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 Oak Ridge (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 Oak Ridge. 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 Oak Ridge ...
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 Oak Ridge: Oak Rdg. (or less commonly used: Oak Rdge. or Oak Ridg.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Oak Ridge. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Oak Ridge.
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 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.
Oak Ridge is primarily located in Armstrong County. A portion of Oak Ridge extends into Clarion County.
To see how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Armstrong County: Allegheny, Butler, Clarion, Indiana, Jefferson & Westmoreland.
Below are the counties that are near Oak Ridge. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Oak Ridge:
- Armstrong County (The home county of Oak Ridge)
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Millville
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Millville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- South Bethlehem
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- South Bethlehem is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Bethlehem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 443 people
- McWilliams
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Eddyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- Putneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Deanville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Muff
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Muff is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muff
- Dayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Dee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dee is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dee
- Echo
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Echo is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
- Tidal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Tidal is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tidal
- Bryan
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Bryan is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bryan
- Butler County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Kepples Corners
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Kepples Corners is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kepples Corners
- Petrolia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Petrolia is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petrolia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
- Bruin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Bruin is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
- Karns City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Chicora
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fairview
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Fairview is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Millerstown
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Millerstown is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerstown
- Fenelton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joe
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Saint Joe is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joe
- North Oakland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- North Oakland is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Oakland
- Dennys Mills
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dennys Mills is located in Butler County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dennys Mills
- Eau Claire
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Clarion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Hawthorn
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
- Fairmont City
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Bethlehem
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Brinkerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Piolett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Crates
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Crates is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crates
- Frogtown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Frogtown is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frogtown
- Lawsonham
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Lawsonham is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawsonham
- Curllsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Curllsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Curllsville
- Mechanicsville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Mechanicsville is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
- Reidsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Reidsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reidsburg
- Clearfield County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Stanley
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stanley is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanley
- Troutville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Troutville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Helvetia
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Helvetia is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helvetia
- DuBois
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sandy
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Sandy is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy
- Burnside
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Burnside is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnside
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Luthersburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Elk County
- Millstone
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Millstone is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millstone
- Forest County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Clarington
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Redclyffe is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redclyffe
- Gilfoyle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Gilfoyle is located in Forest County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfoyle
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Smicksburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Trade City is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trade City
- Georgeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Georgeville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville
- Beyer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Beyer is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beyer
- Elkin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Elkin is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkin
- Marchand
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Marchand is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marchand
- Mottarns Mill
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Mottarns Mill is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mottarns Mill
- Plumville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Plumville is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plumville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
- Ambrose
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Ambrose is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ambrose
- Davis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Davis is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davis
- Willet
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Willet is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willet
- Home
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Home is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Home
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Pansy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Pansy is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pansy
- Worthville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Worthville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Ohl
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Ohl is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ohl
- Timblin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Timblin is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timblin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
- Summerville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Summerville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
- Coolspring
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Baxter
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Baxter is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
- Corsica
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Corsica is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
- Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
- Green Valley
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Green Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Oliveburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Valier
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Valier is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valier
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 people
- Venango County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Nickleville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Nickleville is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickleville
- Emlenton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fertigs
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fertigs is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertigs
- Eakin Corner
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Eakin Corner is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eakin Corner
- Coal Hill
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coal Hill is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Hill
- Hill City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hill City is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill City
- Saint George
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint George is located in Venango County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint George
- Westmoreland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Bagdad
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
- Hyde Park
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- West Leechburg is located in Westmoreland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Leechburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,211 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Oak Ridge, see our County-by-County Page for Oak Ridge.
Cemeteries Near Oak Ridge ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Oak Ridge.
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 Oak Ridge - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Oak Ridge covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- New Bethlehem Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oakland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Paradise Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Jerusalem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Smith Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- St. Nicholas Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Vandervort Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Westview Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Dayton Glad Run Presbyterian Church Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Conifer Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Carrier Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carrier Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Carrier Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located less than 2 miles<3> to the southeast of Summerville.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #44528 <2>
- Continue List (163 more) ...
- Calvary Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Duncan Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Old Seceder Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 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.<4>
While we didn't find Oak Ridge in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Oak Ridge.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Fairmont City
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- New Bethlehem
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- McWilliams
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- McWilliams is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McWilliams
- Truittsburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Truittsburg is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truittsburg
- Putneyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Putneyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putneyville
- Eddyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eddyville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eddyville
- North Freedom
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- North Freedom is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- Brinkerton
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Brinkerton is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brinkerton
- Leatherwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Leatherwood is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leatherwood
- Deanville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Deanville is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deanville
- Ringgold
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ringgold is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ringgold
- Langville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Langville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langville
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Shannondale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Shannondale is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shannondale
- Piolett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Piolett is located in Clarion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piolett
- Kellersburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Kellersburg is located in Armstrong County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellersburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Oak Ridge. See our List of 1890's Communities around Oak Ridge.
Newspapers Published in Oak Ridge ...
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 40 newspapers that have been published in the area around Oak Ridge.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Oak Ridge, there are papers which were published within 15 miles [24.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Oak Ridge.
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 professional and volunteer 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 Oak Ridge:
- Websites specific to Pennsylvania
- Pages specific to Armstrong County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Butler County
- Clarion County
- Clearfield County
- Elk County
- Forest County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence County
- Venango County
- Westmoreland County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Pennsylvania
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' (or 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- Oak Ridge) 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 Oak Ridge, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |