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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 Lagoona Beach (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 Lagoona Beach. 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 Lagoona Beach ...

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 occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Lagoona Beach: Lagoona Bch.

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 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.

Lagoona Beach is located in Big Stone 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 Big Stone County: Lac qui Parle, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Grant (SD) & Roberts (SD).

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

  • Big Stone County     (The home county of Lagoona Beach)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Ortonville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Clinton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Odessa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Barry
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Barry is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
    • Graceville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Johnson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Johnson is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
    • Beardsley
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Correll
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Correll is located in Big Stone County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
  • Lac qui Parle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Bellingham
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
    • Nassau
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Nassau is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nassau <1>
    • Louisburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Louisburg is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Louisburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
    • Marietta
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Marietta is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marietta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 138 people
    • Madison
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Chokio
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Alberta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Alberta is located in Stevens County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alberta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 102 people
  • Swift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Appleton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Holloway
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Holloway is located in Swift County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holloway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 85 people
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Collis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Collis is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
    • Browns Valley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Browns Valley is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
    • Dumont
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Dumont is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Wheaton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Codington County (SD)
    • South Shore
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Grant County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Big Stone City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Milbank
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Milbank is located in Grant County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milbank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,066 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Milbank <1>
    • Twin Brooks
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Albee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Albee is located in Grant County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 17 people
    • Marvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • LaBolt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Stockholm
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Revillo
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Strandburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Roberts County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Lagoona Beach, with the one closest to Lagoona Beach listed first.
    • Shady Beach
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Shady Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
    • Hartford Beach
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Hartford Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford Beach
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • South Dakota Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • South Dakota Park is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dakota Park
      • Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
    • Corona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Corona is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
    • Wilmot
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Wilmot is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmot <1>
    • Peever Flats
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Peever Flats is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peever Flats
    • Peever
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Peever is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peever
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peever <1>
    • Summit
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Summit is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summit <1>
    • Spring Grove
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Spring Grove is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Grove
      • Estimated population in 2014: 125 people

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

Cemeteries Near Lagoona Beach ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Lagoona Beach.

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 Lagoona Beach - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Mills Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Lakeside Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Greenwood Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • West St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Mound Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Pauli Lutheran Memorial Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Pauli Lutheran Memorial Cemetery
    • The St. Pauli Lutheran Memorial Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Paul Cemetery
    • St. Paul Church Cemetery
    • St. Paul Lutheran Memorial Cemetery
    • St. Pauli Cemetery
    • St. Pauli Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2586514 <2>
  • St. Charles Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Big Stone Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Long Island Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Bailey Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Elim Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Maple Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (100 more) ...
    • Clinton Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Rest Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<4>

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

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

  • Ortonville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Big Stone City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Clinton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Odessa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Barry
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Barry is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barry
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 15 people
  • Corona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Corona is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 107 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corona <1>
  • Graceville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Johnson
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnson is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27 people
  • Beardsley
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Twin Brooks
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Bellingham
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Bellingham is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellingham
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
  • Correll
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Correll is located in Big Stone County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Correll
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 31 people
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Wilmot
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Wilmot is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmot
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 497 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmot <1>
    • Collis
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Collis is located in Traverse County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Collis
    • Nassau
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Nassau is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nassau
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nassau <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Lagoona Beach ...

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 79 newspapers that have been published in the area around Lagoona Beach.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Lagoona Beach, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Lagoona Beach.

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 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 Lagoona Beach:

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>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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lagoona Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Lagoona Beach, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.