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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 Vale (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 Vale. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Vale is located in Malheur 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 Malheur County: Canyon (ID), Owyhee (ID), Payette (ID), Washington (ID), Humboldt (NV), Baker, Grant & Harney.

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

  • Malheur County     (The home county of Vale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vale, with the one closest to Vale listed first.
    • Ontario
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ontario have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Ontario is located in Malheur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <2>
    • Nyssa
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nyssa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyssa
      • Nyssa is located in Malheur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,231 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nyssa <2>
    • Jamieson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Owyhee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Owyhee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owyhee
      • Owyhee is located in Malheur County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Owyhee
      • From Vale to Owyhee
    • Adrian
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adrian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adrian
      • Adrian is located in Malheur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adrian <2>
    • Harper
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Brogan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Westfall ‑ Historic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Baker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vale, with the one closest to Vale listed first.
    • Huntington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Baker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <2>
    • Lime ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Canyon County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vale, with the one closest to Vale listed first.
    • Apple Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Parma
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
      • Parma is located in Canyon County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,129 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parma <2>
    • Roswell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilder
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sand Hollow
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Hollow
      • Sand Hollow is located in Canyon County (ID)
    • Notus
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Notus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notus
      • Notus is located in Canyon County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 634 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Notus <2>
    • Greenleaf
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Gem County (ID)
    • Letha
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Letha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Letha
      • Letha is located in Gem County (ID)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Letha <2>
  • Owyhee County (ID)
    • Homedale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Homedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homedale
      • Homedale is located in Owyhee County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,830 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homedale <2>
  • Payette County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vale, with the one closest to Vale listed first.
    • Washoe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Fruitland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fruitland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitland
      • Fruitland is located in Payette County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,568 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fruitland <2>
    • Payette
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckingham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • New Plymouth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Plymouth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Plymouth
      • New Plymouth is located in Payette County (ID)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,609 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Plymouth <2>
  • Washington County (ID)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vale, with the one closest to Vale listed first.
    • Eaton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Weiser
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Vale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vale.

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

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

  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Valley View Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Valley View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Valley View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nyssa Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nyssa Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nyssa Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Owyhee Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Owyhee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Owyhee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Washoe Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Washoe Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Washoe Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dell Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harper Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harper Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harper Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Parma Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Parkview Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parkview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parkview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Vale had a population of 131 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Vale had a population of 1,806 people.

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

  • Ontario
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ontario have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Ontario is located in Malheur County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 11,140 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ontario <2>
  • Nyssa
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nyssa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nyssa
    • Nyssa is located in Malheur County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,231 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nyssa <2>
  • Owyhee
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Owyhee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owyhee
    • Owyhee is located in Malheur County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Owyhee
    • From Vale to Owyhee
  • Payette
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dell ‑ Historic
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
    • Dell is located in Malheur County
  • Parma
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
    • Parma is located in Canyon County (ID)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,129 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parma <2>
  • Weiser
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Westfall ‑ Historic
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Huntington
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
    • Huntington is located in Baker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 442 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huntington <2>
  • Notus
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Notus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Notus
    • Notus is located in Canyon County (ID)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 634 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Notus <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Vale ...

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 45 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vale.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Vale. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Vale and those printed in the larger area surrounding Vale.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<6> of Vale.

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 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 Vale:

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

The official website for Malheur County: www.malheurco.org/

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>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.
<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 Vale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Vale) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Vale. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9850, Longitude: -117.2418    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025