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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 Moose 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 Moose 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 Moose 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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Moose Lake: Moose 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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.

Moose Lake is located in Carlton 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 Carlton County: Aitkin, Pine, Saint Louis & Douglas (WI).

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

  • Carlton County     (The home county of Moose Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moose Lake, with the one closest to Moose Lake listed first.
    • Barnum
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Kettle River
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kettle River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle River
      • Kettle River is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kettle River <1>
    • Mahtowa
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Automba
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Cromwell
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Sawyer
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Otter Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Holyoke
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holyoke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holyoke
      • From Moose Lake to Holyoke
    • Wright
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
      • Wright is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wright <1>
    • Carlton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Wrenshall
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrenshall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrenshall
      • Wrenshall is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrenshall <1>
    • Cloquet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Scanlon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scanlon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scanlon
      • Scanlon is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 945 people
  • Aitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moose Lake, with the one closest to Moose Lake listed first.
    • Tamarack
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • McGrath
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGrath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrath
      • McGrath is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGrath <1>
    • McGregor
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Minnewawa
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pine County
  • Saint Louis County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moose Lake, with the one closest to Moose Lake listed first.
    • Brookston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brookston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brookston
      • Brookston is located in Saint Louis County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 140 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brookston <1>
    • Gary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • 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 Saint Louis County
    • New Duluth
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Douglas County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Moose Lake, with the one closest to Moose Lake listed first.
    • Dedham
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dedham. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dedham
      • Dedham is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dedham
      • From Moose Lake to Dedham
    • Oliver
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oliver have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oliver
      • Oliver is located in Douglas County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 416 people

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

Cemeteries Near Moose Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Moose 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.

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

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

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Moose Lake had a population of 169 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Moose Lake had a population of 2,790 people.

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

  • Barnum
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sturgeon Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Willow River
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mahtowa
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Kerrick
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Corona
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
    • Corona is located in Carlton County
  • Cromwell
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Otter Creek
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Sawyer
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
    • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
  • Holyoke
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holyoke. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
    • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Holyoke
    • From Moose Lake to Holyoke
  • Finlayson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
  • Wright
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
    • Wright is located in Carlton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wright <1>
  • Continue List   (10 more) ...
    • Carlton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Sandstone
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
      • Sandstone is located in Pine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,554 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandstone <1>
    • Tamarack
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Moose 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 28 newspapers that have been published in the area around Moose Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Moose Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Moose Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Moose Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6> of Moose Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start 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 Moose Lake:

The official website for Moose Lake: www.ci.moose-lake.mn.us/

The official website for Carlton County: www.co.carlton.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>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.
<5>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 Moose Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Moose Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Moose Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4543, Longitude: -92.7620    









 

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In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025