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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 Fort Atkinson (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 Fort Atkinson. 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.

Name Variations for Fort Atkinson ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Fort Atkinson: Ft. Atkinson

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 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.

Fort Atkinson is located in Winneshiek 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 Winneshiek County: Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, Fillmore (MN) & Houston (MN).

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

  • Winneshiek County     (The home county of Fort Atkinson)
  • Allamakee County
  • Bremer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Atkinson, with the one closest to Fort Atkinson listed first.
    • Sumner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Frederika
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederika have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
      • Frederika is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Tripoli
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tripoli have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripoli
      • Tripoli is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripoli <1>
    • Seigel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seigel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
      • Seigel is located in Bremer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Seigel
      • From Fort Atkinson to Seigel
  • Chickasaw County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Atkinson, with the one closest to Fort Atkinson listed first.
    • Lawler
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
      • Lawler is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawler <1>
    • Jerico
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerico. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico
      • Jerico is located in Chickasaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Jerico
      • From Fort Atkinson to Jerico
    • Fredericksburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredericksburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredericksburg
      • Fredericksburg is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 916 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fredericksburg <1>
    • New Hampton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Alta Vista
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Vista
      • Alta Vista is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta Vista <1>
    • North Washington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Republic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ionia
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Deerfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Deerfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deerfield
      • Deerfield is located in Chickasaw County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Deerfield
      • From Fort Atkinson to Deerfield
    • Bassett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Chickasaw
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Atkinson, with the one closest to Fort Atkinson listed first.
    • Hardin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hardin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
      • Hardin is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hardin
      • From Fort Atkinson to Hardin
    • Luana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luana have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luana
      • Luana is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luana <1>
    • Gunder
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Monona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Watson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Watson
      • From Fort Atkinson to Watson
    • Volga
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Volga have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Volga is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Atkinson, with the one closest to Fort Atkinson listed first.
    • Saint Lucas
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Waucoma
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Douglass
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Alpha
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hawkeye
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hawkeye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
      • Hawkeye is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hawkeye
      • From Fort Atkinson to Hawkeye
    • West Union
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • West Union is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Union <1>
    • Donnan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donnan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
      • Donnan is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Donnan
      • From Fort Atkinson to Donnan
    • Clermont
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clermont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
      • Clermont is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clermont <1>
    • Brainard
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Randalia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randalia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
      • Randalia is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Elgin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Fayette
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayette <1>
    • Illyria
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Howard County
  • Fillmore County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fort Atkinson, with the one closest to Fort Atkinson listed first.
    • Canton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
      • Canton is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 342 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canton <1>
    • Granger
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Granger. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
      • Granger is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Granger
      • From Fort Atkinson to Granger
    • Mabel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Harmony
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Newburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Houston County (MN)
    • Bee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
      • Bee is located in Houston County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bee
      • From Fort Atkinson to Bee

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

Cemeteries Near Fort Atkinson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fort Atkinson.

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

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

  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Peters Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peters Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peters Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Young Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Young Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Young Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Anthonys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anthonys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Anthonys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Smallest Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Smallest Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Smallest Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Clement Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Calmar Community Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calmar Community Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calmar Community Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Wenceslaus of Spillville Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Wenceslaus of Spillville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Wenceslaus of Spillville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Haug Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Aloysius Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Aloysius Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Aloysius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (301 more) ...
    • St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lukes Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • C J Jack Farm Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the C J Jack Farm Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the C J Jack Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Auburn Twp. Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Auburn Twp. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Auburn Twp. 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fort Atkinson had a population of 480 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Fort Atkinson had a population of 320 people.

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

  • Festina
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Spillville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Calmar
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calmar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calmar
    • Calmar is located in Winneshiek County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 934 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Calmar <1>
  • Saint Lucas
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Conover
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conover
    • Conover is located in Winneshiek County
  • Jackson Junction
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jackson Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackson Junction
    • Jackson Junction is located in Winneshiek County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
  • Navan
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Navan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Navan
    • Navan is located in Winneshiek County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Navan
    • From Fort Atkinson to Navan
  • Waucoma
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Eldorado
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
    • Eldorado is located in Fayette County
  • Ossian
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Little Turkey
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Turkey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Turkey
    • Little Turkey is located in Chickasaw County
  • Douglass
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in Fort Atkinson ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fort Atkinson.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Fort Atkinson:

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

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 Fort Atkinson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Fort Atkinson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fort Atkinson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1447, Longitude: -91.9328    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025