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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 Bridgewater (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 Bridgewater. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Bridgewater is located in Adair County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Adair County: Adams, Audubon, Cass, Dallas, Guthrie, Madison & Union.

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

  • Adair County     (The home county of Bridgewater)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Fontanelle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Gilead
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gilead. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
      • Gilead is located in Adair County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gilead
      • From Bridgewater to Gilead
    • Greenfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Orient
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Hebron
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
      • Hebron is located in Adair County
    • Zion
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Arbor Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanzel
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Carl
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
      • Carl is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carl
      • From Bridgewater to Carl
    • Williamson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Mount Etna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Etna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Etna
      • Mount Etna is located in Adams County
    • Lincoln Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Center have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Center
      • Lincoln Center is located in Adams County
    • Prescott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Prescott is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prescott <2>
    • Carbon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Quincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quincy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Adams County
    • Queen City ‑ Historic
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queen City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queen City
      • Queen City is located in Adams County
    • Strand
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Strand. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strand
      • Strand is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Strand
      • From Bridgewater to Strand
    • Corning
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Stringtown
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stringtown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stringtown
      • Stringtown is located in Adams County
    • Brooks
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Mercer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Brayton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Exira
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exira have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exira
      • Exira is located in Audubon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exira <2>
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Massena
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dewey
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cumberland
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Norway Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Anita
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
      • Anita is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 898 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anita <2>
    • Wiota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiota have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
      • Wiota is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiota <2>
    • Lyman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Grove City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
      • Grove City is located in Cass County
    • Atlantic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlantic have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
      • Atlantic is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atlantic <2>
    • Sycamore Village
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Village
      • Sycamore Village is located in Cass County
    • Lewis
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Griswold
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Marne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dallas County
  • Guthrie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Adair
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adair have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adair
      • Adair is located in Guthrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 701 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adair <2>
    • Casey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Casey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casey
      • Casey is located in Guthrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Casey <2>
    • Menlo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Stuart
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stuart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stuart
      • Stuart is located in Guthrie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,756 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stuart <2>
    • North Branch
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Glendon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Glendon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendon
      • Glendon is located in Guthrie County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Glendon
      • From Bridgewater to Glendon
    • Dale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Webster
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Macksburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Pitzer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Pitzer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
      • Pitzer is located in Madison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Pitzer
      • From Bridgewater to Pitzer
    • Ord
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
      • Ord is located in Madison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ord
      • From Bridgewater to Ord
  • Montgomery County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Grant
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Grant is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Sciola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sciola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sciola
      • Sciola is located in Montgomery County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sciola
      • From Bridgewater to Sciola
    • Tenville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Elliott
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elliott have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elliott
      • Elliott is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 319 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elliott <2>
    • Villisca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Villisca have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Villisca
      • Villisca is located in Montgomery County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,143 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Villisca <2>
    • Stanton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Taylor County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Lenox
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenox have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenox
      • Lenox is located in Taylor County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,386 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lenox <2>
    • Guss
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Guss. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guss
      • Guss is located in Taylor County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Guss
      • From Bridgewater to Guss
    • Sharpsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Union County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bridgewater, with the one closest to Bridgewater listed first.
    • Cromwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Creston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • East Creston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Kent
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Afton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Afton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Afton is located in Union County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 825 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Afton <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Bridgewater ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bridgewater.

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bridgewater had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Bridgewater had a population of 149 people.

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

  • Massena
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fontanelle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Fisk
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisk
    • Fisk is located in Adair County
  • Carl
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carl
    • Carl is located in Adams County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Carl
    • From Bridgewater to Carl
  • Mount Etna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Etna have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Etna
    • Mount Etna is located in Adams County
  • Cumberland
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Nevinville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nevinville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nevinville
    • Nevinville is located in Adams County
  • Greenfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Canby
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canby have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
    • Canby is located in Adair County
  • Orient
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Anita
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Anita have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anita
    • Anita is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 898 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Anita <2>
  • Carbon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Quincy
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quincy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
      • Quincy is located in Adams County
    • Prescott
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prescott have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Prescott is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 235 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Prescott <2>
    • Wiota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiota have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
      • Wiota is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiota <2>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bridgewater ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bridgewater.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bridgewater. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bridgewater and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bridgewater.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Bridgewater.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Bridgewater:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bridgewater. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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.
<5>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 Bridgewater, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 from Point A (ie- Bridgewater) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bridgewater. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.2469, Longitude: -94.6688    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025