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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 Dale (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 Dale. 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 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.

Dale is located in Clay 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 Clay County: Becker, Norman, Otter Tail, Wilkin, Cass (ND) & Richland (ND).

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

  • Clay County     (The home county of Dale)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • Hitterdal
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
    • Hawley
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Muskoda
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Muskoda is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskoda
    • Rollag
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Rollag is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollag
    • Ulen
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Felton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Glyndon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Barnesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Baker
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Baker is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baker
    • Sabin
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sabin is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 558 people
    • Dilworth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Moorhead
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Finkle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Finkle is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finkle
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • Lake Park
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Audubon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Cormorant
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Cormorant is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cormorant
    • Callaway
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Detroit Lakes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Richwood
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Richwood is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
    • Ogema
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Ogema is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogema
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • Bucks Mill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
    • White Earth
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Rochert
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Frazee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • Waubun
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Mahnomen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Norman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • Flom
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Borup
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Twin Valley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
    • Faith
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Faith is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
    • Ada
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <1>
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • Pelican Rapids
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Vergas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Erhard
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Rothsay
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Wilkin County
    • Lawndale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
  • Cass County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dale, with the one closest to Dale listed first.
    • North River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • North River is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 54 people
    • Briarwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Briarwood is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 70 people
    • Fargo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Fargo is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125,209 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fargo <1>
    • Frontier
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Frontier is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frontier
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Prairie Rose
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Prairie Rose is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Rose
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Wild Rice
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Wild Rice is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wild Rice
    • Reile's Acres
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Reile's Acres is located in Cass County (ND)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reile's Acres
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 748 people

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

Cemeteries Near Dale ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dale.

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

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

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

  • Dale Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Dale Covenant Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Eskjo Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Highland Grove Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Solem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Swedish Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Hawley Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hegland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Houglum Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • West Salem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Lake Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (152 more) ...
    • Silver Lake Pioneer Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Baarstad Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Lysne 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.<2>

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

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

  • Winnipeg Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Winnipeg Junction is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnipeg Junction
  • Hawley
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Hitterdal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Lake Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Muskoda
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Muskoda is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muskoda
  • Rollag
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Rollag is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollag
  • Audubon
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Ulen
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Cormorant
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Cormorant is located in Becker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cormorant
  • Tansem
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Tansem is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tansem
  • Downer
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Downer is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downer
  • Averill
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Averill is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Averill
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Felton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Glyndon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Barnesville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Dale ...

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 64 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dale.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dale, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dale.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Dale:

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>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 Dale, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Dale) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.