RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Story County >> Zenorsville >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Iowa

The Commemorative Quarter for Iowa





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 Zenorsville (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 Zenorsville. 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 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.

Zenorsville 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 Zenorsville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Zenorsville:

  • Story County     (The home county of Zenorsville)
  • Boone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Mackey
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
      • 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 Zenorsville to Mackey
    • Jordan
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Boone
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Luther
      (10 miles [16.1 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 Zenorsville to Luther
    • Centerville
      (11 miles [17.7 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
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Fraser
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • Pilot Mound
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Madrid
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ogden
      (16 miles [25.7 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
      (20 miles [32.2 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>
    • Beaver
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver
      • Beaver is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 50 people
    • Berkley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Berkley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berkley
      • Berkley is located in Boone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 33 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Berkley
      • From Zenorsville to Berkley
  • Dallas County
  • Greene County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Dana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dana. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana
      • Dana is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dana
      • From Zenorsville to Dana
    • Rippey
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Grand Junction
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Junction
      • Grand Junction is located in Greene County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 757 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Junction <1>
    • Paton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
  • Hamilton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Randall
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanhope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Jewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Ellsworth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Stratford
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Kamrar
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Blairsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Webster City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Williams
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
  • Hardin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Garden City
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Hubbard
      (25 miles [40.2 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 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 Zenorsville to New Providence
  • Jasper County
    • Clyde
      (29 miles [46.7 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 Zenorsville to Clyde
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (26 miles [41.8 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
      (28 miles [45.1 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
    • State Center
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 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
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Zenorsville, with the one closest to Zenorsville listed first.
    • Sheldahl
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Alleman
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Polk City Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Polk City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Elkhart
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Loring
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Andrews
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Herrold
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Ankeny
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
      • Ankeny is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <1>
    • Carney
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Carney. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carney
      • Carney is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Carney
      • From Zenorsville to Carney
    • Grimes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Johnston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
      • Johnston is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <1>
    • Saylorville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saylorville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saylorville
      • Saylorville is located in Polk County
  • Webster County

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

Cemeteries Near Zenorsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Zenorsville.

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

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

  • St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St.s Peter & Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mitchell Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mitchell Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mitchell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mackey Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mackey Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mackey Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gilbert Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gilbert Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gilbert Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South St. Petri Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South St. Petri Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South St. Petri Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Ontario Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ontario Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ontario Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Baldus Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Baldus Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Baldus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Center Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Olive Branch Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Olive Branch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Olive Branch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • College Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the College Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the College Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arrasmith Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arrasmith Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arrasmith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (237 more) ...
    • Born Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • 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.
    • St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Leininger Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leininger Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leininger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<4>

While we didn't find Zenorsville in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Zenorsville.

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

  • Gilbert
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Mackey
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • 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 Zenorsville to Mackey
  • Ontario
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ontario have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Ontario is located in Story County
  • Rosendale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Rosendale is located in Hamilton County
  • Ames
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Boone
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Story City
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Luther
    (10 miles [16.1 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 Zenorsville to Luther
  • Randall
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Kelley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Roland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Moingona
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Stanhope
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Nevada
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jewell
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Zenorsville ...

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 168 newspapers that have been published in the area around Zenorsville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Zenorsville, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Zenorsville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Zenorsville:

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

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>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 Zenorsville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Zenorsville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Zenorsville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1070, Longitude: -93.7179    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 13 Jul 2025