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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 Santa Clara (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 Santa Clara. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals 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.

Santa Clara is located in Lane 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 Lane County: Benton, Deschutes, Douglas, Klamath, Lincoln & Linn.

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

  • Lane County     (The home county of Santa Clara)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Clara, with the one closest to Santa Clara listed first.
    • River Road
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • River Road is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Road
    • Coburg
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Eugene
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • North Springfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • North Springfield is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Springfield
    • Alvadore
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Springfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Junction City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Cheshire
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Franklin is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
    • Goshen
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Goshen is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
    • Fern Ridge Shores
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Fern Ridge Shores is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Ridge Shores
    • Thurston
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Elmira
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Clara, with the one closest to Santa Clara listed first.
    • Monroe
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bellfountain Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jennyopolis ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Jennyopolis is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jennyopolis
    • Alsea
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Douglas County
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Santa Clara, with the one closest to Santa Clara listed first.
    • Harrisburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Halsey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Brownsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Crawfordsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Boston ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Boston is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boston
      • Boston has also been known as:
      • Boston Mills
    • Shedd
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Holley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Holley is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holley
    • Oakville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Oakville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakville
    • Sodaville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sodaville is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sodaville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 346 people
    • Sweet Home
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • South Lebanon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • South Lebanon is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Lebanon
    • Tangent
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Waterloo
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Waterloo is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterloo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people

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

Cemeteries Near Santa Clara ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Santa Clara.

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 Santa Clara - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Gillespie Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Luper Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Lane Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • West Lawn Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Mulkey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Coburg IOOF Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coburg IOOF Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Coburg IOOF Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Coburg.
    • The Coburg IOOF Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #38670 <2>
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hill Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Oak Hill Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the west of Eugene.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39222 <2>
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Mt. Calvary Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Eugene.
    • The Mt. Calvary Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39164 <2>
  • Eugene Masonic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene Masonic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Eugene Masonic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Eugene.
    • The Eugene Masonic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Eugene AF & AM Lodge #11 Masonic Cemetery
    • Masonic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39101 <2>
  • Eugene Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eugene Pioneer Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Eugene Pioneer Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Eugene.
    • The Eugene Pioneer Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery
    • Independent Order of Odd Fellows Pioneer Cemetery
    • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39286 <2>
  • Resthaven Memorial Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Laurel Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (115 more) ...
    • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Park
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Park is located in Springfield.
      • The Pioneer Memorial Cemetery Park has also been known as:
      • Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery
      • Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #39451 <2>
    • Springfield IOOF Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Old Springfield IOOF Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)

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.<3>

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

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

  • Irving
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Irving is located in Lane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
  • Coburg
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Eugene
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Springfield
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Junction City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Goshen
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Goshen is located in Lane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goshen
  • Franklin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Franklin is located in Lane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
  • Mohawk
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mohawk is located in Lane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mohawk
  • Elmira
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Natron
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Natron is located in Lane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Natron
  • Thurston
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Harrisburg
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Crow
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Crow is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow
    • Long Tom
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Long Tom is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Tom
    • Hadleyville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Hadleyville is located in Lane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hadleyville

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

Newspapers Published in Santa Clara ...

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 118 newspapers that have been published in the area around Santa Clara.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Santa Clara, 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 Santa Clara.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Santa Clara:

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>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 Santa Clara, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Santa Clara) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.