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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 Lake Mills (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 Lake Mills. 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.

Name Variations for Lake Mills ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lake Mills: Lk. Mills

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Lake Mills. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Lake Mills.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Lake Mills is located in Winnebago County.

To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Winnebago County: Cerro Gordo, Hancock, Kossuth, Worth, Faribault (MN) & Freeborn (MN).

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

  • Winnebago County     (The home county of Lake Mills)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Scarville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Vinje
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Thompson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Rake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Rake is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
    • Buffalo Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
  • Cerro Gordo County
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Crystal Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Garner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Woden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Duncan
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Britt
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Klemme
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Hutchins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Kossuth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • German Valley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Titonka
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
    • Lakota
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lakota is located in Kossuth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakota
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Carpenter
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Carpenter is located in Mitchell County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
    • Saint Ansgar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Worth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Bristol
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Joice
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Joice is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
    • Silver Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fertile
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Hanlontown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Hanlontown is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Northwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Kensett
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Kensett is located in Worth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
    • Manly
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bolan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Grafton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Faribault County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Kiester
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Kiester is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiester <1>
    • Walters
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Bricelyn
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Frost
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Frost is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frost
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frost <1>
    • Dell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Wells
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Elmore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Elmore is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
    • Easton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
  • Freeborn County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lake Mills, with the one closest to Lake Mills listed first.
    • Emmons
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
    • Twin Lakes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Conger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Glenville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Alden
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Alden is located in Freeborn County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 642 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alden <1>
    • Albert Lea
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Myrtle
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Manchester
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Hayward
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Freeborn
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • London
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Clarks Grove
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Mower County (MN)
    • Lyle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lyle is located in Mower County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 553 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lyle <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Lake Mills ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lake Mills.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Lake Mills - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Lake Mills covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Lake Mills had a population of 604 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Lake Mills had a population of 1,987 people.

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

  • Bristol
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Norman ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Norman is located in Winnebago County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norman
  • Somber
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Somber is located in Worth County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somber
  • Emmons
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
  • Leland
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Silver Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mansfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Mansfield is located in Freeborn County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mansfield
  • Twin Lakes
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Thompson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Forest City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Fertile
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kiester
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Kiester is located in Faribault County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kiester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 456 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kiester <1>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Amund
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Amund is located in Winnebago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amund
    • Northwood
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Gordonsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Lake Mills ...

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 111 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lake Mills.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Lake Mills. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Lake Mills and those printed in the larger area surrounding Lake Mills.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Lake Mills.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Lake Mills:

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 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.
<3>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 Lake Mills, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Lake Mills) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.