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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 Prineville (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 Prineville. 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.

A Few Details for Prineville ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Prineville was established in 1877.
  • It was incorporated in 1880.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Prineville is located in Crook 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 Crook County: Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson & Wheeler.

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

  • Crook County     (The home county of Prineville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prineville, with the one closest to Prineville listed first.
    • Powell Butte
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Post
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Scissorsville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Scissorsville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scissorsville
      • Scissorsville is located in Crook County
  • Deschutes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prineville, with the one closest to Prineville listed first.
    • Redmond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redmond have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Alfalfa
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Terrebonne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Tumalo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tumalo
      • Tumalo is located in Deschutes County
    • Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • 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>
    • Millican ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millican have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millican
      • Millican is located in Deschutes County
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Prineville, with the one closest to Prineville listed first.
    • Opal City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Opal City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opal City
      • Opal City is located in Jefferson County
    • Crooked River Ranch
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Culver
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Culver have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Metolius
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Metolius have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madras have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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>
    • Geneva ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
      • Geneva is located in Jefferson County
    • Grandview ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Jefferson County
    • Ashwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Prineville ...

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 Prineville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Prineville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Prineville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Prineville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<4> of Prineville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Prineville:

Cemeteries Near Prineville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Prineville.

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

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

  • Juniper Haven Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Mill Creek Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Pilgrims Rest Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery is located 11 miles [17.7 km]<4> 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 <5>
  • Grizzly Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grizzly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grizzly Cemetery
  • Terrebonne Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Gray Butte Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gray Butte Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gray Butte Cemetery
  • Roberts Cemetery
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Redmond Memorial Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
  • Howard Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Howard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Howard Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38921 <5>
  • Knox Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hale Cemetery
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hale Cemetery
  • Hay Creek Cemetery
    (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hay Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hay Creek Cemetery
  • Continue List   (11 more) ...
    • Tumalo Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tumalo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • The Tumalo Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Laidlaw Cemetery
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tumalo Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39502 <5>
    • Deschutes Memorial Gardens
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • German Cemetery
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Prineville had a population of 460 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Prineville had a population of 11,305 people.

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

The official website for Prineville: www.cityofprineville.com/

The official website for Crook County: www.co.crook.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>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.
<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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Prineville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Prineville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3030, Longitude: -120.8410    
<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 Prineville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024