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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 Le Center (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 Le Center. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Le Center is located in Le Sueur County and is the County Seat.

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 Le Sueur County: Blue Earth, Nicollet, Rice, Scott, Sibley & Waseca.

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

  • Le Sueur County     (The home county of Le Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Lexington
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Cordova
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
    • Cleveland
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Thomas
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Heidelberg
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Montgomery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Kilkenny
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Le Sueur
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Marysburg
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
    • Ottawa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
    • Greenland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
    • Kasota
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Blue Earth County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Madison Lake
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Smiths Mill
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
    • Eagle Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Mankato
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Mankato is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mankato
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,435 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mankato <1>
    • Saint Clair
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Skyline
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Pemberton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
    • Judson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Judson is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
    • Rapidan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
    • Beauford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
    • Lake Crystal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Assumption
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Gotha
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Carver
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Cologne
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Hamburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Hamburg is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 526 people
    • Dahlgren
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Chaska
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Norwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Norwood Young America
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Norwood Young America is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Young America
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
    • Young America
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Hydes Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Eureka Center
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Eureka Center is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
    • Waterford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Waterford is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Castle Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
    • Lakeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • McLeod County
    • Plato
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Nicollet County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Saint Peter
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Oshawa
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
    • North Mankato
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • New Sweden
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • New Sweden is located in Nicollet County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Sweden
    • Nicollet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Wheatland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Lonsdale
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Trondjem
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
    • Morristown
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Warsaw
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Warsaw is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Millersburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Webster
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Faribault
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Cannon City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
    • Dundas
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Northfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Walcott
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Walcott is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walcott
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Union Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • New Prague
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Belle Plaine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Saint Patrick
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Cedar Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Jordan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • New Market
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Elko New Market
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Elko New Market is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
    • Elko
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Marystown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Credit River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Prior Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Henderson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Arlington
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Isle
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Gaylord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Steele County
    • Medford
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Medford is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Le Center, with the one closest to Le Center listed first.
    • Elysian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Janesville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Palmer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Waseca
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Alma City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Alma City is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
    • Wilton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton

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

Cemeteries Near Le Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Le Center.

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 Le Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Mary's Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Greenwood Union Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. Henry Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Blue Grass Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Gorman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Lake Gorman Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Yankee Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Meeker Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<3> to the northeast of Lexington.
    • The St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Joseph's Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2281046 <2>
  • Dresselville Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (258 more) ...
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Sabre Lake Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Calvary Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)

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 Le Center in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Le Center.

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

  • Saint Henry
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Saint Henry is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Henry
  • Cordova
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cordova is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cordova
  • Lexington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
  • Cleveland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Doyle
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Doyle is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doyle
  • Saint Thomas
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
  • Montgomery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Heidelberg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
  • Kilkenny
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Marysburg
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
  • Le Sueur
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Ottawa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Ottawa is located in Le Sueur County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottawa
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Saint Peter
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Union Hill
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Greenland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Le Center ...

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 147 newspapers that have been published in the area around Le Center.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Le Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Le Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding Le Center.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Le Center.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Le Center:

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 '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- Le Center) 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 Le Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.