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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 Harris (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 Harris. 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 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.

Harris is located in Osceola 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 Osceola County: Dickinson, Lyon, O'Brien, Jackson (MN) & Nobles (MN).

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

  • Osceola County     (The home county of Harris)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Ocheyedan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • May City
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Allendorf
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Cloverdale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Melvin
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Sibley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Sibley is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <2>
    • Ashton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Ashton is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashton <2>
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Fostoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Everly
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Everly
      • Everly is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Langdon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Spencer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Royal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
      • Royal is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <2>
    • Dickens
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Dickinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Lake Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Wahpeton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahpeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Okoboji
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • West Okoboji
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Okoboji have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
      • West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Arnolds Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Spirit Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Milford
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Orleans
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Old Town
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Dickinson County
    • Superior
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
      • Superior is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <2>
    • Terril
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Emmet County
    • Estherville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estherville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estherville
      • Estherville is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estherville <2>
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Little Rock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • George
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for George have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for George
      • George is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,029 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for George <2>
  • O'Brien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Hartley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Moneta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
    • Sanborn
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Primghar
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Primghar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Primghar
      • Primghar is located in O'Brien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Primghar <2>
    • Archer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Archer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archer
      • Archer is located in O'Brien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archer <2>
    • Sheldon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheldon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
      • Sheldon is located in O'Brien County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,071 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <2>
  • Sioux County
    • Matlock
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Matlock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Matlock
      • Matlock is located in Sioux County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 89 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Matlock <2>
  • Jackson County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Sioux Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sioux Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
      • Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Sioux Valley
      • From Harris to Sioux Valley
    • Lakefield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakefield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakefield
      • Lakefield is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakefield <2>
    • Okabena
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Heron Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heron Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Jackson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Petersburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Petersburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Petersburg
      • From Harris to Petersburg
    • Wilder
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Murray County (MN)
  • Nobles County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harris, with the one closest to Harris listed first.
    • Round Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Lake
      • Round Lake is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Round Lake <2>
    • Bigelow
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bigelow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
    • Org
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Worthington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Brewster
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Ransom
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Rushmore
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushmore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushmore
      • Rushmore is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Reading
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reading have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
      • Reading is located in Nobles County (MN)
    • Kinbrae
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Dundee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundee
      • Dundee is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Adrian
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmont
      • Wilmont is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmont <2>
    • Ellsworth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Ellsworth is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 450 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellsworth <2>

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

Cemeteries Near Harris ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harris.

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

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

  • Union Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ocheyedan Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ocheyedan Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ocheyedan Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Round Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Round Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Round Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Horton Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Horton Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Horton Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Silver Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silver Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silver Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norwegian Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwegian Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwegian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mennonite Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mennonite Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mennonite Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sioux Valley Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sioux Valley Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sioux Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Harrison Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrison Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Excelsior Twp. Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Excelsior Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Excelsior Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (111 more) ...
    • Indian Lake Baptist Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Indian Lake Baptist Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Indian Lake Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Westport Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westport Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westport Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Baker Twp. Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baker Twp. Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baker Twp. 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Harris had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Harris had a population of 158 people.

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

  • Ocheyedan
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lake Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Round Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Lake
    • Round Lake is located in Nobles County (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Round Lake <2>
  • May City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sioux Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sioux Valley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Valley
    • Sioux Valley is located in Jackson County (MN)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sioux Valley
    • From Harris to Sioux Valley
  • Bigelow
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bigelow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
    • Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
  • Okoboji
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Worthington
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Org
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Sibley
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
    • Sibley is located in Osceola County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,586 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <2>
  • Milford
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Arnolds Park
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • 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 Harris. See our List of 1890's Communities around Harris.

Newspapers Published in Harris ...

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 146 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harris.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Harris, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Harris.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Harris:

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

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>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 Harris, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Harris) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harris. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4451, Longitude: -95.4331    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025