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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 Avon Lake (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 Avon Lake. 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 Avon Lake ...

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 Avon Lake: Avon Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Avon Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Avon Lake.

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 southwest 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 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.

Avon Lake is located in Polk County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Avon Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Levey
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Levey is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
    • Adelphi
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
    • Pleasant Hill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Rising Sun
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
    • Runnells
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Country Estate Village
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Des Moines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Altoona
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Norwalk
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Berwick
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
    • Marquisville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Marquisville is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquisville
  • Boone County
    • Madrid
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarke County
    • Liberty
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Liberty is located in Clarke County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Booneville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Waukee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Granger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Van Meter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Dallas Center
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • High Bridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • High Bridge is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
    • DeSoto
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Adel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Adel is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adel
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adel <1>
    • Xenia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Xenia is located in Dallas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Vandalia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Vandalia is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
    • Prairie City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Oswalt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Oswalt is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
    • Colfax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Valeria
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Valeria is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
    • Green Castle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Green Castle is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
    • Monroe
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Goddard
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Goddard is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
    • Mingo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Metz
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Metz is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
    • Ira
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Ira is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
    • Clyde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Clyde is located in Jasper County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Patterson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Patterson is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patterson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
    • Saint Charles
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Truro
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • East Peru
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • East Peru is located in Madison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
    • Winterset
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Marion County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Swan
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Swan is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Percy ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Percy is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
    • Pleasantville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Cordova
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Cordova is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Otley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Bauer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bauer is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bauer
    • Knoxville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Melcher - Dallas
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Melcher - Dallas is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melcher - Dallas
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
    • Newbern
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Newbern is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newbern
    • Howell ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Howell is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howell
    • Columbia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Columbia is located in Marion County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbia
  • Story County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Cambridge
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Huxley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Maxwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Slater
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Collins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Collins is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Iowa Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Iowa Center is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
    • Midvale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Midvale is located in Story County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
    • Kelley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Avon Lake, with the one closest to Avon Lake listed first.
    • Hartford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmyra
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Palmyra is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
    • Lakewood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Lakewood is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
    • Ackworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Spring Hill
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Indianola
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Orillia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
    • Sandyville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Sandyville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Clarkson ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Clarkson is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
    • Cumming
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Prole
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Prole is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
    • Churchville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Churchville is located in Warren County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville

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

Cemeteries Near Avon Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Avon Lake.

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 Avon Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Avon Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Avon Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Avon Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Des Moines.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #94191 <2>
  • Carlisle Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Scotch Ridge Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Middle River Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Wicker Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Powers - Warren Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Stuart Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sims Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Laurel Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Rising Sun Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (324 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.<3>

While we didn't find Avon Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Avon Lake.

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

  • Carlisle
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Avon
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Avon is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
  • Levey
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Levey is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
  • Hastie
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Hastie is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastie
  • Adelphi
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Adelphi is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
  • East Des Moines
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • East Des Moines is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Des Moines
  • Rising Sun
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
  • Summerset
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Summerset is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset
  • Palmyra
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Palmyra is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
  • Hartford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ford is located in Warren County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford
  • Ivy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ivy is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Runnells
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Des Moines
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Altoona
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Avon Lake ...

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 282 newspapers that have been published in the area around Avon Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Avon Lake, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Avon Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Avon Lake:

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>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 Avon Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Avon Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.