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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 Carlton (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 Carlton. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals 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.

Carlton is located in Carlton 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 Carlton County: Aitkin, Pine, Saint Louis & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Carlton County     (The home county of Carlton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlton, with the one closest to Carlton listed first.
    • Thomson
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
    • Scanlon
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scanlon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Cloquet
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Wrenshall
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrenshall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrenshall
      • Wrenshall is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrenshall <2>
    • Esko
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Otter Creek
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Sawyer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Mahtowa
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Holyoke
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holyoke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holyoke
      • From Carlton to Holyoke
    • Barnum
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Moose Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cromwell
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Kettle River
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kettle River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle River
      • Kettle River is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kettle River <2>
  • Pine County
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlton, with the one closest to Carlton listed first.
    • Gary
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Saint Louis County
    • New Duluth
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Adolph
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adolph have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adolph
      • Adolph is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adolph <2>
    • Proctor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Proctor is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,006 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Proctor <2>
    • Saginaw
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saginaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
    • Hermantown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermantown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermantown
      • Hermantown is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermantown <2>
    • Twig
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twig have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
      • Twig is located in Saint Louis County
    • Brookston
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
      • Brookston is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookston <2>
    • Duluth
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Arnold
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Saint Louis County
    • Alborn
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Canyon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
      • Canyon is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyon <2>
    • Clifton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Saint Louis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Carlton to Clifton
  • Douglas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Carlton, with the one closest to Carlton listed first.
    • Oliver
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oliver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
      • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
    • Dedham
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dedham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dedham
      • From Carlton to Dedham
    • Saunders
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Superior Village
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior Village
      • Superior Village is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
    • Superior
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • South Range
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Hawthorne
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Moose Junction
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Poplar
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Bennett
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
      • Bennett is located in Douglas County (WI)

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

Cemeteries Near Carlton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Carlton.

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

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

  • Hillside Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Francis Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Francis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Francis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Thomson Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thomson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thomson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • MacCabee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the MacCabee Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the MacCabee Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hillcrest Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hillcrest Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hillcrest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
  • Finnish Apostolic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Finnish Apostolic Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Finnish Apostolic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Matthew's Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Matthew's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Matthew's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Holy Family Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (85 more) ...
    • Bethel Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Sandy Lake Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sandy Lake Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sandy Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Augustana Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Augustana Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Augustana 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Carlton had a population of 612 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Carlton had a population of 1,081 people.

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

  • Thomson
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
    • Thomson is located in Carlton County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
  • Cloquet
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Otter Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Fond du Lac
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fond du Lac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fond du Lac
    • Fond du Lac is located in Saint Louis County
  • New Duluth
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Sawyer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
    • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
  • Smithville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
    • Smithville is located in Saint Louis County
  • Mahtowa
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • West Duluth
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Duluth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Duluth
    • West Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
  • Holyoke
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holyoke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
    • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Holyoke
    • From Carlton to Holyoke
  • Dedham
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dedham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
    • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Dedham
    • From Carlton to Dedham
  • Pokegama
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pokegama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokegama
    • Pokegama is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Oneota
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneota
      • Oneota is located in Saint Louis County
    • Boylston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
      • Boylston is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • South Superior
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Superior
      • South Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Carlton ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Carlton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Carlton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Carlton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Carlton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Carlton.

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 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 Carlton:

The official website for Carlton: www.cityofcarlton.com/

The official website for Carlton County: www.co.carlton.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>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 Carlton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Carlton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Carlton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.6640, Longitude: -92.4249    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025