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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 Orrs Corner (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 Orrs Corner. 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 Orrs Corner ...

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.

  • A typical abbreviation for Orrs Corner: Orrs Cor. (or less commonly used: Orrs Crn.)
  • While the name of this community is Orrs Corner, be aware that it's the common practice of mapmakers to remove the apostrophe from possessive names<1>. So Orrs Corner may originally have been Orr's Corner.

    Sometimes the trailing 's' might be dropped altogether, in which case Orrs Corner might be written as Orr Corner.

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.

Orrs Corner is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Benton, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Tillamook & Yamhill.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Orrs Corner)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orrs Corner, with the one closest to Orrs Corner listed first.
    • Rickreall
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Crowley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Crowley is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
    • Monmouth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Independence
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Dallas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Eola
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Eola is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
    • Smithfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Smithfield is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
    • Dolph Corner
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Dolph Corner is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph Corner
    • Ellendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Ellendale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
    • Zena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Zena is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
    • Bridgeport
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Bridgeport is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridgeport
    • Salemtowne
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Salemtowne is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salemtowne
    • Lewisville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lewisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orrs Corner, with the one closest to Orrs Corner listed first.
    • Wellsdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Wellsdale is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellsdale
    • Adair Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Adair Village is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 872 people
    • Kings Valley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • North Albany
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • North Albany is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Albany
    • Lewisburg
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Lewisburg is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Corvallis
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Wren
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Wren is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wren
    • Blodgett
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Summit
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Summit is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
    • Flynn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Flynn is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flynn
    • Philomath
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Lincoln County
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orrs Corner, with the one closest to Orrs Corner listed first.
    • Millersburg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Millersburg is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,757 people
    • Draperville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Draperville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Draperville
    • Albany
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • West Scio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • West Scio is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Scio
    • Scio
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Tangent
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Crabtree
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Irvinville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Irvinville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvinville
    • Jordan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jordan is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
    • Lebanon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orrs Corner, with the one closest to Orrs Corner listed first.
    • Salem
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Salem is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salem
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175,891 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Salem <2>
    • Badger Corner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Badger Corner is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger Corner
    • Four Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Four Corners is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Corners
    • Keizer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Chemawa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Chemawa is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chemawa
    • Hayesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hayesville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
    • Turner
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Labish Village
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Labish Village is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Labish Village
    • Santiam City ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Santiam City is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiam City
    • Macleay
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Macleay is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macleay
    • Brooks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jefferson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Marion
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Tillamook County
    • Dolph ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Dolph is located in Tillamook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolph
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orrs Corner, with the one closest to Orrs Corner listed first.
    • Amity
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Amity is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amity
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,722 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Amity <2>
    • Bellevue
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Bellevue is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellevue
    • Hopewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Sheridan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Whiteson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Whiteson is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiteson
    • Willamina
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Eola Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Eola Village is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola Village
    • McMinnville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Dayton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Saint Joseph
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Saint Joseph is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
    • Lafayette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Carlton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Dundee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Orrs Corner ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orrs Corner.

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 Orrs Corner - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Embree Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Fast Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Brown Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rest Lawn Memory Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Etna Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Dallas Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Butler Davidson Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Halls Ferry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Schrag Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Smith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Fircrest Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hart Riggs Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (193 more) ...
    • Cemetery Hill Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Salt Creek Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Belcrest Memorial Park
      (8 miles [12.9 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.<4>

While we didn't find Orrs Corner in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Orrs Corner.

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

  • Cochrane ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cochrane is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrane
  • Derry
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Derry is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derry
  • Rickreall
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Monmouth
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Independence
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Crowley
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Crowley is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crowley
  • Dallas
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Smithfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Smithfield is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithfield
  • Eola
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Eola is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eola
  • Dencer ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Dencer is located in Marion County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dencer
  • Zena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Zena is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zena
  • Lewisville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lewisville is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Simpson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Simpson is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Simpson
    • McCoy
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • McCoy is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCoy
    • Perrydale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Perrydale is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perrydale

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

Newspapers Published in Orrs Corner ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orrs Corner.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orrs Corner, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orrs Corner.

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 helpful 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 Orrs Corner:

Footnotes ...

<1>It's generally believed that possessive apostrophes are removed to prevent confusion on maps where the apostrophe may be confused with a cartographic symbol. While this is generally true, it's not uncommon to find possessive apostrophes in administrative names (such as towns or counties).
<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 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.
<4>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 Orrs Corner, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Orrs Corner) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.