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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 Fernald (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 Fernald. 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.

Fernald is located in Story 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 Story County: Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Marshall & Polk.

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

  • Story County     (The home county of Fernald)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fernald, with the one closest to Fernald listed first.
    • Jordan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Mackey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mackey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
      • Mackey is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mackey
      • From Fernald to Mackey
    • Luther
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luther
      • From Fernald to Luther
    • Boone
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Madrid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Boone County
    • Moingona
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Fraser
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fraser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
      • Fraser is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
  • Dallas County
  • Grundy County
    • Conrad
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conrad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrad
      • Conrad is located in Grundy County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,067 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Conrad <1>
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fernald, with the one closest to Fernald listed first.
    • Randall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Jewell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanhope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanhope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
      • Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Kamrar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Williams
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Blairsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blairsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
      • Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Stratford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratford <1>
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fernald, with the one closest to Fernald listed first.
    • Garden City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
    • Hubbard
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
      • Hubbard is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 793 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbard <1>
    • Radcliffe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • New Providence
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Providence. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
      • New Providence is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Providence
      • From Fernald to New Providence
    • Union
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
    • Gifford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Whitten
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Buckeye
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
      • Buckeye is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Eldora
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldora
      • Eldora is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,571 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eldora <1>
    • Owasa
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Steamboat Rock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Alden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Jasper County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fernald, with the one closest to Fernald listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Clemons
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • State Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center
      • State Center is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State Center <1>
    • Rhodes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhodes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • Malta
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
    • Bangor
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bangor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bangor
      • From Fernald to Bangor
    • Melbourne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • LaMoille
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • State Center Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center Junction
      • State Center Junction is located in Marshall County
    • Luray
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luray
      • From Fernald to Luray
    • Marietta
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Albion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
      • Albion is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albion <1>
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fernald, with the one closest to Fernald listed first.
    • Loring
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Elkhart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Alleman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Sheldahl
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Santiago
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santiago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
      • Santiago is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Santiago
      • From Fernald to Santiago
    • Polk City Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Bondurant
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
      • Bondurant is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <1>
    • Ankeny
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
      • Ankeny is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <1>
    • Polk City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Mitchellville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
      • Mitchellville is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <1>
    • Berwick
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berwick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berwick
      • From Fernald to Berwick
    • Andrews
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Fernald ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fernald.

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

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

  • Murphy Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murphy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murphy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Knoll Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knoll Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knoll Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Evergreen Memory Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evergreen Memory Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evergreen Memory Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nevada Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nevada Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nevada Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Run Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Run Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Run Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mound Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mound Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mound Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Colo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Colo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Colo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • McCallsburg Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCallsburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCallsburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sparrow Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sparrow Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sparrow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (274 more) ...
    • Zearing Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Brouhard Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brouhard Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brouhard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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>

While we didn't find Fernald in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Fernald.

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

  • Nevada
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Colo
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • McCallsburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Zearing
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Roland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Iowa Center
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Saint Anthony
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
    • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
  • Ames
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Maxwell
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Collins
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • State Center
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center
    • State Center is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State Center <1>
  • Clemons
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
    • Clemons is located in Marshall County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Fernald ...

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 166 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fernald.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Fernald, 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 Fernald.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Fernald:

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

The official website for Story County: www.storycounty.com/

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

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 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.
<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 Fernald, 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 from Point A (ie- Fernald) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fernald. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.0706, Longitude: -93.3950    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025