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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 Franconia (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 Franconia. 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 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.

Franconia is located in Chisago 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 Chisago County: Anoka, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Washington, Burnett (WI) & Polk (WI).

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

  • Chisago County     (The home county of Franconia)
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franconia, with the one closest to Franconia listed first.
    • City of Columbus
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • Linwood
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Centerville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Lino Lakes
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • East Bethel
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Coopers Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Ham Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Circle Pines
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Blaine
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lexington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Isanti County
  • Pine County
    • Rock Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Ramsey County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franconia, with the one closest to Franconia listed first.
    • Otisville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Scandia
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Marine-on-Saint-Croix
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Forest Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Withrow
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Hugo
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Stillwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Dellwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Duluth Junction
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Grant
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Grant is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Bayport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Oak Park Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Mahtomedi
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Barron County (WI)
  • Burnett County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franconia, with the one closest to Franconia listed first.
    • Randall
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Randall is located in Burnett County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
    • Alpha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Grantsburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Polk County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franconia, with the one closest to Franconia listed first.
    • Dresser
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Saint Croix Falls
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Osceola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Centuria
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Horse Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Deronda
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Balsam Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Balsam Lake is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
    • Volga ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Milltown
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Milltown is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
    • Amery
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Bunyan
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Luck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Luck is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
    • Atlas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Franconia, with the one closest to Franconia listed first.
    • Star Prairie
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Somerset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • New Richmond
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Deer Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Erin Corner
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Burkhardt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • North Hudson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
    • Hudson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • Roberts
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hammond
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Franconia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Franconia.

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

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

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

  • Franconia Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Pleasant Prairie Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Kahbakong Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Croix Falls Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Panola German Methodist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Ramsey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Sand Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Chisago Lake Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Crescent Beach Methodist Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Glader Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (166 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Lindstrom Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)

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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Franconia had a population of 252 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

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

Newspapers Published in Franconia ...

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 144 newspapers that have been published in the area around Franconia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Franconia, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Franconia.

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 Franconia:

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 Franconia, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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- Franconia) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.