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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 Harlan (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 Harlan. 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 and hospitals 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.

Harlan is located in Shelby County and is the County Seat.

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 Shelby County: Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Harrison & Pottawattamie.

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

  • Shelby County     (The home county of Harlan)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Westphalia
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
      • Westphalia is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
    • Corley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
      • Corley is located in Shelby County
    • Kirkman
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
      • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Tennant
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tennant
      • Tennant is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Earling
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earling have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earling
      • Earling is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 403 people
    • Panama
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
      • Panama is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <2>
    • Portsmouth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Irwin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
      • Irwin is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <2>
    • Shelby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
      • Shelby is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
    • Defiance
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Defiance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
      • Defiance is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Elk Horn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Horn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Horn
      • Elk Horn is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 601 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Horn <2>
    • Botna
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Botna
      • Botna is located in Shelby County
  • Audubon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Kimballton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fiscus
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fiscus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
    • Audubon
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Hamlin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamlin
      • Hamlin is located in Audubon County
    • Gray
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gray
      • Gray is located in Audubon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 57 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gray <2>
    • Brayton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Ross
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
      • Ross is located in Audubon County
    • Exira
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exira have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exira
      • Exira is located in Audubon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 775 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Exira <2>
  • Carroll County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Manning
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manning
      • Manning is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manning <2>
    • Templeton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Templeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Templeton
      • Templeton is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 329 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Templeton <2>
    • Halbur
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halbur have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halbur
      • Halbur is located in Carroll County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Marne
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Atlantic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Atlantic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlantic
      • Atlantic is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,513 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Atlantic <2>
    • Sycamore Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Village
      • Sycamore Village is located in Cass County
    • Grove City ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
      • Grove City is located in Cass County
    • Lewis
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Wiota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wiota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wiota
      • Wiota is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wiota <2>
    • Griswold
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Crawford County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Manilla
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Buck Grove
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buck Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck Grove
      • Buck Grove is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Aspinwall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aspinwall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aspinwall
      • Aspinwall is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 40 people
    • Dow City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dow City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dow City
      • Dow City is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 486 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dow City <2>
    • Arion
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arion have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arion
      • Arion is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Sunset Village
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Village
      • Sunset Village is located in Crawford County
    • Denison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denison have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denison
      • Denison is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,249 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Denison <2>
    • Vail
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vail
      • Vail is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vail <2>
    • Deloit
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deloit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deloit
      • Deloit is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 254 people
    • Westside
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westside
      • Westside is located in Crawford County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Westside <2>
  • Harrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Persia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
      • Persia is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
    • Dunlap
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunlap have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
      • Dunlap is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dunlap <2>
    • Woodbine
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbine
      • Woodbine is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,363 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodbine <2>
    • Logan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Logan
      • Logan is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,403 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Logan <2>
    • Magnolia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
      • Magnolia is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Missouri Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Missouri Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Missouri Valley
      • Missouri Valley is located in Harrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,576 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Missouri Valley <2>
  • Pottawattamie County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harlan, with the one closest to Harlan listed first.
    • Avoca
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <2>
    • Walnut
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
      • Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
    • Minden
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minden have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minden
      • Minden is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 597 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Minden <2>
    • Hancock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hancock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Hancock is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
    • Neola
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neola
      • Neola is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 890 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Neola <2>
    • Oakland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,491 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakland <2>
    • Underwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 965 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
    • Pigeon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pigeon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon
      • Pigeon is located in Pottawattamie County
    • McClelland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McClelland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McClelland
      • McClelland is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McClelland <2>
    • Carson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carson
      • Carson is located in Pottawattamie County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 813 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carson <2>
    • Weston
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
      • Weston is located in Pottawattamie County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harlan ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harlan.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harlan. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harlan and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harlan.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Harlan.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Harlan:

Cemeteries Near Harlan ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harlan.

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

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

  • Harlan Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Rabbit Hallow Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rabbit Hallow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rabbit Hallow Cemetery
  • Fairview Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Twp. Cemetery
  • Lincoln Twp. Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lincoln Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lincoln Twp. Cemetery
  • Folck Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Folck Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Folck Cemetery
  • Bowmans Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bowmans Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bowmans Grove
  • Lee Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lee Cemetery
  • Altamont Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Altamont Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Altamont Cemetery
  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
  • Slates Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Slates Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Slates Cemetery
  • Cass Twp. Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cass Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cass Twp. Cemetery
  • Continue List   (151 more) ...
    • Jacobson Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jacobson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jacobson Cemetery
    • Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery
    • Danway Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Danway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Danway Cemetery

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 Harlan had a population of 1,765 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Harlan had a population of 4,795 people.

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

  • Corley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corley
    • Corley is located in Shelby County
  • Westphalia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westphalia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westphalia
    • Westphalia is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 117 people
  • Kirkman
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirkman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirkman
    • Kirkman is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
  • Panama
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
    • Panama is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <2>
  • Portsmouth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Harlan Junction ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harlan Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlan Junction
    • Harlan Junction is located in Pottawattamie County
  • Shelby
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
    • Shelby is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 607 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shelby <2>
  • Avoca
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avoca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
    • Avoca is located in Pottawattamie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avoca <2>
  • Irwin
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irwin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
    • Irwin is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 308 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irwin <2>
  • Walnut
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut
    • Walnut is located in Pottawattamie County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 768 people
  • Defiance
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Defiance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Defiance
    • Defiance is located in Shelby County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Persia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Persia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Persia
    • Persia is located in Harrison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 281 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kimballton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Fiscus
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fiscus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fiscus
      • Fiscus is located in Audubon County
    • Elk Horn
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Horn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Horn
      • Elk Horn is located in Shelby County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 601 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Horn <2>

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

The official website for Harlan: www.cityofharlan.com/

The official website for Shelby County: www.shco.org/

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Harlan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harlan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6513, Longitude: -95.3254    
<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 Harlan, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024