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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 Walhalla (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 Walhalla. 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 Walhalla ...

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 have occurred.

Walhalla has also been known as: Butter's Junction.

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

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

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

Walhalla is located in Mason County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Mason County: Lake, Manistee, Newaygo & Oceana.

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

  • Mason County     (The home county of Walhalla)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walhalla, with the one closest to Walhalla listed first.
    • Tallman
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
      • Tallman is located in Mason County
      • Tallman has also been known as:
      • Weaver
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Tallman
      • From Walhalla to Tallman
    • Batcheller ‑ Historic
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
      • Batcheller is located in Mason County
      • Batcheller has also been known as:
      • Turtle Lake
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Batcheller
      • From Walhalla to Batcheller
    • Custer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Millerton ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Millerton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Millerton
      • From Walhalla to Millerton
    • Carr
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Elm Flats ‑ Historic
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elm Flats. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Flats
      • Elm Flats is located in Mason County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elm Flats
      • From Walhalla to Elm Flats
    • Fountain
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Scottville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Sugar Grove
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wiley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Amber
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Free Soil
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Meisenheimer Corners
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
  • Manistee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walhalla, with the one closest to Walhalla listed first.
    • Dublin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Udell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Wellston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Filer City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Oak Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Eastlake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Manistee
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Parkdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Brethren
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brethren have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brethren
      • Brethren is located in Manistee County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brethren <2>
    • Douglas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas
      • Douglas is located in Manistee County
    • Chief Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Chief Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
      • Chief Lake is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Chief Lake
      • From Walhalla to Chief Lake
    • Norwalk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Norwalk. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
      • Norwalk is located in Manistee County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Norwalk
      • From Walhalla to Norwalk
    • Kaleva
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaleva have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaleva
      • Kaleva is located in Manistee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 466 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaleva <2>
  • Newaygo County
  • Oceana County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walhalla, with the one closest to Walhalla listed first.
    • Walkerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Cobmoosa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cobmoosa. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobmoosa
      • Cobmoosa is located in Oceana County
      • Cobmoosa has also been known as:
      • Cob Moo Sa
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cobmoosa
      • From Walhalla to Cobmoosa
    • Elbridge
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Elbridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elbridge
      • Elbridge is located in Oceana County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Elbridge
      • From Walhalla to Elbridge
    • Pentwater
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • French Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
      • French Town is located in Oceana County
    • Hart
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
      • Hart is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <2>
    • Mears
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Ferry
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hesperia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hesperia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hesperia
      • Hesperia is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 936 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hesperia <2>
    • Shelby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • New Era
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Era have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
      • New Era is located in Oceana County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Era <2>
  • Osceola County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Walhalla, with the one closest to Walhalla listed first.
    • Ashton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Ashton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
      • Ashton is located in Osceola County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Ashton
      • From Walhalla to Ashton
    • Reed City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Wexford County
    • Hoxeyville ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hoxeyville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoxeyville
      • Hoxeyville is located in Wexford County
      • Hoxeyville has also been known as:
      • Clay Hill
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hoxeyville
      • From Walhalla to Hoxeyville

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

Cemeteries Near Walhalla ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Walhalla.

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

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

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.<6>

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

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

  • Tallman
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Tallman. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallman
    • Tallman is located in Mason County
    • Tallman has also been known as:
    • Weaver
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Tallman
    • From Walhalla to Tallman
  • Batcheller ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Batcheller. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Batcheller
    • Batcheller is located in Mason County
    • Batcheller has also been known as:
    • Turtle Lake
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Batcheller
    • From Walhalla to Batcheller
  • Custer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Fountain
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Sauble
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Sauble. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauble
    • Sauble is located in Lake County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Sauble
    • From Walhalla to Sauble
  • Scottville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Fern
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fern have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern
    • Fern is located in Mason County
    • Fern has also been known as:
    • Adamsville
  • Sugar Grove
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Wiley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Amber
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Riverton
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverton have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
    • Riverton is located in Mason County
  • Free Soil
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Crystal Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
      • Crystal Valley is located in Oceana County
    • Baldwin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Wolf Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Lake County

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

Newspapers Published in Walhalla ...

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 81 newspapers that have been published in the area around Walhalla.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Walhalla, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Walhalla.

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 professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Walhalla:

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

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Walhalla) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Walhalla. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9502, Longitude: -86.1060    
<6>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 Walhalla, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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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.

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025