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The Commemorative Quarter for Texas





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 Orange (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 Orange. 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/Parishes ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties/parishes.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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/parishes 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 north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties/parishes, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Orange is located in Orange County and is the County Seat.

To see how the shape of Texas' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Orange County: Calcasieu (LA), Cameron (LA), Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson & Newton.

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

  • Orange County     (The home county of Orange)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • West Orange
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Orange have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Orange
      • West Orange is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Orange <2>
    • Pinehurst
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinehurst
      • Pinehurst is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,959 people
    • Bridge City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bridge City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bridge City
      • Bridge City is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,810 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bridge City <2>
    • Orangefield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orangefield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orangefield
      • Orangefield is located in Orange County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orangefield <2>
    • Lemonville ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lemonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonville
      • Lemonville is located in Orange County
    • Mauriceville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Texla
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texla
      • Texla is located in Orange County
    • Vidor
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vidor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vidor
      • Vidor is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,310 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vidor <2>
    • Pine Forest
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Forest
      • Pine Forest is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
    • Pine Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Grove
      • Pine Grove is located in Orange County
    • Rose City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Orange County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • Loeb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loeb
      • Loeb is located in Hardin County
    • Rose Hill Acres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose Hill Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill Acres
      • Rose Hill Acres is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 435 people
    • Lumberton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lumberton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lumberton
      • Lumberton is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,383 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lumberton <2>
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • Evadale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Buna
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buna have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buna
      • Buna is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buna <2>
  • Jefferson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • Groves
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groves
      • Groves is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Groves <2>
    • Port Neches
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Port Neches have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Neches
      • Port Neches is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Port Neches <2>
    • Central Gardens
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Gardens
      • Central Gardens is located in Jefferson County
    • Nederland
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nederland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nederland
      • Nederland is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nederland <2>
    • Port Arthur
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Higgins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Higgins have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Higgins
      • Higgins is located in Jefferson County
    • Port Acres
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Beaumont
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Sabine Pass
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Amelia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amelia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
      • Amelia is located in Jefferson County
    • Taylor Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Taylor Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor Landing
      • Taylor Landing is located in Jefferson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
    • Voth
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Voth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voth
      • Voth is located in Jefferson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Voth <2>
    • La Belle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
      • La Belle is located in Jefferson County
  • Newton County
  • Beauregard Parish (LA)
    • Helme
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Helme have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helme
      • Helme is located in Beauregard Parish (LA)
  • Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • Vinton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
      • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <2>
    • Starks
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Edgerly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
      • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • Carlyss
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlyss
      • Carlyss is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • Sulphur
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur
      • Sulphur is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,120 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sulphur <2>
    • Prien
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prien
      • Prien is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • DeQuincy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for DeQuincy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeQuincy
      • DeQuincy is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,009 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for DeQuincy <2>
    • Westlake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westlake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westlake
      • Westlake is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,873 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westlake <2>
  • Cameron Parish (LA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orange, with the one closest to Orange listed first.
    • Hackberry
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
      • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish (LA)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <2>
    • Grand Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
      • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish (LA)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Orange ...

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 49 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orange.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Orange. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Orange and those printed in the larger area surrounding Orange.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Orange.

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 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 Orange:

Cemeteries Near Orange ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orange.

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

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

  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Cemetery
  • Hollywood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hollywood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hollywood Cemetery
  • Hebrew Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hebrew Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hebrew Cemetery
  • Forest Lawn Memorial Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Lawn Memorial Park
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
  • Jett Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jett Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jett Cemetery
  • Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Memorial Gardens
  • Parish Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Parish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Parish Cemetery
  • Comier Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Comier Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Comier Cemetery
  • Dorman Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dorman Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dorman Cemetery
  • Winfree Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Winfree Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Winfree Cemetery
  • Granger Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Granger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Granger Cemetery
  • Continue List   (68 more) ...
    • Wilkinson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilkinson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilkinson Cemetery
    • Reed Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Reed Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Reed Cemetery
    • Bland Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bland Cemetery

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Orange had a population of 3,173 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Orange had a population of 17,832 people.

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

  • Echo
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
    • Echo is located in Orange County
  • Tulane
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tulane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tulane
    • Tulane is located in Orange County
  • Vinton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vinton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinton
    • Vinton is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,211 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vinton <2>
  • Terry
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Terry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Terry
    • Terry is located in Orange County
  • Edgerly
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgerly
    • Edgerly is located in Calcasieu Parish (LA)
  • Johnsons Bayou
    (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsons Bayou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsons Bayou
    • Johnsons Bayou is located in Cameron Parish (LA)
  • Beaumont
    (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Hackberry
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hackberry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hackberry
    • Hackberry is located in Cameron Parish (LA)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hackberry <2>
  • Rosedale
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosedale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale is located in Jefferson County
  • Sabine Pass
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Amelia
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amelia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amelia
    • Amelia is located in Jefferson County
  • Grand Lake
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Lake
    • Grand Lake is located in Cameron Parish (LA)
  • La Belle
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Belle
    • La Belle is located in Jefferson County

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

The official website for Orange: www.orangetexas.net/

The official website for Orange County: www.co.orange.tx.us/

The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orange) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orange. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.0932, Longitude: -93.7378    
<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 Orange, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024