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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 Burnsville (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 Burnsville. 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.

Burnsville is located in Dakota 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 Dakota County: Goodhue, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Washington & Pierce (WI).

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

  • Dakota County     (The home county of Burnsville)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Apple Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Nicols
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Eagan
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Lakeville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Rosemount
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mendota Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Mendota
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Farmington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Coates
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Coates is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Lilydale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Eureka Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Eureka Center is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Columbia Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Hilltop
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Spring Lake Park
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Circle Pines
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Coon Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Lexington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Blaine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Coon Rapids
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Centerville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Lino Lakes
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Anoka
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Chanhassen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chaska
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Carver
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Hazeltine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Dahlgren
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Victoria
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Cologne
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Gotha
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Waconia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hydes Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Watertown
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Assumption
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
  • Goodhue County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Stanton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Stanton is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
    • Cannon Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Dennison
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Wangs
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Wangs is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
    • Welch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Bloomington
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Richfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Edina
      (9 miles [14.5 km] 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>
    • Eden Prairie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopkins
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Minneapolis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Louis Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Minnetonka Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
    • Minnetonka
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Golden Valley
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Deephaven
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Excelsior
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 937 people
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Heidelberg
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Montgomery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Thomas
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Lexington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Saint Paul
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Falcon Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Lauderdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
    • Highwood
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Highwood is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
    • Roseville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Little Canada
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Arden Hills
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • New Brighton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • North Saint Paul
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Maplewood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Gem Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Webster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lonsdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Trondjem
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
    • Northfield
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Dundas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Millersburg
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Wheatland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Cannon City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Savage
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Credit River
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Prior Lake
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Shakopee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Elko New Market
      (13 miles [20.9 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
    • New Market
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Marystown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Elko
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Saint Patrick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Jordan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • New Prague
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Hill
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Saint Paul Park
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Newport
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Cottage Grove
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Landfall
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Woodbury
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • 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>
    • Pine Springs
      (24 miles [38.6 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
    • Birchwood Village
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Lake Elmo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Willernie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Afton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Afton is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,036 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Afton <1>
    • Mahtomedi
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Marys Point
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • Prescott
      (23 miles [37 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)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Burnsville, with the one closest to Burnsville listed first.
    • Hudson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • North Hudson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 Burnsville, see our County-by-County Page for Burnsville.

Cemeteries Near Burnsville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Burnsville.

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

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

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

  • Pleasant View Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Evergreen Point Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Bloomington Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Christ Luthern Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bloomington Ferry Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
    • The St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Highland Cemetery
  • Assumption Church Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (291 more) ...
    • Dawn Valley Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • St. Michaels Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • St. Pauls Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 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.<3>

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

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

  • Nicols
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicols is located in Dakota County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
  • Bloomington Ferry
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington Ferry is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington Ferry
  • Bloomington
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Barden
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Barden is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barden
  • Prior Lake
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Credit River
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Credit River is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
  • Lakeville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Richfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Rowland
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rowland is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
  • Shakopee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Rosemount
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Mendota
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Eden Prairie
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Farmington
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Rich Valley
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Rich Valley is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rich Valley

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Burnsville ...

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 399 newspapers that have been published in the area around Burnsville.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Burnsville. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Burnsville and those printed in the larger area surrounding Burnsville.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4> of Burnsville.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Burnsville:

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