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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 Rock Creek (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 Rock Creek. 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 Rock Creek ...

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 have occurred.

Another variation: Rockcreek.

  • A typical abbreviation for Rock Creek: Rock Crk. (or less commonly used: Rock Ck. or Rock Cr.)

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 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.

Rock Creek is located in Gilliam 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 Gilliam County: Morrow, Sherman, Wasco, Wheeler & Klickitat (WA).

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

  • Gilliam County     (The home county of Rock Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Creek, with the one closest to Rock Creek listed first.
    • Olex
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olex have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olex
      • Olex is located in Gilliam County
    • Arlington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Condon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
  • Morrow County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Creek, with the one closest to Rock Creek listed first.
    • Ione
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Gooseberry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gooseberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gooseberry
      • Gooseberry is located in Morrow County
    • Lexington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Sherman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Creek, with the one closest to Rock Creek listed first.
    • Klondike
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
      • Klondike is located in Sherman County
    • Sinks ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinks
      • Sinks is located in Sherman County
    • Monkland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monkland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
      • Monkland is located in Sherman County
    • De Moss Springs
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
      • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
    • Wasco
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wasco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
      • Wasco is located in Sherman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <2>
    • Gordon ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gordon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordon
      • Gordon is located in Sherman County
    • Moro
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro
      • Moro is located in Sherman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moro <2>
    • Rufus
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rufus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
      • Rufus is located in Sherman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rufus <2>
    • Biggs Junction
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Biggs Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biggs Junction
      • Biggs Junction is located in Sherman County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Biggs Junction <2>
    • Grass Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grass Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grass Valley
      • Grass Valley is located in Sherman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 167 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grass Valley <2>
    • Rosebush ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosebush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebush
      • Rosebush is located in Sherman County
  • Klickitat County (WA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Creek, with the one closest to Rock Creek listed first.
    • Roosevelt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Maryhill
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Cleveland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleveland
      • Cleveland is located in Klickitat County (WA)
    • Bickleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Goldendale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Rock Creek ...

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 37 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Creek, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Creek.

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 Rock Creek:

Cemeteries Near Rock Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Creek.

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

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

  • Cyrus Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Potters Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potters Cemetery
  • Olex Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olex Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olex Cemetery
  • Clem Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Eightmile Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eightmile Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eightmile Cemetery
  • Arlington Masonic Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arlington Masonic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arlington Masonic Cemetery
  • Emigrant Springs Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Tommy Dean Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Tommy Dean Cemetery is located 14 miles [22.5 km]<4> to the northwest of Arlington.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tommy Dean Cemetery
  • Flett Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Flett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Flett Cemetery
  • De Moss Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the De Moss Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the De Moss Cemetery
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • Igo Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Igo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Igo Cemetery
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Morgan Cemetery
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morgan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morgan Cemetery
    • Brown Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brown Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brown Cemetery
    • Huit - Juniper Canyon Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)

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.<5>

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

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

  • Olex
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olex have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olex
    • Olex is located in Gilliam County
  • Arlington
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Clem
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clem have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clem
    • Clem is located in Gilliam County
  • Emigrant Springs ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emigrant Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emigrant Springs
    • Emigrant Springs is located in Sherman County
  • Cecil
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cecil have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cecil
    • Cecil is located in Morrow County
  • Monkland
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monkland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monkland
    • Monkland is located in Sherman County
  • Willows
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willows have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willows
    • Willows is located in Gilliam County
  • De Moss Springs
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Moss Springs
    • De Moss Springs is located in Sherman County
  • Wasco
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wasco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wasco
    • Wasco is located in Sherman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wasco <2>
  • Dot
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dot have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dot
    • Dot is located in Klickitat County (WA)
  • Moro
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moro
    • Moro is located in Sherman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 332 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Moro <2>
  • Igo ‑ Historic
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Igo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Igo
    • Igo is located in Gilliam County
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Rutledge
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rutledge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
      • Rutledge is located in Sherman County
    • Condon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Ione
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)

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

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rock Creek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rock Creek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.5726, Longitude: -120.2973       In this case, the coordinates for Rock Creek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>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 Rock Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024