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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 Fairfax (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 Fairfax. 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 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.

Fairfax is located in Linn 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 Linn County: Benton, Buchanan, Cedar, Delaware, Iowa, Johnson & Jones.

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

  • Linn County     (The home county of Fairfax)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Grand View Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Grand View Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View Village
    • Cedar Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Hills is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hills
    • Walford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Walford is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
    • Lincolnway Village
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Lincolnway Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnway Village
    • Covington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Covington is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
    • Cedar Rapids
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Western
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Western is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
    • Palo
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Hiawatha
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Louisa
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Louisa is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisa
    • Sunset Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Sunset Village is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
    • Ely
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Ely is located in Linn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ely <1>
    • Marion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Atkins
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Norway
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Newhall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Watkins
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Watkins is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
    • Shellsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Blairstown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Van Horne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Van Horne is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Van Horne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 646 people
    • Benton City ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Benton City is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton City
    • Vinton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Luzerne
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Luzerne is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luzerne
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 92 people
    • Urbana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Keystone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Garrison
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Garrison is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garrison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 355 people
  • Buchanan County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Hamerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Hamerville is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamerville
    • Brandon
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Brandon is located in Buchanan County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
  • Cedar County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Cedar Bluff
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Cedar Bluff is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Bluff
    • Mechanicsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Mechanicsville is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mechanicsville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,116 people
    • West Branch
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Buchanan
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Buchanan is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buchanan
    • Cedar Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Valley is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Valley
    • Centerdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Centerdale is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerdale
    • Downey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Downey is located in Cedar County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downey
  • Delaware County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Ehler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Ehler is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ehler
    • Robinson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Robinson is located in Delaware County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinson
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Amana
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Middle Amana
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • West Amana
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • West Amana is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Amana
    • South Amana
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Conroy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Conroy is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
    • Marengo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Williamsburg
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Dayton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Dayton is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
    • Ladora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Parnell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Swisher
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Shueyville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Shueyville is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shueyville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 655 people
    • Cou Falls
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cou Falls is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cou Falls
    • Oxford
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • North Liberty
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Tiffin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Solon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Solon is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,771 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Solon <1>
    • Oakdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakdale is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Coralville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Cosgrove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Cosgrove is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosgrove
    • Windham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Windham is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windham
    • Morse
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Morse is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morse
    • University Heights
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • University Heights is located in Johnson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
  • Jones County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Martelle
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Martelle is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martelle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Fairview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Fairview is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview
    • Stone City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Stone City is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone City
    • Morley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Morley is located in Jones County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
    • Anamosa
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Poweshiek County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fairfax, with the one closest to Fairfax listed first.
    • Victor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hartwick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Hartwick is located in Poweshiek County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartwick
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
  • Tama County
    • Elberon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Washington County
    • Kalona
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Kalona is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,560 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalona <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Fairfax ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fairfax.

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

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

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

  • Fairfax Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Patricks Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Sisley Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hala Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Castek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Linwood Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Czech National Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Moslem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • St. Stephens Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Linwood Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (319 more) ...
    • Blain Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Anderson Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Western Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)

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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fairfax had a population of 197 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fairfax had a population of 2,934 people.

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

  • Walford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Walford is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,436 people
  • Covington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Covington is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Covington
  • Cedar Rapids
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Atkins
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Norway
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • East Rapids
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • East Rapids is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Rapids
  • Shueyville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Shueyville is located in Johnson County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shueyville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 655 people
  • Amana
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Louisa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Louisa is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisa
  • Palo
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Ely
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Ely is located in Linn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,382 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ely <1>
  • Newhall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Watkins
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Watkins is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watkins
    • Marion
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Homestead
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Fairfax ...

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 113 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fairfax.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fairfax, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Fairfax.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Fairfax:

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