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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 Opal City (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 Opal City. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Opal City is located in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County: Crook, Deschutes, Linn, Marion, Wasco & Wheeler.

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

  • Jefferson County     (The home county of Opal City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Opal City, with the one closest to Opal City listed first.
    • Crooked River Ranch
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Culver
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Culver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culver
      • Culver is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,686 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Culver <1>
    • Grandview ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Jefferson County
    • Geneva ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Jefferson County
    • Metolius
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metolius have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metolius
      • Metolius is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Metolius <1>
    • Madras
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madras have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madras
      • Madras is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madras <1>
    • Camp Sherman
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Mecca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mecca
      • Mecca is located in Jefferson County
    • Warm Springs
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Warm Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Springs
      • Warm Springs is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warm Springs <1>
    • Ashwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Crook County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Opal City, with the one closest to Opal City listed first.
    • Powell Butte
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Prineville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Deschutes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Opal City, with the one closest to Opal City listed first.
    • Terrebonne
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Redmond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redmond have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redmond
      • Redmond is located in Deschutes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Redmond <1>
    • Sisters
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Tumalo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tumalo
      • Tumalo is located in Deschutes County
    • Black Butte Ranch
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bend
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bend
      • Bend is located in Deschutes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101,886 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bend <1>
    • Alfalfa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Opal City ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Opal City.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Opal City, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Opal City.

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 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 Opal City:

Cemeteries Near Opal City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Opal City.

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

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

  • Gray Butte Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gray Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gray Butte Cemetery
  • Hale Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hale Cemetery
  • Terrebonne Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • German Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Cemetery
  • Geneva Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Geneva Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Geneva Cemetery
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Grandview Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
  • Redmond Memorial Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Round Butte Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Round Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Round Butte Cemetery
  • Grizzly Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grizzly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grizzly Cemetery
  • Mt. Jefferson IOOF Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Seekseequa Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seekseequa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seekseequa Cemetery
  • Seekseequa Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seekseequa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seekseequa Cemetery
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Camp Polk Cemetery
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northeast of Prineville.
      • The Pilgrims Rest Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Powell Butte Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2140925 <4>
    • Hay Creek Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hay Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hay Creek Cemetery

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

  • Prineville
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Opal City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Jefferson County: www.co.jefferson.or.us

The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/

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 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Opal City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Opal City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4446, Longitude: -121.2137       In this case, the coordinates for Opal City have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Opal City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024