RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Wright County >> Olaf >> 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 Olaf (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 Olaf. 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.

Olaf is located in Wright 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 Wright County: Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Kossuth & Webster.

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

  • Wright County     (The home county of Olaf)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Belmond
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Cornelia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornelia
      • Cornelia is located in Wright County
    • Clarion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Solberg ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Solberg
      • Solberg is located in Wright County
    • Holmes
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
      • Holmes is located in Wright County
    • Rowan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Galt
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Goldfield
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Eagle Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Dows
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Woolstock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woolstock
      • Woolstock is located in Wright County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
  • Cerro Gordo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Meservey
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meservey have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meservey
      • Meservey is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
    • Thornton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornton
      • Thornton is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
    • Swaledale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swaledale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swaledale
      • Swaledale is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Ventura
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ventura have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ventura
      • Ventura is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 706 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ventura <1>
    • Clear Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Burchinal
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burchinal
      • Burchinal is located in Cerro Gordo County
    • Rockwell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockwell
      • Rockwell is located in Cerro Gordo County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 979 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockwell <1>
    • Cameron
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cameron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
      • Cameron is located in Cerro Gordo County
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Alexander
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
      • Alexander is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
    • Latimer
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Latimer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Latimer
      • Latimer is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 463 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Latimer <1>
    • Coulter
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulter
      • Coulter is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Oakland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
      • Oakland is located in Franklin County
    • Popejoy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Popejoy have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Popejoy
      • Popejoy is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
    • Chapin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapin
      • Chapin is located in Franklin County
    • Sheffield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheffield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheffield
      • Sheffield is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,096 people
    • Hampton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hampton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hampton
      • Hampton is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hampton <1>
    • Bradford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bradford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bradford
      • Bradford is located in Franklin County
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Blairsburg
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blairsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blairsburg
      • Blairsburg is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 199 people
    • Williams
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Webster City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster City
      • Webster City is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,647 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Webster City <1>
  • Hancock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Kanawha
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Goodell
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
      • Goodell is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Klemme
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Klemme have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klemme
      • Klemme is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Klemme <1>
    • Corwith
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corwith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
      • Corwith is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
    • Britt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britt
      • Britt is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britt <1>
    • Duncan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duncan
      • Duncan is located in Hancock County
    • Garner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
      • Garner is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,031 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garner <1>
    • Crystal Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
      • Crystal Lake is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Woden
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Hardin County
    • Alden
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Humboldt County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Renwick
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hardy
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardy
      • Hardy is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
    • Thor
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thor
      • Thor is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 180 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thor <1>
    • Livermore
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livermore have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livermore
      • Livermore is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Arnold
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Humboldt County
    • Dakota City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Humboldt
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bode
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bode
      • Bode is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 286 people
    • Rutland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
      • Rutland is located in Humboldt County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
  • Kossuth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Lu Verne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lu Verne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lu Verne
      • Lu Verne is located in Kossuth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lu Verne <1>
    • Wesley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wesley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wesley
      • Wesley is located in Kossuth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Sexton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sexton
      • Sexton is located in Kossuth County
    • Irvington
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
      • Irvington is located in Kossuth County
    • Algona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Titonka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Titonka have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Titonka
      • Titonka is located in Kossuth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 433 people
  • Webster County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf listed first.
    • Vincent
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vincent have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vincent
      • Vincent is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
    • Badger
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Badger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Badger
      • Badger is located in Webster County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 534 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Badger <1>
  • Winnebago County
    • Forest City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Worth County
    • Fertile
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fertile have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertile
      • Fertile is located in Worth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 356 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fertile <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Olaf ...

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 127 newspapers that have been published in the area around Olaf.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Olaf, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Olaf.

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 helpful 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 Olaf:

Cemeteries Near Olaf ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Olaf.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Olaf, with the one closest to Olaf 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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Olaf had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Belmond
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Goodell
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodell
    • Goodell is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
  • Clarion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Klemme
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Klemme have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klemme
    • Klemme is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 455 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Klemme <1>
  • Holmes
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
    • Holmes is located in Wright County
  • Rowan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Renwick
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Galt
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Alexander
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alexander
    • Alexander is located in Franklin County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 159 people
  • Stilson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stilson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stilson
    • Stilson is located in Hancock County
  • Goldfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Corwith
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corwith have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corwith
    • Corwith is located in Hancock County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 245 people
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Britt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Britt
      • Britt is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Britt <1>
    • Hutchins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hutchins have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hutchins
      • Hutchins is located in Hancock County
    • Garner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garner
      • Garner is located in Hancock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,031 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garner <1>

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

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

The official website for Wright County: www.wrightcounty.org/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Olaf) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Olaf. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.8776, Longitude: -93.7165       In this case, the coordinates for Olaf have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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>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.
<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 Olaf, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2024
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: 07 Apr 2024