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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 Beaver Falls (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 Beaver Falls. 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 Beaver Falls ...

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.

In past government published Postal Guides, Beaver Falls was referred to as Beaver Falls Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Beaver Falls. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Beaver Falls.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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.

Beaver Falls is located in Renville 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 Renville County: Brown, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Sibley & Yellow Medicine.

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

  • Renville County     (The home county of Beaver Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Morton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Franklin
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Olivia
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Danube
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Bird Island
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Fairfax
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Renville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hector
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Sacred Heart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Buffalo Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Evan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Evan is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Cobden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cobden is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Springfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Sleepy Eye
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Leavenworth
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Leavenworth is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leavenworth
    • Essig
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Iberia
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Iberia is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Iberia
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Clara City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Maynard
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Blomkest
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Blomkest is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blomkest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Roseland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Roseland is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseland
    • Prinsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Prinsburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prinsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
    • Lake Lillian
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Svea
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Svea is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
  • Lyon County
    • Cottonwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Fernando
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
    • Stewart
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
  • Meeker County
    • Cosmos
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • North Redwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • North Redwood is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
    • Redwood Falls
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Delhi
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Delhi is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
    • Morgan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Morgan is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Belview
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Belview is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Clements
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Clements is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clements
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
    • Seaforth
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wabasso
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Vesta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Wanda
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lucan
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sanborn
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Lamberton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Sibley County
    • Gibbon
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
  • Yellow Medicine County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Beaver Falls, with the one closest to Beaver Falls listed first.
    • Echo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
    • Wood Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Granite Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanley Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people

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

Cemeteries Near Beaver Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Beaver Falls.

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 Beaver Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Beaver Falls Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Camp Pope Burial Plot
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Morton Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Peavery Grave Site
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Catherine Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Valentine Appel Burial Plot
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Redwood Falls Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Marguth Grave Site
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • St. Mary's Bechyn Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lower Sioux Community Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (192 more) ...
    • Post - Newton Cemetery
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Patten Pioneer Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Crestlawn Memorial Garden
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)

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.<2>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Beaver Falls had a population of 185 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • North Redwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • North Redwood is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Redwood
  • Morton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bechyn
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Bechyn is located in Renville County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bechyn
  • Gilfillan
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Gilfillan is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilfillan
  • Franklin
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Delhi
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Delhi is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delhi
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 63 people
  • Morgan
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Morgan is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
  • Olivia
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Belview
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Belview is located in Redwood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
  • Bird Island
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairfax
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Renville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Vesta
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Evan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Evan is located in Brown County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 84 people
    • Echo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Beaver Falls ...

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 92 newspapers that have been published in the area around Beaver Falls.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Beaver Falls. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Beaver Falls and those printed in the larger area surrounding Beaver Falls.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Beaver Falls.

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 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 Beaver Falls:

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>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 Beaver Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Beaver Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.