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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 Pipestone (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 Pipestone. 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 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.

Pipestone is located in Pipestone County and is the County Seat.

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 Pipestone County: Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Rock, Brookings (SD), Minnehaha (SD) & Moody (SD).

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

  • Pipestone County     (The home county of Pipestone)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Hatfield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Ihlen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ihlen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ihlen
      • Ihlen is located in Pipestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ihlen <2>
    • Airlie
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airlie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
      • Airlie is located in Pipestone County
    • Holland
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
      • Holland is located in Pipestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
    • Trosky
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Woodstock
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
      • Woodstock is located in Pipestone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodstock <2>
    • Jasper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jasper Sunrise Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jasper Sunrise Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jasper Sunrise Village
      • Jasper Sunrise Village is located in Pipestone County
    • Edgerton
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Ruthton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Lake Benton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Tyler
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Arco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arco have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arco
      • Arco is located in Lincoln County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arco <2>
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Florence
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
    • Balaton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Balaton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balaton
      • Balaton is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 616 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Balaton <2>
    • Russell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
  • Murray County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Lake Wilson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wilson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wilson
      • Lake Wilson is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
    • Chandler
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chandler have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandler
      • Chandler is located in Murray County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
    • Hadley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Iona
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Slayton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Nobles County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Leota
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leota have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leota
      • Leota is located in Nobles County
    • Lismore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lismore have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lismore
      • Lismore is located in Nobles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 218 people
    • Wilmont
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wilmont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmont
      • Wilmont is located in Nobles County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 322 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wilmont <2>
  • Rock County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Hardwick
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Kenneth
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Luverne
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luverne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luverne
      • Luverne is located in Rock County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,524 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luverne <2>
    • Beaver Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Magnolia
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Manley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manley
      • Manley is located in Rock County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Manley
      • From Pipestone to Manley
  • Brookings County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Elkton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Aurora
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
      • Aurora is located in Brookings County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 866 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <2>
    • Medary
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Medary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
      • Medary is located in Brookings County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 1,442 people
    • Bushnell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Minnehaha County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Sherman
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Garretson
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garretson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garretson
      • Garretson is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Garretson <2>
    • Dell Rapids
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Baltic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Baltic have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baltic
      • Baltic is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baltic <2>
    • Midway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Valley Springs
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Springs
      • Valley Springs is located in Minnehaha County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Valley Springs <2>
  • Moody County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone listed first.
    • Ward
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
      • Ward is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ward <2>
    • Flandreau
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flandreau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flandreau
      • Flandreau is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flandreau <2>
    • Egan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Egan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egan
      • Egan is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Egan <2>
    • Sioux Falls Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sioux Falls Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Falls Junction
      • Sioux Falls Junction is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 119 people
    • Trent
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trent have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trent
      • Trent is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 226 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Trent <2>
    • Lone Tree
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lone Tree have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Tree
      • Lone Tree is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 14 people
    • Colman
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Dyce ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dyce. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyce
      • Dyce is located in Moody County (SD)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dyce
      • From Pipestone to Dyce

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

Cemeteries Near Pipestone ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pipestone.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pipestone, with the one closest to Pipestone 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 Pipestone had a population of 1,232 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Pipestone had a population of 4,039 people.

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

  • Cazenovia
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cazenovia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
    • Cazenovia is located in Pipestone County
  • Ihlen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ihlen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ihlen
    • Ihlen is located in Pipestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ihlen <2>
  • Hatfield
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Airlie
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Airlie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airlie
    • Airlie is located in Pipestone County
  • Trosky
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Holland
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
    • Holland is located in Pipestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 172 people
  • Jasper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Woodstock
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodstock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
    • Woodstock is located in Pipestone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodstock <2>
  • Edgerton
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Ward
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ward have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ward
    • Ward is located in Moody County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 51 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ward <2>
  • Flandreau
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flandreau have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flandreau
    • Flandreau is located in Moody County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,293 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flandreau <2>
  • Verdi
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verdi have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verdi
    • Verdi is located in Lincoln County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Pipestone ...

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 91 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pipestone.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 websites either 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 Pipestone:

The official website for Pipestone: www.progressivepipestone.com/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Pipestone, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pipestone) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pipestone. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.9984, Longitude: -96.3123    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025