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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 Fertile (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 Fertile. 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 Fertile ...

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.

Another variation: Fetile.

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.

Fertile is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Clearwater, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Red Lake, Grand Forks (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Fertile)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fertile, with the one closest to Fertile listed first.
    • Melvin
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Dugdale
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Beltrami
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Mentor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
      • Mentor is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
    • Winger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
      • Winger is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
    • Erskine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • McIntosh
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
    • Gentilly
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Crookston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Nielsville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nielsville
      • Nielsville is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Fosston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Climax
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Shirley
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shirley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
      • Shirley is located in Polk County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shirley
      • From Fertile to Shirley
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fertile, with the one closest to Fertile listed first.
    • Bejou
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bejou
      • Bejou is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bejou <2>
    • Mahnomen
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahnomen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahnomen
      • Mahnomen is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mahnomen <2>
    • Waubun
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waubun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waubun
      • Waubun is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waubun <2>
  • Norman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fertile, with the one closest to Fertile listed first.
    • Flaming
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flaming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Flaming
      • From Fertile to Flaming
    • Rindal
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rindal
      • From Fertile to Rindal
    • Gary
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • 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 Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
    • Twin Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
    • Faith
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Shelly
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
      • Shelly is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Flom
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Borup
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Halstad
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstad
      • Halstad is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstad <2>
  • Red Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Fertile, with the one closest to Fertile listed first.
    • Brooks
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooks
      • Brooks is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 136 people
    • Red Lake Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Lake Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Lake Falls
      • Red Lake Falls is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,409 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Red Lake Falls <2>
    • Dorothy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorothy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
      • Dorothy is located in Red Lake County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorothy
      • From Fertile to Dorothy
    • Plummer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plummer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plummer
      • Plummer is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 289 people
    • Oklee
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oklee have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklee
      • Oklee is located in Red Lake County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 428 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oklee <2>
  • Traill County (ND)

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

Cemeteries Near Fertile ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Fertile.

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

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

  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concordia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concordia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concordia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Norway Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Little Norway Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Little Norway Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Sundal Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Sundal Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Sundal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • International Order of Good Templars Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the International Order of Good Templars Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the International Order of Good Templars Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Varnes Lutheran Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Varnes Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Varnes Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Our Saviors Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Saviors Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Saviors Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sundal Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sundal Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sundal Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott - Widrig Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Scott - Widrig Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Scott - Widrig Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Spring Creek Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Spring Creek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Spring Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (154 more) ...
    • Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Faaberg Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faaberg Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faaberg Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Lake Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Lake Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Lake 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Fertile had a population of 273 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Fertile had a population of 806 people.

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

  • Rindal
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rindal
    • From Fertile to Rindal
  • Maple Bay
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Bay
    • Maple Bay is located in Polk County
  • Melvin
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Gary
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • 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 Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
  • Dugdale
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Beltrami
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
    • Beltrami is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Benoit
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benoit have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
    • Benoit is located in Polk County
  • Mentor
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
    • Mentor is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
  • Winger
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
    • Winger is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
  • Lockhart
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Lockhart is located in Norman County
  • Erskine
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Heiberg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heiberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heiberg
    • Heiberg is located in Norman County
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Burwell
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burwell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwell
      • Burwell is located in Polk County
    • Ada
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Twin Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Fertile ...

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 36 newspapers that have been published in the area around Fertile.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Fertile. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Fertile and those printed in the larger area surrounding Fertile.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Fertile.

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 helpful 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 Fertile:

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

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.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>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 Fertile, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>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- Fertile) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fertile. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5352, Longitude: -96.2806    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025