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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 Columbia (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 Columbia. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Columbia is located in Marion 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 Marion County: Jasper, Lucas, Mahaska, Monroe, Polk, Poweshiek & Warren.

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

  • Marion County     (The home county of Columbia)
  • Appanoose County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Iconium
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Moravia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Walnut City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Walnut City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut City
      • Walnut City is located in Appanoose County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Walnut City
      • From Columbia to Walnut City
    • Darbyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Mystic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mystic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mystic
      • Mystic is located in Appanoose County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Plano
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plano have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plano
      • Plano is located in Appanoose County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plano <2>
    • Clarkdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rathbun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rathbun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rathbun
      • Rathbun is located in Appanoose County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 72 people
    • Brazil
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Woodburn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodburn
      • Woodburn is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodburn <2>
    • Liberty
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Decatur County
    • Le Roy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Le Roy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
      • Le Roy is located in Decatur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Le Roy
      • From Columbia to Le Roy
  • Jasper County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Williamson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
      • Williamson is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamson <2>
    • Russell
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Russell <2>
    • Zero
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Zero. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zero
      • Zero is located in Lucas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Zero
      • From Columbia to Zero
    • Chariton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chariton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chariton
      • Chariton is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chariton <2>
    • Lucas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Lucas is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Derby
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
  • Mahaska County
  • Monroe County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Lovilia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lovilia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lovilia
      • Lovilia is located in Monroe County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 516 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lovilia <2>
    • Melrose
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Bluff Creek
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Georgetown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Georgetown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
      • Georgetown is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Georgetown
      • From Columbia to Georgetown
    • Albia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Avery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Avery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avery
      • Avery is located in Monroe County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Avery
      • From Columbia to Avery
  • Polk County
  • Wapello County
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Lacona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Milo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Sandyville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Liberty Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ackworth
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Cool
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Cool is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cool
      • From Columbia to Cool
    • Hartford
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
    • Palmyra
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Indianola
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • New Virginia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Wayne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Columbia, with the one closest to Columbia listed first.
    • Confidence
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Millerton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Humeston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Promise City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Corydon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corydon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corydon
      • Corydon is located in Wayne County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,593 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corydon <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Columbia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Columbia.

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

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

  • Columbia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Columbia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Columbia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clear Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Clear Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Clear Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Stotts Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stotts Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stotts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gosport Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Strong Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strong Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strong Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Dale Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Dale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Dale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Olive Chapel Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Chapel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Chapel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Belinda Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Belinda Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Belinda Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Pine Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Stoneking Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stoneking Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stoneking Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (369 more) ...
    • O'Brien Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the O'Brien Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the O'Brien Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Concord Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concord Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concord Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Finarty Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finarty Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finarty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Columbia had a population of 121 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Gosport
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gosport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gosport
    • Gosport is located in Marion County
  • Belinda
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belinda have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belinda
    • Belinda is located in Lucas County
  • Cloud
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloud have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloud
    • Cloud is located in Marion County
  • Olmitz
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Olmitz have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olmitz
    • Olmitz is located in Lucas County
  • Weller
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weller have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weller
    • Weller is located in Monroe County
  • Attica
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Bauer
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Newbern
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Marysville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Knoxville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Caloma
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caloma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caloma
    • Caloma is located in Marion County
  • Oakley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakley
    • Oakley is located in Lucas County
  • Continue List   (19 more) ...
    • Hamilton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Flagler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flagler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flagler
      • Flagler is located in Marion County
    • Lacona
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in Columbia ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Columbia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Columbia, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Columbia.

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 helpful 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 Columbia:

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

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.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>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.
<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 Columbia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Columbia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Columbia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.1754, Longitude: -93.1526    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025