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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 Calumet (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 Calumet. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Calumet is located in O'Brien 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 O'Brien County: Buena Vista, Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, Osceola, Plymouth & Sioux.

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

  • O'Brien County     (The home county of Calumet)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Sutherland
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Paullina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
    • Primghar
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Germantown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Germantown is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Germantown
    • Moneta
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
    • Archer
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hartley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hartley is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Sanborn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Sheldon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Buena Vista County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Elkton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
    • Linn Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Sioux Rapids
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Rembrandt
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Alta
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Alta is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta <1>
    • Truesdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Casino Beach
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Casino Beach is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Casino Beach
    • Storm Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Marathon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Marathon is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marathon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Lakeside
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lakeside is located in Buena Vista County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
  • Cherokee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Larrabee
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
    • Meriden
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Meriden is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Cleghorn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
    • Cherokee
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Marcus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Mary Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Mary Hill is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Hill
    • Aurelia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Quimby
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Quimby is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quimby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
    • Fielding
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Fielding is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fielding
    • Washta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Washta is located in Cherokee County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Peterson
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Royal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rossie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Rossie is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Everly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Everly is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Cornell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cornell is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
    • Greenville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Spencer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Gillett Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Gillett Grove is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillett Grove
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Webb
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Webb is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Fostoria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Fostoria is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostoria
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 219 people
    • Dickens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dickens is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
    • Langdon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Langdon is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Melvin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • May City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • May City is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
    • Ashton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Cloverdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Cloverdale is located in Osceola County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Plymouth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Remsen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Oyens
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Oyens is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyens
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
    • O'Leary
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • O'Leary is located in Plymouth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for O'Leary
  • Sioux County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Calumet, with the one closest to Calumet listed first.
    • Granville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Hospers
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Alton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Orange City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Boyden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Boyden is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 682 people
    • Matlock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Middleburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Middleburg is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleburg

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

Cemeteries Near Calumet ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Calumet.

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 Calumet - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Liberty Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Waterman Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Friends Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • First Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Cedar Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Spring Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Fred Fieldman Grave
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Prairie View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • West Prairie View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Liberty Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Spring Twp. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (114 more) ...
    • Doyle Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Grant Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Afton Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Calumet had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Calumet had a population of 155 people.

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

  • Sutherland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Gaza
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Gaza is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gaza
  • Larrabee
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Larrabee is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larrabee
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 130 people
  • Paullina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Paullina is located in O'Brien County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paullina
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
  • Primghar
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Peterson
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Meriden
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Meriden is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meriden
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
  • Cleghorn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Cleghorn is located in Cherokee County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cleghorn
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
  • Cherokee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Elkton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
  • Marcus
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Archer
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Linn Grove
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Hartley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Hartley is located in O'Brien County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Granville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Granville is located in Sioux County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Calumet ...

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 115 newspapers that have been published in the area around Calumet.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Calumet. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Calumet and those printed in the larger area surrounding Calumet.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3> of Calumet.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Calumet:

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 Calumet, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Calumet) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.