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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 Battle 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 Battle 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 Battle 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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

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

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 southwest 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 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 west 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.

Battle Lake is located in Otter Tail County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Battle Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Battle Lake, with the one closest to Battle Lake listed first.
    • Clitherall
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <2>
    • Nirvana
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Underwood
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
    • Vining
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Amor
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Amor
      • From Battle Lake to Amor
    • Maine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
      • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Maine
      • From Battle Lake to Maine
    • Ottertail
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
      • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <2>
    • Dalton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Henning
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
    • Leaf City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
    • Urbank
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Richville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
      • Richville is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richville <2>
    • Edwards
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Becker County
    • Frazee
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Frazee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazee
      • Frazee is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,381 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Frazee <2>
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Battle Lake, with the one closest to Battle Lake listed first.
    • Melby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Millerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Evansville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Brandon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Garfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Miltona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Carlos
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlos have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlos
      • Carlos is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 490 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carlos <2>
    • Rose City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
    • Belle River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Battle Lake, with the one closest to Battle Lake listed first.
    • Ashby
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>
    • Erdahl
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Elbow Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Wendell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Barrett
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
  • Todd County
    • Hewitt
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Wilkin County
    • Foxhome
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foxhome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhome
      • Foxhome is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people

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

Cemeteries Near Battle Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Battle 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.

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

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

  • Lakewood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakewood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakewood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • First Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the First Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the First Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trefoldlighed Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Skibvedt Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skibvedt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skibvedt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tordenskjold Free Mission Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Rindal Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norwegian Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eagle Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eagle Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eagle Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vestre Nidaaros Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (217 more) ...
    • Otter Tail County Sanitorium Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Otter Tail County Sanitorium Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Otter Tail County Sanitorium Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Evander Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Evander Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Evander Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sverdrup Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sverdrup Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sverdrup Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Battle Lake had a population of 500 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Battle Lake had a population of 929 people.

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

  • Clitherall
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
    • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <2>
  • Underwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
    • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
  • Vining
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Phelps
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phelps have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
    • Phelps is located in Otter Tail County
  • Amor
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Amor. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Amor
    • From Battle Lake to Amor
  • Maine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Maine. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
    • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Maine
    • From Battle Lake to Maine
  • Wall Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wall Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wall Lake
    • Wall Lake is located in Otter Tail County
  • Dalton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Ottertail
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
    • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <2>
  • Ashby
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
    • Ashby is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>
  • Henning
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
    • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
  • Parkdale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
    • Parkdale is located in Otter Tail County
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Melby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Millerville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Edwards
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Battle 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 67 newspapers that have been published in the area around Battle Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Battle Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Battle Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Battle Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Battle 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 Battle Lake:

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

The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Battle Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Battle Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2832, Longitude: -95.7141    
<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 Battle Lake, 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