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 Northwood (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 Northwood. 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 Northwood ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Northwood was referred to as Northwood Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Northwood. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Northwood.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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.
Northwood is located in Worth County and is the County Seat.
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 Worth County: Cerro Gordo, Mitchell, Winnebago, Freeborn (MN) & Mower (MN).
Below are the counties that are near Northwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Northwood:
- Worth County (The home county of Northwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Kensett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kensett is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Bolan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Silver Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Manly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grafton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
- Hanlontown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hanlontown is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanlontown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Joice
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Joice is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joice
- Population from the 2020 Census: 209 people
- Fertile
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cerro Gordo County
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Plymouth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Plymouth is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Plymouth Junction
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Plymouth Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth Junction
- Creamery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Creamery is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creamery
- Rock Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Rock Falls is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
- Mason City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mason City Junction
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Mason City Junction is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City Junction
- Portland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Portland is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portland
- Cameron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Ventura
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Burchinal
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
- Floyd County
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Nora Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Rudd
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Rockford
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Hancock County
- Garner
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchell County
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Carpenter
(10 miles [16.1 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
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Toeterville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Mitchell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Mitchell is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 128 people
- Rock Creek
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Rock Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Stacyville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Stacyville is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacyville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
- Osage
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Little Cedar
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Little Cedar is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Cedar
- Meyer
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Meyer is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meyer
- Orchard
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Orchard is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- New Haven
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- New Haven is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Haven
- Winnebago County
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Lake Mills
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Scarville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Leland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Leland is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 268 people
- Vinje
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Forest City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Thompson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Faribault County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Walters
(25 miles [40.2 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
- Kiester
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bricelyn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Freeborn County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Myrtle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Myrtle is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Glenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- London
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- London is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- Twin Lakes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Hayward
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Emmons
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Albert Lea
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Oakland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Oakland is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
- Conger
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Hollandale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Clarks Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Manchester
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Alden
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Mower County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Lyle
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Varco
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Varco is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Varco
- Austin
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Mapleview
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Mapleview is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Johnsburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Johnsburg is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsburg
- Rose Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Lansing
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lansing is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
- Adams
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Brownsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Taopi
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Taopi is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taopi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
- Elkton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Elkton is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Renova ‑ Historic
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Renova is located in Mower County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
- Steele County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Ellendale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Blooming Prairie
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Northwood, see our County-by-County Page for Northwood.
Cemeteries Near Northwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Northwood.
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 Northwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Northwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Seater Family Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Sunset Rest Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- South Shell Rock Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- North Shell Rock Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Dahlside Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Slosson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Stateline Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wanders Rest Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Elk Creek #1 Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Overholt Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- London & Deer Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Elk Creek #2 Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (204 more) ...
- Elk Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kensett Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Birdsal Family Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Northwood had a population of 859 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Northwood had a population of 1,958 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Northwood, with the one closest to Northwood listed first.
- Gordonsville
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Gordonsville is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gordonsville
- Deer Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Deer Creek is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
- Kensett
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Kensett is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kensett
- Population from the 2020 Census: 249 people
- Bolan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bolan is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolan
- Silver Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Silver Lake is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Myrtle
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Myrtle is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Myrtle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
- Glenville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Meltonville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Meltonville is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meltonville
- London
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- London is located in Freeborn County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London
- Somber
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Somber is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somber
- Manly
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Grafton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Carpenter
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Carpenter is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpenter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 108 people
- Otranto
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Otranto is located in Mitchell County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otranto
- Bristol
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Bristol is located in Worth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bristol
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Northwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Northwood.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Northwood ...
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 133 newspapers that have been published in the area around Northwood.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Northwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Northwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Northwood.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Northwood.
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 Northwood:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Worth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Cerro Gordo County
- Floyd County
- Hancock County
- Mitchell County
- Winnebago County
- Faribault County
- Freeborn County
- Mower County
- Steele County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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> | 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 Northwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Northwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |