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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 Cleveland (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 Cleveland. 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 doctors and 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.

Cleveland is located in Le Sueur 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 Le Sueur County: Blue Earth, Nicollet, Rice, Scott, Sibley & Waseca.

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

  • Le Sueur County     (The home county of Cleveland)
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cleveland, with the one closest to Cleveland listed first.
    • Madison Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Madison Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison Lake
      • Madison Lake is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,202 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Madison Lake <3>
    • Eagle Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
      • Eagle Lake is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,123 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Lake <3>
    • Mankato
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mankato have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <3>
    • Smiths Mill
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smiths Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
    • Saint Clair
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Clair have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Clair
      • Saint Clair is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 821 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Clair <3>
    • Skyline
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyline have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Judson
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Rapidan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Pemberton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pemberton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Beauford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Beauford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Beauford
      • From Cleveland to Beauford
    • Good Thunder
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Thunder have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Thunder
      • Good Thunder is located in Blue Earth County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Good Thunder <3>
    • Lake Crystal
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Brown County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cleveland, with the one closest to Cleveland listed first.
    • New Ulm
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Searles
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Searles have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
      • Searles is located in Brown County
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cleveland, with the one closest to Cleveland listed first.
    • Assumption
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Assumption have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
    • Gotha
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Gotha. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Gotha
      • From Cleveland to Gotha
    • Hamburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Cologne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cologne have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cologne
      • Cologne is located in Carver County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,860 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cologne <3>
    • Norwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood
      • Norwood is located in Carver County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwood <3>
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cleveland, with the one closest to Cleveland listed first.
    • Saint Peter
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Oshawa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • North Mankato
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Mankato have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Mankato
      • North Mankato is located in Nicollet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,052 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Mankato <3>
    • Nicollet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nicollet have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicollet
      • Nicollet is located in Nicollet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,175 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nicollet <3>
    • New Sweden
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Sweden. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Sweden
      • From Cleveland to New Sweden
    • Courtland
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Lafayette
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lafayette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lafayette
      • Lafayette is located in Nicollet County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 492 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lafayette <3>
  • Rice County
  • Scott County
  • Sibley County
  • Steele County
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Cleveland, with the one closest to Cleveland listed first.
    • Elysian
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Janesville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Janesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
      • Janesville is located in Waseca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Janesville <3>
    • Palmer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Palmer. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Palmer
      • From Cleveland to Palmer
    • Alma City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alma City. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
      • Alma City is located in Waseca County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alma City
      • From Cleveland to Alma City
    • Waseca
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Wilton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
    • Waldorf
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waldorf have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
      • Waldorf is located in Waseca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people

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

Cemeteries Near Cleveland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Cleveland.

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

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

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 Cleveland had a population of 132 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Cleveland had a population of 732 people.

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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Cleveland ...

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 158 newspapers that have been published in the area around Cleveland.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Cleveland:

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

The official website for Le Sueur County: www.co.le-sueur.mn.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Cleveland, 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- Cleveland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Cleveland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3243, Longitude: -93.8348    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025