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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 Orchard Garden (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 Orchard Garden. 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 Orchard Garden ...

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 Orchard Garden: Orchard Gdn. (or less commonly used: Orchard Gardn., Orchard Grden. or Orchard Grdn.)

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Orchard Garden is located in Dakota 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 Dakota County: Goodhue, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Washington & Pierce (WI).

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

  • Dakota County     (The home county of Orchard Garden)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Burnsville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Apple Valley
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Lakeville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nicols
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Eagan
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • Farmington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Eureka Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Eureka Center is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Center
    • Rosemount
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Coates
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Coates is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Mendota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Mendota Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Castle Rock
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Columbia Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Hilltop
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Fridley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Spring Lake Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Circle Pines
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Coon Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Lexington
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Blaine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Chanhassen
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Chaska
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Hazeltine
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Carver
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Dahlgren
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Victoria
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Cologne
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Gotha
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Waconia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Hydes Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Assumption
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Assumption is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Assumption
    • Norwood Young America
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • 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
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Goodhue County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Stanton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Stanton is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
    • Cannon Falls
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dennison
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Wangs
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Wangs is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
    • Welch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Bloomington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Richfield
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Edina
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Edina is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52,477 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edina <1>
    • Eden Prairie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Hopkins
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Saint Louis Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Minnetonka Mills
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
    • Minnetonka
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Minneapolis
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Deephaven
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwood
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 937 people
    • Golden Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Excelsior
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Heidelberg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Montgomery
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lexington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Saint Thomas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Highwood
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Highwood is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
    • Saint Paul
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Falcon Heights
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Lauderdale
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
    • Roseville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • New Brighton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Little Canada
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Arden Hills
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Maplewood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • North Saint Paul
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Shoreview
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Webster
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Trondjem
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
    • Lonsdale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Northfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Millersburg
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Wheatland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Dundas
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Cannon City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
    • Nerstrand
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Faribault
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Savage
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Credit River
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Prior Lake
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Shakopee
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • New Market
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Elko New Market
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • 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
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Marystown
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Saint Patrick
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Jordan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • New Prague
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Union Hill
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Orchard Garden, with the one closest to Orchard Garden listed first.
    • Saint Paul Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Newport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Cottage Grove
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Landfall
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Woodbury
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Oakdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Oakdale is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
    • Afton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Afton is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Afton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,036 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Afton <1>
    • Birchwood Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Lake Elmo
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Marys Point
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
    • Willernie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • Prescott
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Prescott is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,279 people

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

Cemeteries Near Orchard Garden ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Orchard Garden.

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 Orchard Garden - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Evergreen Point Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant View Memorial Gardens
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Lakeville Grove Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Joseph Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
    • The St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Highland Cemetery
  • Lebanon Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Glendale Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Pauls Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • All Saints Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Bloomington Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (277 more) ...
    • Bloomington Ferry Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Cemetery
      • The Greenwood Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Greenwood Presbyterian Cemetery
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)

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>

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

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

  • Credit River
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Credit River is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
  • Lakeville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Bloomington Ferry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Bloomington Ferry is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomington Ferry
  • Prior Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Bloomington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Nicols
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Nicols is located in Dakota County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
  • Barden
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Barden is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barden
  • Farmington
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Shakopee
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • New Market
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Richfield
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Lydia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lydia is located in Scott County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lydia
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Cedar Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Rosemount
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Rowland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Rowland is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland

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

Newspapers Published in Orchard Garden ...

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 361 newspapers that have been published in the area around Orchard Garden.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Orchard Garden, there are papers which were published within 23 miles [37 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Orchard Garden.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we 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 Orchard Garden:

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 Orchard Garden, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orchard Garden) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.