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Nearest Communities to Marathon,
Listed County-By-County

The purpose of this page is to identify those communities that are closest to Marathon, on a County-by-County basis. To explain further, let's use the example from the Genealogy Helper Page for Marathon:

We have great-grandparents who lived in a small city in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

When doing our research, we make it a practice to expand our search by looking in neighboring counties in addition to 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 north contained their burial records. If we hadn't checked the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

Keep in mind that when we give a distance, it's a 'straight-line' distance from Marathon.<1>

If you're researching your genealogy, we hope that the following information helps.

Marathon is located in Buena Vista County.

The following 8 counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Buena Vista County: Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Ida, O'Brien, Palo Alto, Pocahontas & Sac.

Our Gazetteer shows that there are 75 communities within 40 miles [64.4 km]<1> of Marathon. Of these communities, 60 are located in counties other than Buena Vista County.

We usually exclude communities where we still need to verify their location,<2> but for the purpose of this page, we have included the unverified ('unver') and historic ('hist') communities.

After starting with the home county for Marathon (which is Buena Vista County), we list the counties in alphabetical order and for each of those counties, the closest communities are listed in order of their distance from Marathon

For the following list, only those counties that contain communities within 40 miles [64.4 km] are displayed.

  • Buena Vista County   (where Marathon resides)
    • County Website:   www.co.buena-vista.ia.us/
    • County Seat for Buena Vista:   Storm Lake
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Leverett
        (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leverett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leverett
        • Leverett is located in Buena Vista County
      • Albert City
        (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Sioux Rapids
        (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Rembrandt
        (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Truesdale
        (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Truesdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truesdale
        • Truesdale is located in Buena Vista County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 77 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Truesdale <4>
      • Linn Grove
        (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Newell
        (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
        • Newell is located in Buena Vista County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 859 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newell <4>
      • Sulphur Springs
        (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
        • Sulphur Springs is located in Buena Vista County
      • Storm Lake
        (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Continue List   (6 more) ...
        • Lakeside
          (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
          • Lakeside is located in Buena Vista County
          • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
        • Alta
          (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
          • Alta is located in Buena Vista County
          • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,916 people
          • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta <4>
        • Casino Beach
          (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
        • Elkton
          (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
          • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elkton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<5>
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
          • Elkton is located in Buena Vista County
          • Google driving directions:
          • From your current location to Elkton
          • From Marathon to Elkton
        • Juniata
          (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
        • Hanover
          (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hanover have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanover
          • Hanover is located in Buena Vista County
  • Calhoun County
    • County Seat for Calhoun:   Rockwell City
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Knoke
        (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knoke have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knoke
        • Knoke is located in Calhoun County
      • Pomeroy
        (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pomeroy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pomeroy
        • Pomeroy is located in Calhoun County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 599 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pomeroy <4>
      • Jolley
        (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lytton
        (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lytton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lytton
        • Lytton is located in Calhoun County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 285 people
  • Cherokee County
    • County Seat for Cherokee:   Cherokee
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Aurelia
        (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurelia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurelia
        • Aurelia is located in Cherokee County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 952 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurelia <4>
      • Larrabee
        (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Cherokee
        (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Onawa Junction
        (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onawa Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onawa Junction
        • Onawa Junction is located in Cherokee County
  • Clay County
    • County Website:   www.co.clay.ia.us/
    • County Seat for Clay:   Spencer
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Webb
        (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Maclay ‑ Historic
        (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maclay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maclay
        • Maclay is located in Clay County
      • Cornell
        (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Gillett Grove
        (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Greenville
        (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
        • Greenville is located in Clay County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <4>
      • Rossie
        (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossie
        • Rossie is located in Clay County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Dickens
        (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Peterson
        (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peterson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterson
        • Peterson is located in Clay County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 304 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peterson <4>
      • Royal
        (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
      • Spencer
        (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Birchwood Estates
        (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birchwood Estates have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Estates
        • Birchwood Estates is located in Clay County
      • Langdon
        (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Everly
        (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everly have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
      • Fostoria
        (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Dickinson County
  • Humboldt County
    • County Seat for Humboldt:   Dakota City
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Bradgate
        (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradgate have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradgate
        • Bradgate is located in Humboldt County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
      • Gilmore City
        (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilmore City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilmore City
        • Gilmore City is located in Humboldt County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 465 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilmore City <4>
      • Ottosen
        (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottosen have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottosen
        • Ottosen is located in Humboldt County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
  • O'Brien County
    • County Seat for O'Brien:   Primghar
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Waterman
        (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterman
        • Waterman is located in O'Brien County
      • Moneta
        (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneta have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
        • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
      • Sutherland
        (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sutherland have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sutherland
        • Sutherland is located in O'Brien County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 588 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sutherland <4>
      • Calumet
        (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Calumet have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calumet
        • Calumet is located in O'Brien County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Palo Alto County
    • County Seat for Palo Alto:   Emmetsburg
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Ayrshire
        (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayrshire have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayrshire
        • Ayrshire is located in Palo Alto County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayrshire <4>
      • Curlew
        (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mallard
        (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mallard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallard
        • Mallard is located in Palo Alto County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mallard <4>
      • Ruthven
        (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Emmetsburg
        (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmetsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmetsburg
        • Emmetsburg is located in Palo Alto County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,667 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emmetsburg <4>
      • Fallow
        (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fallow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fallow
        • Fallow is located in Palo Alto County
      • Rodman
        (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cylinder
        (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cylinder have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cylinder
        • Cylinder is located in Palo Alto County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
      • West Bend
        (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Bend
        • West Bend is located in Palo Alto County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 741 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Bend <4>
      • Osgood
        (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osgood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osgood
        • Osgood is located in Palo Alto County
      • Graettinger
        (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pocahontas County
    • County Seat for Pocahontas:   Pocahontas
    • Genealogy Websites   ...
    • Nearest Communities to Marathon   ...
      • These communities are listed by their distance from Marathon.
      • Laurens
        (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Ware
        (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ware have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ware
        • Ware is located in Pocahontas County
      • Havelock
        (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Havelock have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havelock
        • Havelock is located in Pocahontas County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Havelock <4>
      • Varina
        (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Ridotto
        (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridotto have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridotto
        • Ridotto is located in Pocahontas County
      • Plover
        (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Pocahontas
        (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pocahontas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pocahontas
        • Pocahontas is located in Pocahontas County
        • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
        • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pocahontas <4>
      • Rusk
        (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rusk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rusk
        • Rusk is located in Pocahontas County
      • Rubens Siding
        (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
        • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rubens Siding have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
        • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubens Siding
        • Rubens Siding is located in Pocahontas County
      • Continue List   (6 more) ...
        • Fonda
          (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
        • Westview
          (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westview have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westview
          • Westview is located in Pocahontas County
        • Rolfe
          (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
        • Palmer
          (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmer have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
          • Palmer is located in Pocahontas County
          • Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
          • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmer <4>
        • Blanden
          (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blanden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanden
          • Blanden is located in Pocahontas County
        • Lizard ‑ Historic
          (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
          • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lizard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
          • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lizard
          • Lizard is located in Pocahontas County
  • Sac County

Footnotes ...

<1>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Marathon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Marathon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8605, Longitude: -94.9822    
<2>Our data comes from many sources and some sources are more dependable than others. When we add communities to our Gazetteer, we try to verify that we have the correct location for the community. We mark a community as 'Unverified' when we aren't confident about our data and want to do further checking.

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 larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now.

Since our Gazetteer contains over 100,000 communities, verifying everything is going to take time. If you find an error or can help us to improve our accuracy, please let us know.
<3>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.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>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.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 19 Mar 2025