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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 Grinnell (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 Grinnell. 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 doctors and 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.

Grinnell is located in Poweshiek 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 Poweshiek County: Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Keokuk, Mahaska, Marshall & Tama.

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

  • Poweshiek County     (The home county of Grinnell)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Malcom
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malcom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcom
      • Malcom is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malcom <2>
    • Sheridan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Searsboro
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Brooklyn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,390 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooklyn <2>
    • Montezuma
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montezuma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montezuma
      • Montezuma is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,388 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montezuma <2>
    • Hartwick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Guernsey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Guernsey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guernsey
      • Guernsey is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Guernsey <2>
    • Deep River
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deep River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep River
      • Deep River is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
    • Victor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Victor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victor
      • Victor is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 865 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Victor <2>
    • Tilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tilton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tilton
      • Tilton is located in Poweshiek County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tilton
      • From Grinnell to Tilton
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Belle Plaine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Irving
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irving. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irving
      • Irving is located in Benton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irving
      • From Grinnell to Irving
    • Luzerne
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Ladora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ladora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladora
      • Ladora is located in Iowa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ladora <2>
    • Dayton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dayton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
      • Dayton is located in Iowa County
  • Jasper County
  • Keokuk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Gibson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gibson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gibson
      • Gibson is located in Keokuk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
    • Coal Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Coal Creek. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
      • Coal Creek is located in Keokuk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Coal Creek
      • From Grinnell to Coal Creek
    • Thornburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Aurora
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Keokuk County
    • What Cheer
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Mahaska County
  • Marion County
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Gilman
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Dunbar
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Laurel
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laurel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel
      • Laurel is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 234 people
    • Ferguson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferguson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferguson
      • Ferguson is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Dillon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Le Grand
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Haverhill
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haverhill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haverhill
      • Haverhill is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haverhill <2>
    • State Center Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 Grinnell to Luray
    • Marshalltown
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Melbourne
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Mountain
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
  • Tama County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grinnell, with the one closest to Grinnell listed first.
    • Montour
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montour have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montour
      • Montour is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 242 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Montour <2>
    • Tama
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gladstone
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gladstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
      • Gladstone is located in Tama County
    • Long Point
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Point
      • Long Point is located in Tama County
    • Toledo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Toledo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Toledo
      • Toledo is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,125 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Toledo <2>
    • Chelsea
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chelsea have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chelsea
      • Chelsea is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chelsea <2>
    • Garwin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
      • Garwin is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
    • Vining
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elberon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elberon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elberon
      • Elberon is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 188 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elberon <2>
    • Clutier
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clutier have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clutier
      • Clutier is located in Tama County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clutier <2>
    • Gladbrook
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)

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

Cemeteries Near Grinnell ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grinnell.

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

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

  • Hazelwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • West Westfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Westfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Westfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westfield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Mormon Grave
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mormon Grave
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mormon Grave have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rock Creek Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rock Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rock Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chester Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chester Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chester Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Chester Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chester Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chester Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hayes Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hayes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hayes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (298 more) ...
    • Upper Blue Point Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Upper Blue Point Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Upper Blue Point Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Green Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hickory Grove Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hickory Grove Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hickory Grove 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Grinnell had a population of 3,332 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Grinnell had a population of 9,096 people.

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

  • Newburg
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Malcom
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malcom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malcom
    • Malcom is located in Poweshiek County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malcom <2>
  • Kellogg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Gilman
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Ewart
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ewart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ewart
    • Ewart is located in Poweshiek County
  • Sheridan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Searsboro
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Lynnville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Dunbar
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Killduff
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Sully
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Murphy
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murphy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murphy
    • Murphy is located in Jasper County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Pickering
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickering have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickering
      • Pickering is located in Marshall County
    • Brooklyn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooklyn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooklyn
      • Brooklyn is located in Poweshiek County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,390 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brooklyn <2>
    • Potter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Potter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Potter
      • Potter is located in Tama County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Grinnell ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grinnell.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Grinnell. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Grinnell and those printed in the larger area surrounding Grinnell.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Grinnell.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Grinnell:

The official website for Grinnell: www.grinnelliowa.gov/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Grinnell) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grinnell. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7461, Longitude: -92.7225    
<6>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 Grinnell, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025