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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 Roland (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 Roland. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Roland is located in Story 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 Story County: Boone, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Marshall & Polk.

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

  • Story County     (The home county of Roland)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Mackey
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mackey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mackey
      • Mackey is located in Boone County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mackey
      • From Roland to Mackey
    • Jordan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Boone
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Luther
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luther. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
      • Luther is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 133 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luther
      • From Roland to Luther
    • Centerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
      • Centerville is located in Boone County
    • Moingona
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Fraser
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fraser have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fraser
      • Fraser is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Madrid
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pilot Mound
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ogden
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogden have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogden
      • Ogden is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,985 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ogden <1>
    • Boxholm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boxholm have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxholm
      • Boxholm is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boxholm <1>
  • Dallas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • High Bridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for High Bridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Bridge
      • High Bridge is located in Dallas County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to High Bridge
      • From Roland to High Bridge
    • Xenia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Woodward
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Oakland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Popejoy
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • 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
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Randall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Ellsworth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jewell
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Stanhope
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stanhope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanhope
      • Stanhope is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 394 people
    • Kamrar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Blairsburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Stratford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stratford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stratford
      • Stratford is located in Hamilton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 692 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stratford <1>
    • Webster City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Garden City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
      • Garden City is located in Hardin County
    • Radcliffe
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Hubbard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hubbard have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hubbard
      • Hubbard is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 793 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hubbard <1>
    • Buckeye
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buckeye have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
      • Buckeye is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • New Providence
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Providence. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
      • New Providence is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Providence
      • From Roland to New Providence
    • Gifford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Union
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
      • Union is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
    • Owasa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Eldora
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldora have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldora
      • Eldora is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,571 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eldora <1>
    • Alden
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Whitten
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Eagle City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle City
      • Eagle City is located in Hardin County
    • Iowa Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Iowa Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Falls
      • Iowa Falls is located in Hardin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,940 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Iowa Falls <1>
  • Jasper County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Clyde
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clyde. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
      • Clyde is located in Jasper County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clyde
      • From Roland to Clyde
    • Baxter
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mingo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ira
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Roland, with the one closest to Roland listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Anthony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
      • Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
    • Clemons
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clemons have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
      • Clemons is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Bangor
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bangor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
      • Bangor is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bangor
      • From Roland to Bangor
    • State Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center
      • State Center is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,432 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for State Center <1>
    • Rhodes
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhodes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
      • Rhodes is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
    • Malta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
      • Malta is located in Marshall County
    • LaMoille
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Liscomb
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liscomb have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liscomb
      • Liscomb is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 296 people
    • Melbourne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Albion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Albion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
      • Albion is located in Marshall County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 493 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Albion <1>
    • Marietta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • State Center Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Center Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Center Junction
      • State Center Junction is located in Marshall County
    • Luray
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Luray. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
      • Luray is located in Marshall County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Luray
      • From Roland to Luray
  • Polk County
  • Webster County

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

Cemeteries Near Roland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Roland.

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

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

  • Roland Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Roland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Roland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fosen Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fosen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fosen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sheffield Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sheffield Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sheffield Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Brouhard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Brouhard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Brouhard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peerson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peerson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peerson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sowers Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sowers Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sowers Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Born Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Born Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Born Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mamirelund Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mamirelund Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mamirelund Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mamrelund Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • McCallsburg Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the McCallsburg Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the McCallsburg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bergen Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergen Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Boe Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)

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 Roland had a population of 171 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Roland had a population of 1,252 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Roland ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Roland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Roland:

The official website for Roland: www.cityofroland.org/

The official website for Story County: www.storycounty.com/

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 Roland, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Roland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Roland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1664, Longitude: -93.5006    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025