RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Calhoun County >> RandsIndex...

Welcome to Rands ...

Rands is located in Calhoun County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rands, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1891.

Rands is 1,180 feet [360 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Rands lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Communities Also Named Rands ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Rands - they are located in Idaho and Maine.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rands.

Communities near Rands ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rands.

  • Rockwell City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lake City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Manson
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Glidden
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glidden have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glidden
    • Glidden is located in Carroll County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,090 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Glidden <3>
  • Gowrie
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gowrie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gowrie
    • Gowrie is located in Webster County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 954 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gowrie <3>
  • Pomeroy
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Churdan
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Callender
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Lohrville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Farnhamville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farnhamville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farnhamville
    • Farnhamville is located in Calhoun County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rands. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rands.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rands. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rands.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rands. See our Newspapers Page for Rands.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rands ...

Looking for more information about Rands? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Rands, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Rands.

Adding Rands to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rands in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Rands was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Rands post office opened in 1891.

We also found Rands in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rands.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Calhoun, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rands - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/