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 Chetek (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 Chetek. 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 northeast 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 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.
Chetek is located in Barron County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Barron County: Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sawyer & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Chetek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chetek:
- Barron County (The home county of Chetek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Cameron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Barron
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Poskin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Prairie Farm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Twin Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west) - Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west) - Haugen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Cumberland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Turtle Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- New Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Bloomer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Eagleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Albertville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertville
- Albertville is located in Chippewa County
- Cornell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast) - Chippewa Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- Drywood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drywood
- Drywood is located in Chippewa County
- Irvine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Ridgeland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south) - Wheeler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Tainter Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tainter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
- Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
- Boyceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Downing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Downing is located in Dunn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Elk Mound
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west) - Clear Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Strickland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Weyerhaeuser
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weyerhaeuser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Bruce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Port Arthur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Ladysmith
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east) - Conrath
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Saint Croix County
- Glenwood City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glenwood City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
- Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Glenwood City
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north) - Nobleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north) - Madge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Madge is located in Washburn County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chetek, see our County-by-County Page for Chetek.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Chetek ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chetek.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Chetek. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Chetek and those printed in the larger area surrounding Chetek.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Chetek.
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 either 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 Chetek:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chippewa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dunn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Polk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Rusk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Saint Croix County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Washburn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Chippewa County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Barron County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
Cemeteries Near Chetek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chetek.
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 Chetek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Lakeview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Johnson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Johnson Cemetery
- Pleasant Plain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Plain Cemetery
- Otterholt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otterholt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otterholt Cemetery
- Faaberg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faaberg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faaberg Cemetery
- Dovre Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dovre Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dovre Cemetery
- Sioux Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sioux Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sioux Creek Cemetery
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
- Twin Lakes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Twin Lakes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Twin Lakes Cemetery
- New Scandinavia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Scandinavia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Scandinavia Cemetery
- Dallas Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dallas Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dallas Cemetery
- Myron Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Myron Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Myron Cemetery
- Continue List (123 more) ...
- Springbrook Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Springbrook Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #89308 <3>
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- 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
- Zion Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
- Springbrook 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 Chetek had a population of 406 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Chetek had a population of 2,094 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Canton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Cameron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Lehigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Sand Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- Hillsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Barron
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Prairie Farm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west) - Haugen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Eagleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Wheeler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south) - Eagle Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Eagle Point is located in Chippewa County
- Wheeler
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chetek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chetek.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chetek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Barron County: www.co.barron.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.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> | 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- Chetek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chetek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3158, Longitude: -91.6532 In this case, the coordinates for Chetek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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 Chetek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |