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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 Indianola (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 Indianola. 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.

Indianola is located in Warren 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 Warren County: Clarke, Dallas, Lucas, Madison, Marion & Polk.

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

  • Warren County     (The home county of Indianola)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Ackworth
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Spring Hill
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Palmyra
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Milo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Sandyville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Cool
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
      • Cool is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cool
      • From Indianola to Cool
    • Saint Marys
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
      • Saint Marys is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
    • Martensdale
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martensdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martensdale
      • Martensdale is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 470 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martensdale <2>
    • Prole
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County
    • Hartford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
    • Churchville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarke County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Liberty
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Woodburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodburn have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodburn
      • Woodburn is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 189 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodburn <2>
    • Osceola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Murray
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Clarke County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 681 people
  • Dallas County
  • Jasper County
  • Lucas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Lucas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucas
      • Lucas is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
    • Williamson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
      • Williamson is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamson <2>
    • Chariton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chariton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chariton
      • Chariton is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,103 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chariton <2>
    • Derby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
      • Derby is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 111 people
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Saint Charles
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <2>
    • Patterson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Truro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truro
      • Truro is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 501 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Truro <2>
    • East Peru
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for East Peru. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Peru
      • East Peru is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to East Peru
      • From Indianola to East Peru
    • Winterset
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Barney
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ord
      • Ord is located in Madison County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ord
      • From Indianola to Ord
    • Earlham
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Earlham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earlham
      • Earlham is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Earlham <2>
  • Marion County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Indianola, with the one closest to Indianola listed first.
    • Carlisle
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Norwalk
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <2>
    • Adelphi
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adelphi
      • From Indianola to Adelphi
    • Runnells
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <2>
    • Des Moines
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rising Sun
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rising Sun
      • From Indianola to Rising Sun
    • Commerce
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Commerce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Commerce
      • Commerce is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Commerce
      • From Indianola to Commerce
    • Country Estate Village
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Estate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Estate Village
      • Country Estate Village is located in Polk County
    • West Des Moines
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Des Moines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Des Moines
      • West Des Moines is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69,057 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Des Moines <2>
    • Windsor Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsor Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor Heights
      • Windsor Heights is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,735 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor Heights <2>
    • Altoona
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Altoona is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <2>
  • Union County

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

Cemeteries Near Indianola ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Indianola.

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

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

  • Indianola City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • IOOF Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Randolph Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Randolph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Randolph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ackworth Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ackworth Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ackworth Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Laverty Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Laverty Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Laverty Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hammondsburg Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hammondsburg Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hammondsburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Warren Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Warren Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Warren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North River Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hewitt Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hewitt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hewitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Milo IOOF Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milo IOOF Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milo IOOF Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scotch Ridge Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scotch Ridge Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scotch Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Webb Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Webb Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Webb Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (309 more) ...

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 Indianola had a population of 2,254 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Indianola had a population of 16,072 people.

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

  • Ackworth
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
    • Ackworth is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
  • Summerset
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerset have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset
    • Summerset is located in Warren County
  • Clarkson ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarkson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarkson
    • Clarkson is located in Warren County
  • Spring Hill
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
    • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
  • Milo
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Palmyra
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Sandyville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Saint Marys
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
    • Saint Marys is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 127 people
  • Cool
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cool. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cool
    • Cool is located in Warren County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Cool
    • From Indianola to Cool
  • Prole
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
    • Prole is located in Warren County
  • Wick
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wick have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wick
    • Wick is located in Warren County
  • Hartford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Hartford is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Indianola ...

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 87 newspapers that have been published in the area around Indianola.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Indianola. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Indianola and those printed in the larger area surrounding Indianola.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4> of Indianola.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Indianola:

The official website for Indianola: www.cityofindianola.com/

The official website for Warren County: www.co.warren.ia.us/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Indianola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Indianola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3634, Longitude: -93.5583    
<5>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.
<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 Indianola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025