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Welcome to Selma ...

Selma is located in Josephine County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Selma, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1897.

When the people of Selma refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Selmian<2>

Selma is 1,320 feet [402 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Selma lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Selma: 541 & 458<4>

The ZIP code for Selma: 97538<5>

Communities Also Named Selma ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 30 communities that are also named Selma - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri (2), Montana, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas (2), Utah and Virginia (2).

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Selma.

Communities near Selma ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Selma.

  • Grants Pass
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Cave Junction
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cave Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cave Junction
    • Cave Junction is located in Josephine County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,986 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cave Junction <6>
  • Kerby
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Wilderville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • New Hope
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Murphy
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • O'Brien
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Redwood
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redwood have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redwood
    • Redwood is located in Josephine County
  • Waldo ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waldo. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<8>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldo
    • Waldo is located in Josephine County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Waldo
    • From Selma to Waldo
  • Brown City ‑ Historic
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brown City have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brown City
    • Brown City is located in Josephine County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Selma. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Selma.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Selma. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Selma.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Selma. See our Newspapers Page for Selma.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Selma ...

Looking for more information about Selma? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Selma, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Selma.

Adding Selma to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Selma in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Selma was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Selma post office opened in 1897.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Selma.

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

The official website for Josephine County: www.co.josephine.or.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Oregon's counties, including Josephine, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Selma refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Selma may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Selma - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 541 code has been Overlayed with the 458 area code. New phone numbers in the Selma area will be assigned with one of these codes: 541 or 458. As a result, placing a call in the Selma area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Selma). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Selma or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>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.
<8>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.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025