RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Itasca County >> Dora Lake >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Minnesota

The Commemorative Quarter for Minnesota





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 Dora Lake (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 Dora Lake. 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 Dora Lake ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Dora Lake: Dora Lk.

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Dora Lake is located in Itasca 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 Itasca County: Aitkin, Beltrami, Cass, Koochiching & Saint Louis.

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

  • Itasca County     (The home county of Dora Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dora Lake, with the one closest to Dora Lake listed first.
    • Wirt
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wirt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wirt
      • Wirt is located in Itasca County
    • Max
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Max have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Max
      • Max is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Max <2>
    • Squaw Lake
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squaw Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squaw Lake
      • Squaw Lake is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Squaw Lake <2>
    • Spring Lake
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Lake
      • Spring Lake is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Lake <2>
    • Talmoon
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Talmoon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Talmoon
      • Talmoon is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Talmoon <2>
    • Bigfork
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Bowstring
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bowstring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowstring
      • Bowstring is located in Itasca County
    • Effie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Effie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Effie
      • Effie is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Effie <2>
    • Marcell
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcell
      • Marcell is located in Itasca County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marcell <2>
    • Deer River
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
      • Deer River is located in Itasca County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>
  • Beltrami County
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dora Lake, with the one closest to Dora Lake listed first.
    • Bena
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bena have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bena
      • Bena is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bena <2>
    • Ryan Village
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ryan Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ryan Village
      • Ryan Village is located in Cass County
  • Koochiching County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dora Lake, with the one closest to Dora Lake listed first.
    • Mizpah
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mizpah have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mizpah
      • Mizpah is located in Koochiching County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Northome
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Northome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Northome
      • Northome is located in Koochiching County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 187 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Northome <2>
    • Gemmell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Margie
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Margie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Margie
      • Margie is located in Koochiching County

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

Cemeteries Near Dora Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dora Lake.

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

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

  • Popple Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Popple Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Popple Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wirt Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wirt Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wirt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grattan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grattan Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grattan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pine Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sand Lake Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sand Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sand Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Round Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Round Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Round Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Peter & Eva Niska Memorial Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Peter & Eva Niska Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Peter & Eva Niska Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Squaw Lake Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Squaw Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Squaw Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bergville Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Round Lake Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Round Lake Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Round Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wildwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wildwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Inger Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Inger Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Inger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (35 more) ...
    • Forest Hill Cemetery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Rosy Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosy Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Donnelly Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Donnelly Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Donnelly 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.<3>

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

  • Deer River
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deer River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer River
    • Deer River is located in Itasca County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deer River <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Dora Lake ...

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 15 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dora Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dora Lake, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dora Lake.

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 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 Dora Lake:

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

The official website for Itasca County: www.co.itasca.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>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 Dora Lake, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dora Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dora Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.7387, Longitude: -94.0403    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025