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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Bath (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 Bath. 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.

Bath is located in Freeborn 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 Freeborn County: Winnebago (IA), Worth (IA), Faribault, Mower, Steele & Waseca.

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

  • Freeborn County     (The home county of Bath)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Clarks Grove
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
    • Geneva
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Manchester
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
    • Freeborn
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollandale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Albert Lea
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Hayward
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Alden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Conger
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Conger is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
    • Glenville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Oakland
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Pemberton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Smiths Mill
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Saint Clair
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mapleton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Beauford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
    • Claremont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Hayfield
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Dodge Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Faribault County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Wells
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Wells is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,157 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wells <1>
    • Walters
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Walters is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
    • Minnesota Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Kiester
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Easton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Easton is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Bricelyn
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
    • Dell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Le Sueur County
    • Waterville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Mower County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Lansing
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Mapleview
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Mapleview is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Austin
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Waltham
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Brownsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Varco
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sargeant
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Rice County
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • New Richland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Vista
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Wilton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • Waldorf
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Waseca
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Alma City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Palmer
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Janesville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Elysian
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Winnebago County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Scarville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Mills
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Vinje
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Worth County (IA)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath listed first.
    • Silver Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Northwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Bristol
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Bath ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bath.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Bath, with the one closest to Bath 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Bath had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Hartland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
  • Clarks Grove
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Geneva
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • New Richland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Manchester
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Manchester is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Freeborn
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • River Point
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Lemond
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Lemond is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemond
  • Armstrong
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Armstrong is located in Freeborn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armstrong
  • Otisco
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Otisco is located in Waseca County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisco
  • Albert Lea
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Steele Center
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Alden
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Hayward
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Moscow
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Moscow is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow

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

Newspapers Published in Bath ...

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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bath.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Bath, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Bath.

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 Bath:

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 Bath, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bath) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.