RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Hennepin County >> Atwood >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Atwood (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 Atwood. 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 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.

Atwood is located in Hennepin 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 Hennepin County: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne & Wright.

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

  • Hennepin County     (The home county of Atwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Edina
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Edina is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52,477 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edina <1>
    • Bloomington
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Richfield
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Hopkins
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden Prairie
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Saint Louis Park
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Minnetonka Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
    • Minnetonka
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Golden Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Medicine Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Deephaven
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Greenwood is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 937 people
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Columbia Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltop
      (14 miles [22.5 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
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Spring Lake Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Coon Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Coon Rapids
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Circle Pines
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lexington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Blaine
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Anoka
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Centerville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Lino Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Chanhassen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Hazeltine
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Chaska
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Carver
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Dahlgren
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Cologne
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Waconia
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Gotha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Hydes Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Watertown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Mayer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Nicols
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Burnsville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Eagan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • Mendota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Lilydale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Apple Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • West Saint Paul
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Lakeville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Rosemount
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Le Sueur County
    • Heidelberg
      (28 miles [45.1 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
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Falcon Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lauderdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
    • Roseville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Paul
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • New Brighton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Highwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Highwood is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
    • Arden Hills
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Canada
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Mounds View
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Shoreview
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Webster
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Lonsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Trondjem
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
    • Wheatland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Northfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Millersburg
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Savage
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Shakopee
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Prior Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Credit River
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Marystown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Jordan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Saint Patrick
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Elko New Market
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • 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
    • Elko
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • New Market
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • New Prague
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Newport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Saint Paul Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Landfall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Cottage Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Woodbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Oakdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakdale is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
    • Birchwood Village
      (23 miles [37 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
    • 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
    • Willernie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Mahtomedi
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Elmo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Dellwood
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Atwood, with the one closest to Atwood listed first.
    • Delano
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockford
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanover
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Michael
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Albertville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Montrose
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Otsego
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • Prescott
      (28 miles [45.1 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
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • North Hudson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • 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 Atwood, see our County-by-County Page for Atwood.

Cemeteries Near Atwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Atwood.

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 Atwood - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Dawn Valley Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • B'nai Emet Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for B'nai Emet Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the B'nai Emet Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Richfield.
    • The B'nai Emet Cemetery has also been known as:
    • B'nai Abraham Cemetery
    • Bnai Emet Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2137751 <2>
  • Gemelus Chesed Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Richfield.
    • The Minneapolis Jewish Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Order Brith Abraham Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #82819 <2>
  • United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Richfield.
    • The United Hebrew Brotherhood Cemetery has also been known as:
    • United Hebrew Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83754 <2>
  • South Side Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Margaret Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Eden Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bloomington Ferry Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bloomington Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Assumption Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (307 more) ...
    • Shady Oak Lake Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Eden Prairie Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Lakewood Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)

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 Atwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Atwood.

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

  • Bloomington
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Rowland
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Rowland is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
  • Bloomington Ferry
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Bloomington Ferry is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington Ferry
  • Hopkins
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Richfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Eden Prairie
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Barden
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Barden is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barden
  • Saint Louis Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Minnetonka Mills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
  • Minnetonka
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Nicols
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Nicols is located in Dakota County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
  • Shakopee
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Chanhassen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Mendota
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Minneapolis
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Atwood ...

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 353 newspapers that have been published in the area around Atwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Atwood, there are papers which were published within 20 miles [32.2 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Atwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start 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 Atwood:

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 Atwood, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Atwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.