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.
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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Oak Ridge is located in Clearfield 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 Clearfield County: Cameron, Centre, Clinton, Elk, Indiana & Jefferson.
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:
- Clearfield 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.
- Belsena
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Belsena is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsena
- Belsena has also been known as:
- Belsena Mills
- Glen Hope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Olanta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Hegarty Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
- Gazzam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gazzam is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gazzam
- Houtzdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Irvona
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Glen Richey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Glen Richey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Richey
- Lumber City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Lumber City is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumber City
- Estimated population in 2015: 75 people
- Blain City
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Blain City is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blain City
- Rosebud
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rosebud is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosebud
- Ramey
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ramey is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Mayes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mayes is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayes
- Blair County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Highland Fling
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Highland Fling is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Fling
- Tipton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Grazierville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Grazierville is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grazierville
- Bellwood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone Forge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Tyrone Forge is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone Forge
- Culp
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Culp is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Culp
- Altoona
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Canan
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Canan is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canan
- Eldorado
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Eldorado is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Cross Keys
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cross Keys is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Keys
- Frankstown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Frankstown is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankstown
- Flowing Spring
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Flowing Spring is located in Blair County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowing Spring
- Cambria County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Flinton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Fallentimber
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Lloydville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Lloydville is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lloydville
- Dean
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dean is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dean
- Thomas Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Thomas Mills is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas Mills
- Dysart
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Dysart is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dysart
- Hastings
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Patton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Chest Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Chest Springs is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chest Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
- Barnesboro
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Barnesboro is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barnesboro
- Northern Cambria
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Northern Cambria is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northern Cambria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,456 people
- Saint Benedict
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Benedict is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Benedict
- West Branch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- West Branch is located in Cambria County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Branch
- Centre County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- New Town
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- New Town is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Town
- Sandy Ridge
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Sandy Ridge is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Ridge
- Glass City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Glass City is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glass City
- South Philipsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- South Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Philipsburg
- North Philipsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- North Philipsburg is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Philipsburg
- Philipsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Casanova
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Casanova is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casanova
- Port Matilda
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Marengo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Marengo is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marengo
- Stormstown
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Stormstown is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stormstown
- Musser
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Musser is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Musser
- Moshannon
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Moshannon is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moshannon
- Pine Glen
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Glen is located in Centre County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Glen
- Elk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Scattertown
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Scattertown is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scattertown
- Byrnedale
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Caledonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Caledonia is located in Elk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caledonia
- Brockport
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Huntingdon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Pennington
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Pennington is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennington
- Birmingham
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Birmingham is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birmingham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
- Dungarvin
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Dungarvin is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dungarvin
- Huntingdon Furnace
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Huntingdon Furnace is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingdon Furnace
- Seven Stars
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Seven Stars is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Stars
- Water Street
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Water Street is located in Huntingdon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Water Street
- Alexandria
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Indiana County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Glen Campbell
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Urey
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Urey is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urey
- Hooverhurst
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Hooverhurst is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooverhurst
- Cherry Tree
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Cherry Tree is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Tree
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Uniontown
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Uniontown is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Johnsonburg
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Johnsonburg is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsonburg
- Hillsdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Rossiter
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Purchase Line
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Purchase Line is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purchase Line
- Alverda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Alverda is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alverda
- Cookport
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cookport is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cookport
- Grisemore
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Grisemore is located in Indiana County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grisemore
- Commodore
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Jefferson County
- The following are listed by their distance from Oak Ridge, with the one closest to Oak Ridge listed first.
- Winslow
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Winslow is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winslow
- Sykesville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Albion
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Albion is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Falls Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pancoast
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Pancoast is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pancoast
- Prescottville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Prescottville is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescottville
- Wishaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Wishaw is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wishaw
- Punxsutawney
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Panic
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Panic is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panic
- Reynoldsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mill
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Red Mill is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mill
- Sandy Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Sandy Valley is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Valley
- Oliveburg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Oliveburg is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliveburg
- Lawrence County
- Big Run
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Big Run is located in Lawrence County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Run
- Population from the 2020 Census: 594 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.
- Crossroads Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Snyder Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Alexander Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Williams Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Mt. Zion Memorial Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Beulah Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Henderson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Ferguson Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Baughman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Continue List (222 more) ...
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- St. Basil Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- St. Pauls Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
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.<2>
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.
- Belsena
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Belsena is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belsena
- Belsena has also been known as:
- Belsena Mills
- Glen Hope
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Glen Hope is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Hope
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- Banian Junction
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Banian Junction is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Banian Junction
- Madera
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Millport
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- New Millport is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Millport
- Ansonville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Ansonville is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ansonville
- Hegarty Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Hegarty Crossroads is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hegarty Crossroads
- Olanta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Gazzam
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gazzam is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gazzam
- Berwinsdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Berwinsdale is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwinsdale
- Irvona
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Smoke Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Smoke Run is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smoke Run
- Continue List (13 more) ...
- Houtzdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Kerrmoor
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Kerrmoor is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerrmoor
- Mayes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mayes is located in Clearfield County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayes
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 39 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 12 miles [19.3 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 begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Clearfield County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blair County
- Cambria County
- Centre County
- Elk County
- Huntingdon County
- Indiana County
- Jefferson County
- Lawrence 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> | 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. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions 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'. |