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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Minnesota

The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota





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 Bemidji (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 Bemidji. 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 Bemidji ...

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.

Other variations include: Bemijigamaag and Bermidji.

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 hospitals and 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.

Bemidji is located in Beltrami County and is the County Seat.

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 Beltrami County: Cass, Clearwater, Hubbard, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington & Roseau.

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

  • Beltrami County     (The home county of Bemidji)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bemidji, with the one closest to Bemidji listed first.
    • Cass Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cass Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cass Lake
      • Cass Lake is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cass Lake <2>
    • Ryan Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Village
      • Ryan Village is located in Cass County
    • Walker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
      • Walker is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 928 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Walker <2>
  • Clearwater County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bemidji, with the one closest to Bemidji listed first.
    • Shevlin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shevlin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shevlin
      • Shevlin is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shevlin <2>
    • Leonard
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leonard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard
      • Leonard is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 44 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Leonard <2>
    • Bagley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bagley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagley
      • Bagley is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,439 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bagley <2>
    • Minerva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Clearbrook
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearbrook
      • Clearbrook is located in Clearwater County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearbrook <2>
    • Long Lost Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Lost Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lost Lake
      • Long Lost Lake is located in Clearwater County
      • Estimated population in 2015: 44 people
    • Rice Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Clearwater County
  • Hubbard County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Bemidji, with the one closest to Bemidji listed first.
    • Laporte
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laporte have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laporte
      • Laporte is located in Hubbard County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laporte <2>
    • Lake George
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake George have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake George
      • Lake George is located in Hubbard County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake George <2>
    • Benedict
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benedict have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benedict
      • Benedict is located in Hubbard County

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

Cemeteries Near Bemidji ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Bemidji.

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

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

  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Cross Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Cross Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nymore Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nymore Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nymore Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wilton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wilton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wilton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Aardahl Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Evergreen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Arm Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Nary Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Side Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Side Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Side Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Eckles Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eckles Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eckles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (77 more) ...
    • Pine Ridge Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Trinity Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] 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.
    • Lammers Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lammers Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lammers 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.<4>

While we didn't find Bemidji in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Bemidji.

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Bemidji ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Bemidji.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Bemidji. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Bemidji and those printed in the larger area surrounding Bemidji.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Bemidji.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Bemidji:

The official website for Bemidji: www.ci.bemidji.mn.us/

The official website for Beltrami County: www.co.beltrami.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>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.
<4>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 Bemidji, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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 from Point A (ie- Bemidji) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bemidji. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.4830, Longitude: -94.8797    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

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.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025