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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 Winona Lake (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 Winona Lake. 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 Winona Lake ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Winona Lake: Winona Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Winona Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Winona Lake.

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

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Winona Lake is located in Kosciusko County.

To see how the shape of Indiana's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Kosciusko County: Elkhart, Fulton, Marshall, Noble, Wabash & Whitley.

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

  • Kosciusko County     (The home county of Winona Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Arrowhead Park
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Arrowhead Park is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowhead Park
    • Pierceton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Claypool
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Leesburg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Sidney
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Sidney is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • North Webster
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Clunette
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
    • Burket
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Burket is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burket
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
    • Atwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
    • Silver Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Etna Green
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Mentone
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Allen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Arcola
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Ari
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Ari is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ari
    • Aboite
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Aboite is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aboite
    • Dunn Mill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Dunn Mill is located in Allen County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn Mill
  • Elkhart County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Gravelton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Gravelton is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gravelton
    • Nappanee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • New Paris
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Bainter Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Bainter Town is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bainter Town
    • Benton
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Benton is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
    • Foraker
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Foraker is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foraker
    • Millersburg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Southwest
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Southwest is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Southwest
    • Goshen
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Wakarusa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunlap
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Dunlap is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunlap
    • Jamestown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jamestown is located in Elkhart County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamestown
  • Fulton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Akron
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Disko
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Disko is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Disko
    • Athens
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Athens is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Athens
    • Rochester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Fulton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Leiters Ford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Leiters Ford is located in Fulton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leiters Ford
  • Huntington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Bippus
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Bippus is located in Huntington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bippus
    • Goblesville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Goblesville is located in Huntington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goblesville
    • Andrews
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Huntington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Roanoke
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Bowerstown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Bowerstown is located in Huntington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowerstown
    • Harlansburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Harlansburg is located in Huntington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlansburg
  • LaGrange County
    • Topeka
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Marshall County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Old Tip Town
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Old Tip Town is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Tip Town
    • Tippecanoe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Bourbon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Argos
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Argos is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argos
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,619 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Argos <1>
    • Bremen
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Plymouth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Linkville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Linkville is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linkville
    • Harris
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Harris is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
    • La Paz
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • La Paz is located in Marshall County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Paz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
  • Miami County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Gilead
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Gilead is located in Miami County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilead
    • Pettysville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Pettysville is located in Miami County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pettysville
    • Macy
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Deedsville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Deedsville is located in Miami County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deedsville
    • Denver
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Noble County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Wilmot
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Wilmot is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
    • Indian Village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Indian Village is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
    • Cromwell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimmell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Wolf Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Wolf Lake is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
    • Merriam
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Merriam is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merriam
    • Ligonier
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Port Mitchell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Port Mitchell is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Mitchell
    • Green Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Green Center is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Center
    • Albion
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Wawaka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Cosperville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Cosperville is located in Noble County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosperville
  • Saint Joseph County
    • Wyatt
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wabash County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Liberty Mills
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Liberty Mills is located in Wabash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Mills
    • North Manchester
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Laketon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Servia
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Servia is located in Wabash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Servia
    • Roann
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Stockdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Stockdale is located in Wabash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockdale
    • Urbana
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lagro
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Wabash
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Richvalley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Richvalley is located in Wabash County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richvalley
  • Whitley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Winona Lake, with the one closest to Winona Lake listed first.
    • Larwill
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Larwill is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
    • Etna
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Etna is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Etna
    • Collamer
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Collamer is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collamer
    • Lorane
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Lorane is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lorane
    • South Whitley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Ormas
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Ormas is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormas
    • Cresco
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Cresco is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresco
    • Columbia City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Tri-Lakes
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Tri-Lakes is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tri-Lakes
    • Luther
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Luther is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
    • Collins
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Collins is located in Whitley County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collins
    • Churubusco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)

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

Cemeteries Near Winona Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Winona Lake.

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 Winona Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Winona Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Groves Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
  • Oakwood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Nye Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Union Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Highland Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clemmers - Fishers Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Circle Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Germantown Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Gospel Hill Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (224 more) ...
    • Pleasant Grove Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Mock Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Clunette Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<4>

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

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

  • Wooster
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Wooster is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wooster
  • Pierceton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Packerton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Packerton is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packerton
  • Palestine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Palestine is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palestine
  • Claypool
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Oswego
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Oswego is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswego
  • Leesburg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Sidney
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Sidney is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sidney
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
  • Burket
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Burket is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burket
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 195 people
  • Kinsey
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Kinsey is located in Kosciusko County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinsey
  • Larwill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Larwill is located in Whitley County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Larwill
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
  • North Webster
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clunette
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Clunette is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clunette
    • Atwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Atwood is located in Kosciusko County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwood
    • Silver Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Winona Lake ...

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 72 newspapers that have been published in the area around Winona Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Winona Lake, there are papers which were published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Winona Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Winona Lake:

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 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.
<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- Winona Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Winona Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.