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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 Melvin (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 Melvin. 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 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.

Melvin 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 Melvin. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Melvin:

  • Polk County     (The home county of Melvin)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
    • Dugdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Fertile
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Beltrami
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Gentilly
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> 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 <1>
    • Crookston
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Erskine
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Winger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Climax
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Melvin to Shirley
    • Nielsville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Fisher
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Fisher is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • McIntosh
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
    • Bejou
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Mahnomen
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahnomen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
  • Norman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
    • Flaming
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Melvin to Flaming
    • Rindal
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 Melvin to Rindal
    • Gary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Ada
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Shelly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Twin Valley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Halstad
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Borup
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borup have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Pennington County
    • Saint Hilaire
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Hilaire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Hilaire
      • Saint Hilaire is located in Pennington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
  • Red Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Melvin, with the one closest to Melvin listed first.
    • Red Lake Falls
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Red Lake Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Dorothy
      (21 miles [33.8 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 Melvin to Dorothy
    • Brooks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Plummer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plummer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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.<2> 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 <1>
  • Traill County (ND)

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

Cemeteries Near Melvin ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Melvin.

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

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

  • Varnes Lutheran Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Our Saviors Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethel Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lone Star Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Star Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lone Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Scott - Widrig Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hafslo Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hafslo Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hafslo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Bay Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Bay Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Bay Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pleasant Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concordia Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Little Norway Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Bay Free Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maple Bay Free Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maple Bay Free Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (144 more) ...
    • Fairview Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Hitterdal Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hitterdal Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hitterdal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Maple Lake Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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.<2> 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 in 1895, Melvin had a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Benoit
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Benoit have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benoit
    • Benoit is located in Polk County
  • Fertile
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Maple Bay
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Bay
    • Maple Bay is located in Polk County
  • Dugdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Beltrami
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Burwell
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burwell
    • Burwell is located in Polk County
  • Gentilly
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • 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.<2> 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 <1>
  • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
    • Lockhart is located in Norman County
  • Rindal
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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 Melvin to Rindal
  • Crookston
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Erskine
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Gary
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Winger
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <1>
    • Hixon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hixon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hixon
      • Hixon is located in Polk County

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

Newspapers Published in Melvin ...

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 47 newspapers that have been published in the area around Melvin.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Melvin, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Melvin.

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 Melvin:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Melvin. 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<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 Melvin, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Melvin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Melvin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.6210, Longitude: -96.3877    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025