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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 Hesper (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 Hesper. 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.

Hesper 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 Hesper. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hesper:

  • Winneshiek County     (The home county of Hesper)
  • Allamakee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hesper, with the one closest to Hesper listed first.
    • Quandahl
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quandahl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quandahl
      • Quandahl is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Quandahl
      • From Hesper to Quandahl
    • Dorchester
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Lycurgus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lycurgus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
      • Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lycurgus
      • From Hesper to Lycurgus
    • Waukon
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • New Albin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Elon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
      • Elon is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elon
      • From Hesper to Elon
    • Lansing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Allamakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lansing <1>
    • Rossville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Postville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Dalby
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Waterville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
      • Waterville is located in Allamakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
  • Fayette County
  • Howard County
  • Fillmore County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hesper, with the one closest to Hesper listed first.
    • Mabel
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Newburg
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Canton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Harmony
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Harmony. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony
      • Harmony is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 982 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harmony <1>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Harmony
      • From Hesper to Harmony
    • Bratsberg
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Lanesboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Whalan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whalan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whalan
      • Whalan is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Whalan <1>
    • Granger
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • 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 Hesper to Granger
    • Peterson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peterson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
      • Peterson is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 198 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peterson <1>
    • Preston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Rushford Village
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rushford Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushford Village
      • Rushford Village is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • South Rushford
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
  • Houston County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hesper, with the one closest to Hesper listed first.
    • Riceford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Grove
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Spring Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Grove <1>
    • Bee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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 Hesper to Bee
    • Willington Grove
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Wilmington
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Wilmington. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
      • Wilmington is located in Houston County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Wilmington
      • From Hesper to Wilmington
    • Yucatan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Yucatan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yucatan
      • Yucatan is located in Houston County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Yucatan
      • From Hesper to Yucatan
    • Eitzen
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Caledonia
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Houston
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Money Creek
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Reno
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Brownsville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Winona County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hesper, with the one closest to Hesper listed first.
    • Clyde
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Troy
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crawford County (WI)
    • De Soto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Vernon County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Hesper, with the one closest to Hesper listed first.
    • Genoa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Stoddard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Hesper ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hesper.

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

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

  • Hesper Public Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Hesper Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hesper Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hesper Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Salveson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salveson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salveson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fawcett Farm Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fawcett Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fawcett Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mabel Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mabel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mabel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bellview Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bellview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bellview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Garness Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Garness Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Garness Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Highland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Burr Oak Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Burr Oak Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Burr Oak Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (320 more) ...
    • Seegmiller Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seegmiller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seegmiller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Seegmiller Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Seegmiller Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Seegmiller Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Egge Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Egge Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Egge 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 Hesper had a population of 229 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Mabel
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Newhouse
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newhouse have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newhouse
    • Newhouse is located in Houston County (MN)
  • Burr Oak
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Locust
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust
    • Locust is located in Winneshiek County
  • Highlandville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Prosper
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prosper have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prosper
    • Prosper is located in Fillmore County (MN)
  • Newburg
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Riceford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Springwater
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwater
    • Springwater is located in Winneshiek County
  • Quandahl
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quandahl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quandahl
    • Quandahl is located in Allamakee County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Quandahl
    • From Hesper to Quandahl
  • Spring Grove
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
    • Spring Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,262 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Grove <1>
  • Lenora
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lenora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lenora
    • Lenora is located in Fillmore County (MN)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Canton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • 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>
    • Bluffton
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bee
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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 Hesper to Bee

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

Newspapers Published in Hesper ...

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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hesper.

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

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 websites either 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 Hesper:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hesper. 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 Hesper, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hesper) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hesper. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4863, Longitude: -91.7696    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025