (34 more) ...
    • McClure Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • McQuinn Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Lyle Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)

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

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

  • White Salmon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Mosier
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Lyle
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Rowena
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Gilmer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Gilmer is located in Klickitat County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmer
  • Bonneville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Bonneville is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonneville
  • The Dalles
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Dodson
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Dodson is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodson
  • Trout Lake
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
  • Oneonta
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Oneonta is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneonta
  • Multnomah Falls
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Multnomah Falls is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Multnomah Falls
  • Dufur
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Boyd ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Boyd is located in Wasco County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Glenwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Bridal Veil
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Oak Grove ...

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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Grove.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Grove, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Grove.

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 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 Oak Grove:

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 Oak Grove, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Oak Grove) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.