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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 Dassel (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 Dassel. 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 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 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.

Dassel 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 Dassel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Dassel:

  • Meeker County     (The home county of Dassel)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Darwin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Kingston
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Kingston is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
    • Litchfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Forest City
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Forest City is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
    • Cedar Mills
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Watkins
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Manannah
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
    • Grove City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Eden Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosendale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Cosmos
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Hazelton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Hazelton is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazelton
    • Hollywood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Hollywood is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood
    • New Germany
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Watertown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Mayer
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Norwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Norwood Young America
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Norwood Young America is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Young America
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
    • Young America
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hamburg is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Hydes Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Waconia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Independence
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Independence is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
    • Greenfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Greenfield is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,058 people
    • Saint Bonifacius
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kandiyohi County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Atwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Lake Lillian
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Hawick
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Hawick is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawick
    • Kandiyohi
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Hutchinson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Silver Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Winsted
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Biscay
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Lester Prairie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Glencoe
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Sumter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Sumter is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Brownton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Plato
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Stewart
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Stewart is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 533 people
    • Fernando
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Fernando is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fernando
  • Renville County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Buffalo Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Hector
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sherburne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Becker
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Becker is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Becker
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,033 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Becker <1>
    • Clear Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Salida
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Salida is located in Sherburne County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salida
  • Sibley County
    • New Auburn
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Kimball Prairie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Kimball Prairie is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball Prairie
    • Kimball
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Fairhaven
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Fairhaven is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
    • Rockville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Cold Spring
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Saint Augusta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Saint Augusta is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augusta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,900 people
    • Richmond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Pleasant Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
    • Paynesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Roscoe
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dassel, with the one closest to Dassel listed first.
    • Cokato
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Smith Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Smith Lake is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Lake
    • Albright
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Albright is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albright
    • Howard Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Albion Center
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Albion Center is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion Center
    • South Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Annandale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Rassat
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Rassat is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
    • Waverly
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Maple Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Montrose
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Silver Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Silver Creek is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek

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

Cemeteries Near Dassel ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dassel.

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

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

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

  • Dassel Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dassel Community Cemetery
    • The Dassel Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Dassel Cemetery
  • Steelsville Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Little Swan Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Lake Jennie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Swan Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Pioneer County Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Lake Arvilla Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • South Kingston Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Stockholm Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Stockholm Twp. Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Good Shepherd Free Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (224 more) ...
    • Lutheran Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Ellsworth Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Cokato Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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 Dassel had a population of 552 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Dassel had a population of 1,472 people.

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

  • Darwin
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Cokato
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Kingston
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Kingston is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
  • Smith Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Smith Lake is located in Wright County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Lake
  • Greenleaf
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenleaf is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenleaf
  • Litchfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Howard Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Forest City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Forest City is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
  • Hutchinson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Silver Lake
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Cedar Mills
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Mills is located in Meeker County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Mills
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
  • Winsted
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Annandale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • South Haven
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Kimball Prairie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Kimball Prairie is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball Prairie

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Dassel ...

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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dassel.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Dassel. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Dassel and those printed in the larger area surrounding Dassel.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Dassel.

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 Dassel:

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