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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 Crow River (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 Crow River. 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 Crow River ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Crow River: Crow Riv.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Crow River is located in Meeker 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 Meeker County: Kandiyohi, McLeod, Renville, Stearns & Wright.

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

  • Meeker County     (The home county of Crow River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crow River, with the one closest to Crow River listed first.
    • Manannah
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
    • Grove City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Eden Valley
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Forest City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Litchfield
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Rosendale
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Watkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Darwin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Kingston
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Kingston is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Cosmos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Mills
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Dassel
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crow River, with the one closest to Crow River listed first.
    • Atwater
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hawick
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawick is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawick
    • Spicer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <1>
    • New London
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Regal
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Regal is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Kandiyohi
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Wilmar
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Wilmar is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmar
    • Willmar
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Lillian
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Svea
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Svea is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svea
    • Pennock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Pennock is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennock
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
    • Blomkest
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Blomkest is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blomkest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Sunburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • McLeod County
    • Hutchinson
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crow River, with the one closest to Crow River listed first.
    • Paynesville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Roscoe
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Lake Henry
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Lake Henry is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Richmond
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Martin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Spring Hill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
    • Belgrade
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Cold Spring
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Kimball Prairie
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Kimball Prairie is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball Prairie
    • Kimball
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Rockville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elrosa
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Brooten
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Brooten is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooten
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Swift County
    • Kerkhoven
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crow River, with the one closest to Crow River listed first.
    • South Haven
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Cokato
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Annandale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Albright
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Albright is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albright

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

Cemeteries Near Crow River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crow River.

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 Crow River - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Burr Oak Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Manannah Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Nordland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Oakside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Free Christians Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • First Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Zion Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • New Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (199 more) ...
    • Atwater Union Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atwater Union Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Atwater Union Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southwest of Atwater.
      • The Atwater Union Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Union Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83741 <2>
    • Ebenezer Church Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Roseville Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Crow River had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Manannah
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Manannah is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
  • Grove City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Atwater
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Paynesville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Eden Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Spicer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <1>
  • New London
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Litchfield
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Forest City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Forest City is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
  • Roscoe
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Rosendale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
  • Lake Henry
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Lake Henry is located in Stearns County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Henry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Watkins
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Saint Nicholas
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Nicholas is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
    • Georgeville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Georgeville is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgeville

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

Newspapers Published in Crow River ...

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 98 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crow River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crow River, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crow River.

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 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 Crow River:

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 Crow River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>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- Crow River) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.