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 Minnesota Lake (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 Minnesota Lake. 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 Minnesota Lake ...
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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Minnesota Lake: Minnesota Lk.
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 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.
Minnesota Lake is primarily located in Faribault County. A portion of Minnesota Lake extends into Blue Earth 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 Faribault County: Kossuth (IA), Winnebago (IA), Blue Earth, Freeborn, Martin & Waseca.
Below are the counties that are near Minnesota Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Minnesota Lake:
- Faribault County (The home county of Minnesota Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Easton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Wells
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Delavan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Dell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Walters
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Winnebago
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Frost
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bricelyn
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Blue Earth
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Kiester
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Huntley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Elmore
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Blue Earth County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Mapleton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Pemberton
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Beauford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Saint Clair
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Good Thunder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Amboy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Vernon Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Smiths Mill
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Smiths Mill is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smiths Mill
- Rapidan
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
- Eagle Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Garden City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Willow Creek
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Mankato
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Freeborn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Freeborn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Hartland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Alden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Manchester
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Manchester is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
- Bath
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Conger
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Conger is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conger
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Clarks Grove
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Albert Lea
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Geneva
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Lakes
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Lakes is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 149 people
- Emmons
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Emmons is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmons
- Population from the 2020 Census: 380 people
- Le Sueur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Greenland
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Marysburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
- Waterville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Granada
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Truman
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Truman is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
- Nicollet County
- North Mankato
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Steele County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Ellendale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hope
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Hope is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- River Point
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- River Point is located in Steele County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Waldorf
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Alma City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- New Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Wilton
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Vista
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Janesville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Waseca
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Elysian
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Palmer
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Palmer is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
- Watonwan County
- Lewisville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Winnebago County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Rake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
- Vinje
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Vinje is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vinje
- Scarville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Minnesota Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Minnesota Lake.
Cemeteries Near Minnesota Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Minnesota Lake.
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 Minnesota Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Minnesota Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. John Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. John Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Peace Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Peace Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Peace United Church of Christ Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Paul's Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Zions Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Trahm's Farm Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Catholic Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (231 more) ...
- Schermerhorn Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. John's Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Danville Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
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.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Minnesota Lake had a population of 340 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Minnesota Lake had a population of 640 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Minnesota Lake, with the one closest to Minnesota Lake listed first.
- Easton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Mapleton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Delavan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Beauford
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Alma City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Sterling Center
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Center
- Freeborn
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Dell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Good Thunder
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Clair
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Amboy
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Winnebago
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Alden
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hartland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- New Richland
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Minnesota Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Minnesota Lake.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Minnesota Lake ...
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 95 newspapers that have been published in the area around Minnesota Lake.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Minnesota Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Minnesota Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Minnesota Lake.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Minnesota Lake.
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 Minnesota Lake:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Faribault County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Blue Earth County
- Freeborn County
- Le Sueur County
- Martin County
- Nicollet County
- Steele County
- Waseca County
- Watonwan County
- Winnebago 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> | 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> | 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 Minnesota Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Minnesota Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |