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 Apple Valley (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 Apple Valley. 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 Apple Valley ...
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 Apple Valley: Apple Vly. (or less commonly used: Apple Vally. or Apple Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Apple Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Apple Valley.
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 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.
Apple Valley is located in Dakota County.
To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Dakota County: Goodhue, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Washington & Pierce (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Apple Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Apple Valley:
- Dakota County (The home county of Apple Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Burnsville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Nicols
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nicols is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
- Rosemount
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Eagan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Lakeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Coates
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Coates is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
- Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
- Inver Grove Heights
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Farmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Mendota Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Mendota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sunfish Lake
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Eureka Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Eureka Center is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
- Anoka County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Columbia Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hilltop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Hilltop is located in Anoka County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
- Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
- Fridley
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Spring Lake Park
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Circle Pines
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lexington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Coon Creek
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
- Blaine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Centerville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Lino Lakes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Coon Rapids
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Carver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Chanhassen
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Chaska
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Carver
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hazeltine
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hazeltine is located in Carver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
- Dahlgren
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Dahlgren is located in Carver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
- Victoria
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Gotha
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Gotha is located in Carver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
- Cologne
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Waconia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Goodhue County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Stanton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Stanton is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Cannon Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dennison
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Wangs
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Wangs is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
- Welch
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Creek
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Creek is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Creek
- White Rock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- White Rock is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Hennepin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Bloomington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Richfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Edina
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Eden Prairie
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Minneapolis
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hopkins
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Louis Park
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Minnetonka Mills
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
- Golden Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Minnetonka
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Anthony
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Deephaven
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Le Sueur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Heidelberg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
- Montgomery
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Ramsey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Highwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Highwood is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
- Saint Paul
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Falcon Heights
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Lauderdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
- Roseville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Little Canada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- North Saint Paul
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Cardigan Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
- Maplewood
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Arden Hills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Gem Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
- New Brighton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Rice County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Webster
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Northfield
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Trondjem
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Trondjem is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
- Dundas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Lonsdale
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millersburg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Millersburg is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Wheatland
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Wheatland is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Cannon City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Cannon City is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
- Nerstrand
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Savage
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Credit River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Credit River is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
- Prior Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Elko
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Shakopee
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Elko New Market
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Elko New Market is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
- New Market
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Marystown
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Marystown is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
- Saint Patrick
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
- Jordan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- New Prague
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Saint Paul Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Newport
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Cottage Grove
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Landfall
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Landfall is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Woodbury
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Oakdale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Afton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Elmo
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Springs
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Springs is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
- Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
- Birchwood Village
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
- Lake Saint Croix Beach
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Saint Croix Beach is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Saint Croix Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,071 people
- Saint Marys Point
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Pierce County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Prescott
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Prescott is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,279 people
- River Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- River Falls is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,306 people
- Trimbelle
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Trimbelle is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimbelle
- Saint Croix County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Hudson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
- North Hudson
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Apple Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Apple Valley.
Cemeteries Near Apple Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Apple Valley.
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 Apple Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Apple Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Lebanon Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- The St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
- Highland Cemetery
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Christ Luthern Church Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Pleasant View Memorial Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Evergreen Point Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Lakeville Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Bloomington Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- All Saints Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Continue List (284 more) ...
- Corinthian Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Farmington.
- The St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Michael's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83459 <2>
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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.<3>
While we didn't find Apple Valley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Apple Valley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Apple Valley, with the one closest to Apple Valley listed first.
- Nicols
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Nicols is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
- Lakeville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Rosemount
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Rich Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Rich Valley is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Valley
- Farmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Pine Bend
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pine Bend is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bend
- Bloomington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Mendota
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Bloomington Ferry
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Bloomington Ferry is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington Ferry
- Credit River
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Credit River is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
- Richfield
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Barden
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Barden is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barden
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Prior Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Saint Paul Park
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Vermillion
(12 miles [19.3 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 Apple Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Apple Valley.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Apple Valley ...
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 458 newspapers that have been published in the area around Apple Valley.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Apple Valley. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Apple Valley and those printed in the larger area surrounding Apple Valley.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 23 miles [37 km]<4> of Apple Valley.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Apple Valley:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Dakota County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anoka County
- Carver County
- Goodhue County
- Hennepin County
- Le Sueur County
- Ramsey County
- Rice County
- Scott County
- Washington County
- Pierce County
- Saint Croix County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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> | 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 Apple Valley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Apple Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |