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 Homer (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 Homer. 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 southwest 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 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 west 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.
Homer is located in Winona 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 Winona County: Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Wabasha, Buffalo (WI), La Crosse (WI) & Trempealeau (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Homer. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Homer:
- Winona County (The home county of Homer)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Lamoille
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lamoille is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamoille
- Winona
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Goodview
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Goodview is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,127 people
- Minnesota City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nodine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Nodine is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nodine
- Stockton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Stockton is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
- Dakota
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Dakota is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Wyattville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wyattville is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyattville
- Rollingstone
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Lewiston
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Altura
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Fillmore County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Rushford
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- South Rushford
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- South Rushford is located in Fillmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rushford
- Rushford Village
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Rushford Village is located in Fillmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushford Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
- Peterson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Bratsberg
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Bratsberg is located in Fillmore County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bratsberg
- Whalan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Lanesboro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Houston County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Money Creek
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Money Creek is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money Creek
- Houston
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- La Crescent
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Hokah
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Yucatan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Yucatan is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yucatan
- Caledonia
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Brownsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Willington Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Willington Grove is located in Houston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington Grove
- Olmsted County
- Dover
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Wabasha County
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Minneiska
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Weaver
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Weaver is located in Wabasha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weaver
- Kellogg
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Marshland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Marshland is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshland
- Bluff Siding
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Siding is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Siding
- Fountain City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Fountain City is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- Anchorage ‑ Historic
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Anchorage is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
- Cochrane
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Cochrane is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cochrane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 409 people
- Waumandee
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Waumandee is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waumandee
- Buffalo City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo City is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 948 people
- Buffalo
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Buffalo is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Montana
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Montana is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montana
- Alma
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Alma is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma
- Population from the 2020 Census: 713 people
- Lookout
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Lookout is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lookout
- Jackson County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- North Bend
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- North Bend is located in Jackson County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bend
- Melrose
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Melrose is located in Jackson County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Taylor
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Taylor is located in Jackson County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Taylor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 473 people
- La Crosse County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Brice Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Brice Prairie is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Prairie
- Holmen
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Holmen is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
- Midway
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Midway is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- French Island
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- French Island is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- Onalaska
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- North La Crosse
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- Grand Crossing
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- La Crosse
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Mindoro
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Mindoro is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mindoro
- West Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Barre Mills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- Shelby
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Trempealeau County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Wrights Corners
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wrights Corners is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
- Trempealeau
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Galesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Galesville is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
- Frenchville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Frenchville is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville
- Arcadia
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Arcadia is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,026 people
- Ettrick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ettrick is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- New City ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- New City is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
- Independence
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Independence is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
- Blair
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Blair is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,330 people
- Whitehall
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Whitehall is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,565 people
- Russell
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Russell is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
- Coral City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Coral City is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral City
- Vernon County (WI)
- Stoddard
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Homer, see our County-by-County Page for Homer.
Cemeteries Near Homer ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Homer.
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 Homer - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Homer covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Greenwood Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Piper Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Cedar Valley Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Trempealeau Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Witoka Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Immaculate Conception Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bush Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Old Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Continue List (195 more) ...
- Evergreen Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bohris Valley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Frank Hill Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
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 Homer had a population of 75 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Homer, with the one closest to Homer listed first.
- East Winona
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
- East Winona is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Winona
- Pine Creek ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Creek is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Sugarloaf
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Sugarloaf is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugarloaf
- Pickwick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Pickwick is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick
- Lamoille
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Lamoille is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamoille
- Bluff Siding
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Siding is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Siding
- Winona
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Witoka
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Witoka is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witoka
- Trempealeau
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Centerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Centerville is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Wilson
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Wilson is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Ridgeway
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Ridgeway is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Dodge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Dodge is located in Trempealeau County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodge
- Bohri ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Bohri is located in Buffalo County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bohri
- New Hartford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- New Hartford is located in Winona County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Hartford
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Homer. See our List of 1890's Communities around Homer.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Homer ...
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 138 newspapers that have been published in the area around Homer.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Homer. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Homer and those printed in the larger area surrounding Homer.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<3> of Homer.
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 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 Homer:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Winona County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Fillmore County
- Houston County
- Olmsted County
- Wabasha County
- Buffalo County
- Jackson County
- La Crosse County
- Trempealeau County
- Vernon County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Minnesota
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 Homer, 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Homer) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |