RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Morrison County >> Platte >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Platte (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 Platte. 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 hospitals 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.

Platte is located in Morrison 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 Morrison County: Benton, Cass, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Stearns & Todd.

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

  • Morrison County     (The home county of Platte)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Harding
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Harding is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harding
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Lastrup
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Pierz
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Pierz is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierz
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pierz <1>
    • Genola
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Genola is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Hillman
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Belle Prairie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Belle Prairie is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie
    • Buckman
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Buckman is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckman
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Little Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Morrill
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Morrill is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrill
    • Ramey
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Ramey is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
    • Randall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Royalton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cushing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
  • Aitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Nichols
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Nichols is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
    • Wealthwood
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wealthwood is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wealthwood
  • Benton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Rice
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Rice is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rice <1>
    • Gilman
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Watab
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Watab is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watab
    • Oak Park
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oak Park is located in Benton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • East Gull Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Pillager
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Lake Shore
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Crow Wing County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Fort Ripley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Brainerd
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Garrison
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Baxter
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Baxter is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,483 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baxter <1>
    • Bay Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Bay Lake is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bay Lake
    • Riverton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Riverton is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
    • Merrifield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Crosby
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Crosby is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crosby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,315 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crosby <1>
    • Deerwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Ironton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Trommald
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Trommald is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trommald
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
    • Cuyuna
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Cuyuna is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuyuna
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
    • Lake Hubert
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lake Hubert is located in Crow Wing County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hubert
  • Mille Lacs County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Vineland
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Vineland is located in Mille Lacs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland
    • Onamia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Wahkon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Isle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Isle is located in Mille Lacs County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 790 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isle <1>
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Platte, with the one closest to Platte listed first.
    • Opole
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Opole is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Opole
    • Saint Stephen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Saint Stephen is located in Stearns County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Stephen
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 867 people

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

Cemeteries Near Platte ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Platte.

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 Platte - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Mary's Polish National Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • St. Marys Catholic Community Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Marys Catholic Community Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Marys Catholic Community Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<2> to the west of Harding.
    • The St. Marys Catholic Community Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Free Polish National Church Cemetery
    • St. Marys Catholic Community Church Cemetery
    • St. Marys Free Polish National Church Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2410525 <3>
  • Holy Cross Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • St. John Nepomucene Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Freedhem Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Pine Tree Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Hagen - Arnestad Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (124 more) ...
    • Holy Family Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hillside Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Pine Grove Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)

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>

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

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

  • Saint Mathias
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Mathias is located in Crow Wing County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Mathias
  • Belle Prairie
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Belle Prairie is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Prairie
  • Fort Ripley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Buckman
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Buckman is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckman
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Crow Wing
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Crow Wing is located in Crow Wing County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow Wing
  • Little Falls
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Vineland
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Vineland is located in Mille Lacs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vineland
  • Gregory
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Gregory is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gregory
  • Brainerd
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Baxter
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Baxter is located in Crow Wing County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baxter
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,483 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baxter <1>
  • Garrison
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Morrill
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Morrill is located in Morrison County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrill
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Nichols
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Nichols is located in Aitkin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nichols
    • Randall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Royalton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Newspapers Published in Platte ...

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 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Platte.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Platte, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Platte.

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 Platte:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Platte) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<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 Platte, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.