RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Saint Louis County >> Duluth >> 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 Duluth (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 Duluth. 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.

Duluth is located in Saint Louis County and is the County Seat.

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 Saint Louis County: Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Saint Louis County     (The home county of Duluth)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duluth, with the one closest to Duluth listed first.
    • Arnold
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arnold have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnold
      • Arnold is located in Saint Louis County
    • Proctor
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Proctor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Proctor
      • Proctor is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,006 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Proctor <2>
    • Hermantown
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hermantown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hermantown
      • Hermantown is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,504 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hermantown <2>
    • Adolph
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Adolph have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adolph
      • Adolph is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Adolph <2>
    • Clifton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
      • Clifton is located in Saint Louis County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clifton
      • From Duluth to Clifton
    • Gary
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Saint Louis County
    • New Duluth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Twig
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twig have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twig
      • Twig is located in Saint Louis County
    • Saginaw
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saginaw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saginaw
      • Saginaw is located in Saint Louis County
    • Canyon
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canyon
      • Canyon is located in Saint Louis County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canyon <2>
    • Brookston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
      • Brookston is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookston <2>
    • Alborn
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Carlton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duluth, with the one closest to Duluth listed first.
    • Esko
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Thomson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people
    • Scanlon
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scanlon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
    • Carlton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Wrenshall
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrenshall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrenshall
      • Wrenshall is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrenshall <2>
    • Cloquet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Otter Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Holyoke
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holyoke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holyoke
      • From Duluth to Holyoke
    • Sawyer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Mahtowa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duluth, with the one closest to Duluth listed first.
    • Knife River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Knife River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knife River
      • Knife River is located in Lake County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Knife River <2>
    • Two Harbors
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Stewart
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stewart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stewart
      • Stewart is located in Lake County
  • Douglas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Duluth, with the one closest to Duluth listed first.
    • Superior
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Superior Village
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior Village
      • Superior Village is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
    • Saunders
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Oliver
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oliver have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
      • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people
    • South Range
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Dedham
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dedham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dedham
      • From Duluth to Dedham
    • Poplar
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Cloverland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverland
      • Cloverland is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Hawthorne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Bennett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bennett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bennett
      • Bennett is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • Lake Nebagamon
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Nebagamon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Nebagamon
      • Lake Nebagamon is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,064 people

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

Cemeteries Near Duluth ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Duluth.

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

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

  • Gethsemane Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Scandia Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scandia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scandia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Park Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Park Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Park Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oneota Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • 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.
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Polish Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Sunrise Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunrise Memorial Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunrise Memorial Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jewish Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jewish Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jewish Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Adas Israel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Adas Israel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Adas Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (62 more) ...
    • Tifereth Israel Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tifereth Israel Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tifereth Israel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Union Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hermantown Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hermantown Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hermantown 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Duluth had a population of 33,115 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Duluth had a population of 85,773 people.

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

  • Oneota
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oneota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oneota
    • Oneota is located in Saint Louis County
  • Superior
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • West Duluth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Duluth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Duluth
    • West Duluth is located in Saint Louis County
  • Lester Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lester Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester Park
    • Lester Park is located in Saint Louis County
  • Smithville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Smithville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smithville
    • Smithville is located in Saint Louis County
  • South Superior
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Superior
    • South Superior is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Itasca
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Itasca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Itasca
    • Itasca is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • New Duluth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Pokegama
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pokegama have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pokegama
    • Pokegama is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Clifton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clifton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
    • Clifton is located in Saint Louis County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Clifton
    • From Duluth to Clifton
  • Fond du Lac
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fond du Lac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fond du Lac
    • Fond du Lac is located in Saint Louis County
  • Cutter
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cutter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cutter
    • Cutter is located in Douglas County (WI)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Boylston
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boylston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boylston
      • Boylston is located in Douglas County (WI)
    • South Range
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Thomson
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thomson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomson
      • Thomson is located in Carlton County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 158 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Duluth ...

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 153 newspapers that have been published in the area around Duluth.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Duluth. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Duluth and those printed in the larger area surrounding Duluth.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<6> of Duluth.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Duluth:

The official website for Duluth: www.ci.duluth.mn.us/

The official website for Saint Louis County: www.co.st-louis.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>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.
<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 Duluth, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Duluth) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Duluth. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.7883, Longitude: -92.1004    









 

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