RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Chickasaw County >> North Washington >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





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 North Washington (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 North Washington. 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 North Washington ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for North Washington: N. Washington

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 southwest 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 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.

North Washington is located in Chickasaw 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 Chickasaw County: Bremer, Butler, Fayette, Floyd, Howard, Mitchell & Winneshiek.

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

  • Chickasaw County     (The home county of North Washington)
  • Bremer County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Washington, with the one closest to North Washington listed first.
    • Frederika
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frederika have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederika
      • Frederika is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 205 people
    • Horton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Seigel
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Seigel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seigel
      • Seigel is located in Bremer County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Seigel
      • From North Washington to Seigel
    • Plainfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Plainfield <3>
    • Tripoli
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tripoli have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tripoli
      • Tripoli is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tripoli <3>
    • Bremer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Sumner
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Waverly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Knittel
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Readlyn
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Readlyn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readlyn
      • Readlyn is located in Bremer County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 854 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Readlyn <3>
  • Butler County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Washington, with the one closest to North Washington listed first.
    • Greene
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Clarksville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarksville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarksville
      • Clarksville is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,333 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarksville <3>
    • Shell Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Rock
      • Shell Rock is located in Butler County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,268 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shell Rock <3>
  • Fayette County
  • Floyd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Washington, with the one closest to North Washington listed first.
    • Colwell
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colwell
      • Colwell is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Colwell <3>
    • Carrville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Charles City
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Floyd
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Oakwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Roseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Rudd
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Aureola
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aureola have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aureola
      • Aureola is located in Floyd County
    • Marble Rock
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marble Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marble Rock
      • Marble Rock is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 287 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marble Rock <3>
    • Rockford
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Nora Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nora Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nora Springs
      • Nora Springs is located in Floyd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,342 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nora Springs <3>
  • Howard County
  • Mitchell County
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Washington, with the one closest to North Washington listed first.
    • New Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Orchard
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
      • Orchard is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Osage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Little Cedar
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cedar
      • Little Cedar is located in Mitchell County
    • McIntire
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Mitchell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Rock Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Meyer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Stacyville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Ansgar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Ansgar have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Ansgar
      • Saint Ansgar is located in Mitchell County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,125 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Ansgar <3>
  • Winneshiek County
  • Fillmore County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from North Washington, with the one closest to North Washington listed first.
    • York
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for York. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for York
      • York is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to York
      • From North Washington to York
    • Granger
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granger
      • Granger is located in Fillmore County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Granger
      • From North Washington to Granger
  • Mower County (MN)

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

Cemeteries Near North Washington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of North Washington.

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

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

  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eggleston Farm Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eggleston Farm Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eggleston Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Deerfield Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Deerfield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Deerfield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Union Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rowley Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Boniface Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Boniface Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Boniface Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Children of Israel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Children of Israel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Children of Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Hampton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Hampton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Hampton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar View Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (227 more) ...
    • Sargeant Farm Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sargeant Farm Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sargeant Farm Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Patricks Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patricks Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patricks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Lutheran 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that North Washington had a population of 247 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, North Washington had a population of 137 people.

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

  • Devon
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Devon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devon
    • Devon is located in Chickasaw County
  • Deerfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Alta Vista
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alta Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta Vista
    • Alta Vista is located in Chickasaw County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Alta Vista <3>
  • Bassett
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ionia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • New Hampton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Chickasaw
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Elma
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Jerico
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Jerico. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerico
    • Jerico is located in Chickasaw County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Jerico
    • From North Washington to Jerico
  • Boyd
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boyd have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Boyd is located in Chickasaw County
  • Doubleday
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doubleday have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleday
    • Doubleday is located in Floyd County
  • Bradford
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Republic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Williamstown
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamstown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamstown
      • Williamstown is located in Chickasaw County
    • Lourdes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lourdes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lourdes
      • Lourdes is located in Howard County

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

Newspapers Published in North Washington ...

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 112 newspapers that have been published in the area around North Washington.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of North Washington, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for North Washington.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 North Washington:

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

The official website for Chickasaw County: www.chickasawcoia.org/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 from Point A (ie- North Washington) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in North Washington. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1208, Longitude: -92.4168    
<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 North Washington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025