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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 Postville (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 Postville. 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.

A Few Details for Postville ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • The naming (or the toponymy) of Postville: Named after Joel Post (1806-1849), an early settler in this area.
  • Postville was settled in June 1843.
  • It was incorporated on March 11, 1873.

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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Postville is primarily located in Allamakee County. A portion of Postville extends into Clayton 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 Allamakee County: Clayton, Fayette, Winneshiek, Houston (MN), Crawford (WI) & Vernon (WI).

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

  • Allamakee County     (The home county of Postville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville listed first.
    • Volney
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Rossville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Waukon
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Ion
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ion. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ion
      • Ion is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ion
      • From Postville to Ion
    • Waterville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waterville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
      • Waterville is located in Allamakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
    • Elon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elon. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
      • Elon is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elon
      • From Postville to Elon
    • Lycurgus
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Lycurgus. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
      • Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Lycurgus
      • From Postville to Lycurgus
    • Waukon Junction
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Dalby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Harpers Ferry
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Quandahl
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Quandahl. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quandahl
      • Quandahl is located in Allamakee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Quandahl
      • From Postville to Quandahl
    • Lansing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
      • Lansing is located in Allamakee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lansing <1>
    • Dorchester
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
  • Chickasaw County
    • Lawler
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawler have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawler
      • Lawler is located in Chickasaw County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lawler <1>
  • Clayton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville listed first.
    • Hardin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hardin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
      • Hardin is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hardin
      • From Postville to Hardin
    • Luana
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luana have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luana
      • Luana is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luana <1>
    • Gunder
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Monona
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Watson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Watson
      • From Postville to Watson
    • Beulah
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beulah. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beulah
      • Beulah is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beulah
      • From Postville to Beulah
    • Farmersburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farmersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farmersburg
      • Farmersburg is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
    • Saint Olaf
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Olaf have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Olaf
      • Saint Olaf is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Olaf <1>
    • Elkader
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elkader have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkader
      • Elkader is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elkader <1>
    • Clayton Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Marquette
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • McGregor
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGregor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGregor
      • McGregor is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 826 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGregor <1>
    • Volga
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Volga have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
      • Volga is located in Clayton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
  • Fayette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville listed first.
    • Clermont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clermont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
      • Clermont is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clermont <1>
    • Elgin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Brainard
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Illyria
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • West Union
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Union have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • West Union is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Union <1>
    • Douglass
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Wadena
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Saint Lucas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Donnan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Donnan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnan
      • Donnan is located in Fayette County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Donnan
      • From Postville to Donnan
    • Fayette
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fayette have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fayette
      • Fayette is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fayette <1>
    • Hawkeye
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hawkeye. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawkeye
      • Hawkeye is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 399 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hawkeye
      • From Postville to Hawkeye
    • Randalia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randalia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randalia
      • Randalia is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Arlington
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arlington have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Arlington is located in Fayette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 393 people
  • Howard County
  • Winneshiek County
  • Houston County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville listed first.
    • Bee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bee. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
      • Bee is located in Houston County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bee
      • From Postville to Bee
    • Eitzen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Crawford County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville listed first.
    • Prairie du Chien
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Bridgeport
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Eastman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eastman have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
      • Eastman is located in Crawford County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
    • De Soto
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ferryville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferryville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
      • Ferryville is located in Crawford County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
  • Grant County (WI)

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

Cemeteries Near Postville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Postville.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Postville, with the one closest to Postville 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Postville had a population of 884 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Postville had a population of 2,033 people.

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

  • Hardin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hardin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hardin
    • Hardin is located in Clayton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hardin
    • From Postville to Hardin
  • Luana
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luana have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luana
    • Luana is located in Clayton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luana <1>
  • Castalia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castalia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castalia
    • Castalia is located in Winneshiek County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 156 people
  • Clermont
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clermont have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clermont
    • Clermont is located in Fayette County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 580 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clermont <1>
  • Frankville
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Frankville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frankville
    • Frankville is located in Winneshiek County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Frankville
    • From Postville to Frankville
  • Dover Mills
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dover Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dover Mills
    • Dover Mills is located in Fayette County
  • Elgin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Monona
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Volney
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Ossian
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Washington Prairie
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Washington Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Washington Prairie
    • Washington Prairie is located in Winneshiek County
  • Brainard
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Watson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Watson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watson
      • Watson is located in Clayton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Watson
      • From Postville to Watson
    • Rossville
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldorado
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
      • Eldorado is located in Fayette County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Postville ...

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 152 newspapers that have been published in the area around Postville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Postville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Postville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Postville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Postville.

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 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 Postville:

The official website for Postville: www.cityofpostville.com/

The official website for Allamakee County: www.co.allamakee.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>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.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>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 Postville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>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- Postville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Postville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0856, Longitude: -91.5684    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025