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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 Okoboji (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 Okoboji. 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 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.

Okoboji is located in Dickinson 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 Dickinson County: Clay, Emmet, Osceola & Jackson (MN).

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

  • Dickinson County     (The home county of Okoboji)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Arnolds Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Wahpeton
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahpeton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Wahpeton is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • West Okoboji
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Okoboji have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Okoboji
      • West Okoboji is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
    • Spirit Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Milford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Orleans
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
      • Orleans is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 591 people
    • Old Town
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Old Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Town
      • Old Town is located in Dickinson County
    • Lake Park
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Superior
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
      • Superior is located in Dickinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <1>
    • Terril
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Fostoria
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Langdon
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Spencer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Everly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Everly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Dickens
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Royal
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Greenville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Rossie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rossie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Gillett Grove
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Cornell
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Webb
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Emmet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Estherville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Estherville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estherville
      • Estherville is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,587 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Estherville <1>
    • Wallingford
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Gruver
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gruver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gruver
      • Gruver is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Dolliver
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dolliver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolliver
      • Dolliver is located in Emmet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dolliver <1>
    • Hoprig
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoprig. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoprig
      • Hoprig is located in Emmet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hoprig
      • From Okoboji to Hoprig
  • O'Brien County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Hartley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Moneta
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneta
      • Moneta is located in O'Brien County
    • Sanborn
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Harris
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • May City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Ocheyedan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Allendorf
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Melvin
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Melvin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
    • Cloverdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Sibley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Sibley is located in Osceola County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,586 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sibley <1>
  • Palo Alto County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Ruthven
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Graettinger
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Ayrshire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayrshire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Emmetsburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emmetsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Jackson County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Sioux Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Petersburg
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Petersburg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Petersburg
      • From Okoboji to Petersburg
    • Jackson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Lakefield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakefield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakefield
      • Lakefield is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lakefield <1>
    • Alpha
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alpha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
      • Alpha is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
    • Okabena
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Heron Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heron Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heron Lake
      • Heron Lake is located in Jackson County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 643 people
    • Wilder
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Martin County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Dunnell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dunnell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunnell
      • Dunnell is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
    • Ceylon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceylon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceylon
      • Ceylon is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 337 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ceylon <1>
    • Sherburn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sherburn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherburn
      • Sherburn is located in Martin County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sherburn <1>
  • Nobles County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Okoboji, with the one closest to Okoboji listed first.
    • Round Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Lake
      • Round Lake is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Round Lake <1>
    • Brewster
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Worthington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Org
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Bigelow
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bigelow have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bigelow
      • Bigelow is located in Nobles County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people

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

Cemeteries Near Okoboji ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Okoboji.

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

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

  • Rose Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lakeland Memory Gardens Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeland Memory Gardens Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeland Memory Gardens Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Margaret Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Margaret Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Margaret Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Milford Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Milford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Milford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Excelsior Twp. Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Excelsior Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Excelsior Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Richland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Richland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Richland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Sioux Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Sioux Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Sioux Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Silver Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Silver Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Silver Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Loon Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Loon Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Loon Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Westport Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Westport Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Westport Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (104 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Okoboji had a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Okoboji had a population of 803 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Okoboji ...

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 126 newspapers that have been published in the area around Okoboji.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Okoboji, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Okoboji.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Okoboji:

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

The official website for Dickinson County: www.co.dickinson.ia.us/

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

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 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>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>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.
<5>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 Okoboji, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Okoboji) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Okoboji. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3869, Longitude: -95.1481    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025