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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 River Junction (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 River Junction. 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 River Junction ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for River Junction: River Jct. (or less commonly used: River Jctn.)

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

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 northeast 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 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.

River Junction is located in Multnomah 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 Multnomah County: Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Washington, Clark (WA) & Skamania (WA).

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

  • Multnomah County     (The home county of River Junction)
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Burlington
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Burlington is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burlington
    • Vanport City ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Vanport City is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanport City
    • Albina
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Albina is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina
    • Portland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hillsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hillsdale is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
    • Laurelhurst
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Laurelhurst is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurelhurst
    • Fulton ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Fulton is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fulton
    • Maywood Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Montavilla
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Montavilla is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montavilla
    • Woodstock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Woodstock is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
    • Milwaukie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Russellville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Russellville is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russellville
  • Clackamas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Lake Oswego
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Rivergrove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Rivergrove is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivergrove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 318 people
    • Tualatin
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Christie ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Christie is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christie
    • Oak Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Stafford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Stafford is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stafford
    • Marylhurst
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Oatfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Oatfield is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatfield
    • Clackamas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Happy Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jennings Lodge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jennings Lodge is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennings Lodge
    • Johnson City
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Johnson City is located in Clackamas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
  • Columbia County
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Scappoose
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Warren
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Saint Helens
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Columbia City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Deer Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Vernonia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Pittsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Pittsburg is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsburg
    • Goble
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Goble is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goble
    • Reuben
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Reuben is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reuben
    • Prescott
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Prescott is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Beaver Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Beaver Springs is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Springs
    • Keasey
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Keasey is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keasey
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Butteville Station ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Butteville Station is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville Station
    • Butteville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Butteville is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butteville
    • Champoeg ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Champoeg is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Champoeg
    • Aurora
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Donald
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hubbard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Saint Paul
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Tillamook County
    • Ryan's Camp ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Ryan's Camp is located in Tillamook County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan's Camp
      • Ryan's Camp has also been known as:
      • Idiotville
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Bethany
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Bethany is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
    • West Union
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • West Union is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
    • Oak Hills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Oak Hills is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills
    • Rockcreek
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Rockcreek is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockcreek
    • Cedar Mill
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Marlene Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Marlene Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marlene Village
    • Cedar Hills
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • North Plains
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Aloha
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Tobias
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Tobias is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tobias
    • Hillsboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Reedville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Reedville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
  • Yamhill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Newberg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Cove Orchard
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Cove Orchard is located in Yamhill County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Orchard
    • Dundee
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Yamhill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Carlton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lafayette
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Clark County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Vancouver
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Felida
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
    • Lake Shore
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Shore is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
    • Hazel Dell
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Minnehaha
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Minnehaha is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnehaha
    • Sara
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sara is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sara
    • Salmon Creek
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Salmon Creek is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salmon Creek
    • Barberton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Barberton is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberton
    • Walnut Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Walnut Grove is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Grove
    • Mount Vista
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mount Vista is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vista
    • Five Corners
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Five Corners is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Corners
    • Homan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Homan is located in Clark County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homan
  • Cowlitz County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from River Junction, with the one closest to River Junction listed first.
    • Ariel
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kalama
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Kalama is located in Cowlitz County (WA)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalama
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,844 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalama <1>
    • Carrolls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near River Junction ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of River Junction.

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 River Junction - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Phillips Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Gatton Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Moar Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Bethany Methodist Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • German Presbyterian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • McQuinn Family Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Helvetia Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • West Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Skyline Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Pius Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Cemetery
    • The Fairview Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Johnson's Cemetery
    • Scappoose Pioneer Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38764 <2>
  • Continue List   (193 more) ...
    • Historic Columbian Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Mountain View Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Shadybrook Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)

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

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

  • Linnton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Linnton is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linnton
  • Holbrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Holbrook is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holbrook
  • Saint Johns
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Saint Johns is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Johns
  • West Union
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • West Union is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
  • Bethany
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Bethany is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bethany
  • University Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • University Park is located in Multnomah County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
  • Cedar Mill
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Vancouver
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Felida
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Felida is located in Clark County (WA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Felida
  • Glencoe
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Glencoe is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glencoe
  • Scappoose
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Hillsboro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Reedville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Reedville is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedville
    • Sylvan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Sylvan is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sylvan
    • Albina
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Albina is located in Multnomah County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albina

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

Newspapers Published in River Junction ...

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 221 newspapers that have been published in the area around River Junction.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of River Junction, there are papers which were published within 13 miles [20.9 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for River Junction.

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 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 River Junction:

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>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- River Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 River Junction, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.