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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 Riverside (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 Riverside. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 north 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.

Riverside is located in Washington 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 Washington County: Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk & Louisa.

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

  • Washington County     (The home county of Riverside)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Kalona
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kalona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalona
      • Kalona is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,560 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalona <2>
    • Ainsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ainsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainsworth
      • Ainsworth is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 577 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ainsworth <2>
    • Washington
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Wellman
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wellman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wellman
      • Wellman is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wellman <2>
    • Havre
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Havre. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havre
      • Havre is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Havre
      • From Riverside to Havre
    • West Chester
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chester
      • West Chester is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Crawfordsville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Nira
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nira. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nira
      • Nira is located in Washington County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nira
      • From Riverside to Nira
    • Coppock
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coppock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coppock
      • Coppock is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 48 people
    • Brighton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rubio
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rubio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rubio
      • Rubio is located in Washington County
  • Cedar County
  • Henry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Wayland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wayland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wayland
      • Wayland is located in Henry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wayland <2>
    • Olds
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Winfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Swedesburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mount Union
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Union have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Union
      • Mount Union is located in Henry County
      • Estimated population in 2017: 107 people
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Parnell
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parnell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parnell
      • Parnell is located in Iowa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 265 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parnell <2>
    • Williamsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamsburg
      • Williamsburg is located in Iowa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamsburg <2>
    • North English
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Amana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Conroy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conroy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conroy
      • Conroy is located in Iowa County
    • Middle Amana
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • South Amana
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Amana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Amana
      • South Amana is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for South Amana <2>
    • West Amana
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Millersburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Jefferson County
  • Johnson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • River Junction
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Hills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
      • Hills is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 834 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hills <2>
    • Lone Tree
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lone Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Tree
      • Lone Tree is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,384 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lone Tree <2>
    • Frytown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Williamstown
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Amish
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Iowa City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • University Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
      • University Heights is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,025 people
    • Midway ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
      • Midway is located in Johnson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Midway
      • From Riverside to Midway
    • Windham
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Cosgrove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Coralville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coralville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coralville
      • Coralville is located in Johnson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22,484 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coralville <2>
  • Keokuk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Keota
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Kinross
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kinross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinross
      • Kinross is located in Keokuk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Talleyrand
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Harper
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harper have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harper
      • Harper is located in Keokuk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • South English
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Richland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Webster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Webster have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
      • Webster is located in Keokuk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Linn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Western
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ely
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ely have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ely
      • Ely is located in Linn County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,382 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ely <2>
    • Lincolnway Village
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincolnway Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincolnway Village
      • Lincolnway Village is located in Linn County
    • Walford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Louisa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Gladwin
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gladwin. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladwin
      • Gladwin is located in Louisa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gladwin
      • From Riverside to Gladwin
    • Cotter
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotter
      • Cotter is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
    • Columbus Junction
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbus Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus Junction
      • Columbus Junction is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,810 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Columbus Junction <2>
    • Columbus City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Columbus City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Columbus City
      • Columbus City is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 371 people
    • Fredonia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredonia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredonia
      • Fredonia is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
    • Wyman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Letts
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Grandview
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
      • Grandview is located in Louisa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 519 people
    • Wapello
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Muscatine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside listed first.
    • Conesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Nichols
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nichols have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
      • Nichols is located in Muscatine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 358 people
    • West Liberty
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Liberty have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Liberty
      • West Liberty is located in Muscatine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,734 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Liberty <2>
    • Atalissa
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Fruitland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Moscow
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Muscatine
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muscatine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscatine
      • Muscatine is located in Muscatine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,523 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Muscatine <2>
    • Wilton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Muscatine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,800 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilton <2>
    • South Towne Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Towne Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Towne Park
      • South Towne Park is located in Muscatine County

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

Cemeteries Near Riverside ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Riverside.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Riverside, with the one closest to Riverside 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 Riverside had a population of 608 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Riverside had a population of 1,021 people.

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

  • Iowa Junction ‑ Historic
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Junction
    • Iowa Junction is located in Washington County
  • River Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Richmond
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond
    • Richmond is located in Washington County
  • Kalona
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kalona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalona
    • Kalona is located in Washington County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,560 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalona <2>
  • Lone Tree
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lone Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Tree
    • Lone Tree is located in Johnson County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,384 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lone Tree <2>
  • Sharon Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharon Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharon Center
    • Sharon Center is located in Johnson County
  • Amish
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Midway ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Midway. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Midway is located in Johnson County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Midway
    • From Riverside to Midway
  • Iowa City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Windham
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Lexington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lexington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Lexington is located in Washington County
  • Washington
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Ainsworth
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ainsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ainsworth
      • Ainsworth is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 577 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ainsworth <2>
    • Conesville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Cosgrove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Riverside ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Riverside.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 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 Riverside:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Riverside, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Riverside) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Riverside. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4814, Longitude: -91.5800    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025