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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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 occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Pleasant Lake: Pleasant Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Pleasant Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Pleasant Lake.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
Pleasant Lake is located in Stearns 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 Stearns County: Benton, Douglas, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Morrison, Pope, Sherburne, Todd & Wright.
Below are the counties that are near Pleasant Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Pleasant Lake:
- Stearns County (The home county of Pleasant Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Rockville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Joseph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Waite Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Augusta
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Augusta is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augusta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,900 people
- Saint Cloud
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Collegeville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cold Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Sartell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Evergreen Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Village is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
- Avon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Fairhaven
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fairhaven is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Benton County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Sauk Rapids
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Evergreen Village is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
- Watab
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Watab is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Watab
- Duelm
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Duelm is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duelm
- Rice
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Foley
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Gilman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ronneby
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Ronneby is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronneby
- Oak Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Oak Park is located in Benton County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Park
- Kandiyohi County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Regal
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Regal is located in Kandiyohi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regal
- Population from the 2020 Census: 35 people
- Hawick
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hawick is located in Kandiyohi County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawick
- Meeker County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Watkins
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Eden Valley
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Kingston
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Kingston is located in Meeker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 162 people
- Forest City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Forest City is located in Meeker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Manannah
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Manannah is located in Meeker County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
- Darwin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Dassel
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Litchfield
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Grove City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Mille Lacs County
- Estes Brook
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Estes Brook is located in Mille Lacs County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estes Brook
- Morrison County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- North Prairie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- North Prairie is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Prairie
- Bowlus
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Royalton
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Elmdale
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elmdale is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 116 people
- Upsala
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Morrill
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Morrill is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrill
- Ramey
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Ramey is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramey
- Buckman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Buckman is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buckman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Sobieski
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Sobieski is located in Morrison County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sobieski
- Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
- Sherburne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Cable
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cable is located in Sherburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
- Clear Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Becker
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Santiago
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Santiago is located in Sherburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santiago
- Salida
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Salida is located in Sherburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salida
- Orrock
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Orrock is located in Sherburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orrock
- Big Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Wright County
- The following are listed by their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Clearwater
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- South Haven
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Hasty
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Hasty is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hasty
- Annandale
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Silver Creek is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Creek
- Maple Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Albion Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Albion Center is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion Center
- Albright
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Albright is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albright
- Monticello
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rassat
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Rassat is located in Wright County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
- Cokato
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Buffalo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Pleasant Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Pleasant Lake.
Cemeteries Near Pleasant Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Pleasant 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 Pleasant Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Pleasant Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Staples Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Calvary Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Wendelin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Stranger Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Monastic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- North Star Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Jacobs Prairie Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- St. James Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Gethsemane Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (195 more) ...
- St. Mary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Assumption Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- St. Boniface Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Pleasant Lake in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Pleasant Lake.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Pleasant Lake, with the one closest to Pleasant Lake listed first.
- Rockville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Luxemburg
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Luxemburg is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luxemburg
- Saint Joseph
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Augusta
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Augusta is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augusta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,900 people
- Cold Spring
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Collegeville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Cloud
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Sauk Rapids
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Nicholas
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Nicholas is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Nicholas
- Cable
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Cable is located in Sherburne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cable
- Richmond
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Avon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (18 more) ...
- Kimball Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Kimball Prairie is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kimball Prairie
- Fairhaven
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Fairhaven is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Saint Wendel
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Saint Wendel is located in Stearns County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Wendel
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Pleasant Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Pleasant Lake.
Newspapers Published in Pleasant 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 130 newspapers that have been published in the area around Pleasant Lake.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Pleasant Lake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Pleasant 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 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 Pleasant Lake:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Stearns County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Benton County
- Kandiyohi County
- Meeker County
- Mille Lacs County
- Morrison County
- Sherburne County
- Wright 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 Pleasant 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- Pleasant Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |