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 State Center (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 State Center. 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.
Name Variations for State Center ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for State Center: State Ctr. (or less commonly used: State Cen., State Cent. or State Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named State Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for State Center.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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 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.
State Center is located in Marshall County.
To see how the shape of Iowa's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Marshall County: Grundy, Hardin, Jasper, Poweshiek, Story & Tama.
Below are the counties that are near State Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to State Center:
- Marshall County (The home county of State Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Malta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Malta is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- LaMoille
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- LaMoille is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMoille
- Clemons
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Clemons is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
- Rhodes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rhodes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Melbourne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Anthony
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
- State Center Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Luray
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Luray is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Marietta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Bangor
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Bangor is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Albion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Haverhill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Conrad
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Beaman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Beaman is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Hamilton County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Randall
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Randall is located in Hamilton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Ellsworth
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Hardin County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Union
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Union is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Population from the 2020 Census: 373 people
- New Providence
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- New Providence is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Providence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 220 people
- Whitten
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Whitten is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitten
- Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
- Gifford
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Garden City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Hubbard
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Eldora
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Radcliffe
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Sherman
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Sherman is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherman
- Steamboat Rock
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Owasa
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Owasa is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Owasa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 41 people
- Buckeye
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Buckeye is located in Hardin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckeye
- Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
- Jasper County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Clyde
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Clyde is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde
- Baxter
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Ira
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Ira is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ira
- Mingo
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Green Castle
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Green Castle is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Castle
- Goddard
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Goddard is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goddard
- Valeria
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Valeria is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valeria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 58 people
- Lambs Grove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Lambs Grove is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 165 people
- Newton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Colfax
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oswalt
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Oswalt is located in Jasper County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswalt
- Kellogg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Loring
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Loring is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loring
- Elkhart
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Santiago
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Santiago is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
- Alleman
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Alleman is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alleman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 447 people
- Bondurant
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Mitchellville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Ankeny
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Sheldahl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Sheldahl is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldahl
- Population from the 2020 Census: 325 people
- Altoona
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Poweshiek County
- Grinnell
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Story County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Colo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Collins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Zearing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Fernald
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Fernald is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernald
- Iowa Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Iowa Center is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iowa Center
- Maxwell
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Nevada
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- McCallsburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- McCallsburg is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCallsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 320 people
- Shipley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Shipley is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shipley
- Roland
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Roland is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
- Cambridge
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Huxley
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Tama County
- The following are listed by their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Montour
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Garwin
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Garwin is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
- Gladbrook
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lincoln is located in Tama County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Tama
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Toledo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to State Center, see our County-by-County Page for State Center.
Cemeteries Near State Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of State Center.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for State Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for State Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Hillside Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Wilkey Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Nicholls Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Eden Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- County Home Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Clemons Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- St. Josephs Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Melbourne Memorial Garden Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Maple Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- LaMoille Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (271 more) ...
- Sacred Hearts Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Hartland Friends Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Friends Cemetery
- The Hartland Friends Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hartland Cemetery
- Colo Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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.<2>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that State Center had a population of 854 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, State Center had a population of 1,432 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from State Center, with the one closest to State Center listed first.
- Malta
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Malta is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
- Rhodes
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rhodes is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rhodes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Melbourne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- LaMoille
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- LaMoille is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaMoille
- Clemons
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Clemons is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clemons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
- Saint Anthony
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Anthony is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Anthony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
- State Center Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Bromley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Bromley is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bromley
- Colo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Luray
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Luray is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luray
- Minerva
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Minerva is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minerva
- Marietta
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Marietta is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Moningers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Moningers is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moningers
- Collins
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Collins is located in Story County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Haverhill
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around State Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around State Center.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of State Center ...
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 191 newspapers that have been published in the area around State Center.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of State Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of State Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding State Center.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of State Center.
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 helpful 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 State Center:
- Websites specific to Iowa
- Pages specific to Marshall County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Grundy County
- Hamilton County
- Hardin County
- Jasper County
- Polk County
- Poweshiek County
- Story County
- Tama County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Iowa
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> | 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 State Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- State Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |