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 Crestwood (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 Crestwood. 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 hospitals 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.
Crestwood 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 Crestwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Crestwood:
- Polk County (The home county of Crestwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Windsor Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Urbandale
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- West Des Moines
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Clive
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Des Moines
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Johnston
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Commerce
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Commerce is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Marquisville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Marquisville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquisville
- Saylorville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saylorville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
- Grimes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Country Estate Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Herrold
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Herrold is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herrold
- Carney
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Carney is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
- Boone County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Madrid
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Luther
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Luther is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Jordan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Jordan is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jordan
- Moingona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Moingona is located in Boone County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moingona
- Dallas County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Waukee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Booneville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Granger
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Van Meter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- High Bridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- High Bridge is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
- Adel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- DeSoto
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Minburn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Minburn is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 357 people
- Xenia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Xenia is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Xenia
- Woodward
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Panther
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Panther is located in Dallas County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther
- Bouton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Vandalia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Vandalia is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vandalia
- Valeria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Valeria is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Oswalt
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Oswalt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
- Colfax
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Prairie City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Mingo
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Green Castle
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Green Castle is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Goddard
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Goddard is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
- Clyde
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Clyde is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Ira
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ira is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Metz
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Metz is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Metz
- Madison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Patterson
(19 miles [30.6 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 south)
- Earlham
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Winterset
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- East Peru
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- East Peru is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
- Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
- Truro
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Pitzer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pitzer is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitzer
- Ord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Ord is located in Madison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
- Marion County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Swan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Swan is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
- Percy ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Percy is located in Marion County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
- Pleasantville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Story County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Slater
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Huxley
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Midvale
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Midvale is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midvale
- Cambridge
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Kelley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Maxwell
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Shipley
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Shipley is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipley
- Iowa Center
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Iowa Center is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
- Ames
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ontario
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Ontario is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
- Collins
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Collins is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Warren County
- The following are listed by their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Orillia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Orillia is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
- Lakewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Lakewood is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood
- Cumming
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Prole
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Prole is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
- Spring Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Spring Hill is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Churchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Churchville is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Martensdale
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Bevington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Hartford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Indianola
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Palmyra
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Palmyra is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Saint Marys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Saint Marys is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
- Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
- Ackworth
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ackworth is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Crestwood, see our County-by-County Page for Crestwood.
Cemeteries Near Crestwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crestwood.
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 Crestwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Crestwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Resthaven Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Glendale Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Chapel Hill Gardens Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- McDivitt Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Jordan Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodland Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Emmanuel Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Ambrose Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Kinsey Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pinehill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Rittgers Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Continue List (268 more) ...
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Highland Memory Gardens
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Ridgedale Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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 Crestwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Crestwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Crestwood, with the one closest to Crestwood listed first.
- Valley Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Valley Junction is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Junction
- Ashawa
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ashawa is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashawa
- Clive
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Campbell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Campbell is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
- Commerce
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Commerce is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
- Des Moines
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Orillia
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Orillia is located in Warren County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
- Saylorville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Saylorville is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
- Grimes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saylor
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Saylor is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylor
- Cumming
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Norwalk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- East Des Moines
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- East Des Moines is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Des Moines
- Waukee
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Berwick
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berwick is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Crestwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Crestwood.
Newspapers Published in Crestwood ...
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 51 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crestwood.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crestwood, 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 Crestwood.
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 Crestwood:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Polk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Boone County
- Dallas County
- Jasper County
- Madison County
- Marion County
- Story County
- Warren County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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 Crestwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Crestwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |