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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 Runnells (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 Runnells. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.

Runnells is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story & Warren.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Runnells)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Runnells, with the one closest to Runnells listed first.
    • Adelphi
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
      • Adelphi is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Adelphi
      • From Runnells to Adelphi
    • Carlisle
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Pleasant Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
      • Pleasant Hill is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,025 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Hill <2>
    • Rising Sun
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rising Sun
      • From Runnells to Rising Sun
    • Mitchellville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchellville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchellville
      • Mitchellville is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mitchellville <2>
    • Altoona
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Altoona have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Altoona is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Altoona <2>
    • Country Estate Village
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Estate Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Estate Village
      • Country Estate Village is located in Polk County
    • Santiago
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Santiago. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
      • Santiago is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Santiago
      • From Runnells to Santiago
    • Bondurant
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bondurant have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bondurant
      • Bondurant is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bondurant <2>
    • Berwick
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berwick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berwick
      • Berwick is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berwick
      • From Runnells to Berwick
    • Des Moines
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Marquisville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Clarke County
  • Dallas County
  • Jasper County
  • Lucas County
    • Williamson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williamson have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williamson
      • Williamson is located in Lucas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Williamson <2>
  • Madison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Runnells, with the one closest to Runnells listed first.
    • Saint Charles
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Charles have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Charles
      • Saint Charles is located in Madison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 656 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Charles <2>
    • Patterson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Mahaska County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Runnells, with the one closest to Runnells listed first.
    • Peoria
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Olivet
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Marion County
  • Marshall County
    • Rhodes
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rhodes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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
  • Story County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Runnells, with the one closest to Runnells listed first.
    • Maxwell
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Collins
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Cambridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cambridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cambridge
      • Cambridge is located in Story County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 796 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cambridge <2>
    • Iowa Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Huxley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huxley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huxley
      • Huxley is located in Story County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Huxley <2>
    • Slater
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Warren County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Runnells, with the one closest to Runnells listed first.
    • Hartford
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
      • Hartford is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
    • Palmyra
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sandyville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Ackworth
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ackworth have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ackworth
      • Ackworth is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 105 people
    • Indianola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Milo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Spring Hill
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65 people
    • Lakewood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Orillia
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Orillia. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orillia
      • Orillia is located in Warren County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Orillia
      • From Runnells to Orillia
    • Cumming
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumming have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumming
      • Cumming is located in Warren County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 413 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cumming <2>
    • Prole
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prole have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prole
      • Prole is located in Warren County
    • Churchville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Runnells ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Runnells.

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

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

  • Lowman Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Moore Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Moore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Moore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wicker Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wicker Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wicker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Murray Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Murray Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Murray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Swan Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spry Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spry Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vandalia Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vandalia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vandalia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hartford Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hartford Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hartford Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Powers - Warren Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Powers - Warren Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Powers - Warren Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Black Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Black Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Black Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Middle River Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Middle River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Middle River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Palmyra Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Palmyra Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Palmyra Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (324 more) ...
    • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rhinehart Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rhinehart Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rhinehart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Prairie Belle Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Belle Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Belle Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Runnells had a population of 296 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Runnells had a population of 498 people.

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

  • Ford
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ford
    • Ford is located in Warren County
  • Swan
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Morgin Valley ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Morgin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgin Valley
    • Morgin Valley is located in Marion County
  • Vandalia
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Adelphi
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Adelphi. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adelphi
    • Adelphi is located in Polk County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Adelphi
    • From Runnells to Adelphi
  • Hartford
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford
    • Hartford is located in Warren County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartford <2>
  • Percy ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Percy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Percy
    • Percy is located in Marion County
  • Palmyra
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Ivy
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ivy have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivy
    • Ivy is located in Polk County
  • Carlisle
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hastie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hastie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastie
    • Hastie is located in Polk County
  • Prairie City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Rising Sun
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
      • Rising Sun is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rising Sun
      • From Runnells to Rising Sun
    • Levey
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Levey have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Levey
      • Levey is located in Polk County
    • Avon
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Avon have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Avon is located in Polk County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Runnells ...

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 48 newspapers that have been published in the area around Runnells.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Runnells. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Runnells and those printed in the larger area surrounding Runnells.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6> of Runnells.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Runnells:

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

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Runnells, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Runnells) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Runnells. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5119, Longitude: -93.3577    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025