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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 Randolph (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 Randolph. 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 doctors and 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.

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

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

  • Dakota County     (The home county of Randolph)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Hampton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • New Trier
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Trier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Trier
      • New Trier is located in Dakota County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
    • Waterford
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waterford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
      • Waterford is located in Dakota County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Waterford
      • From Randolph to Waterford
    • Castle Rock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
    • Farmington
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Vermillion
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vermillion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermillion
      • Vermillion is located in Dakota County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vermillion <1>
    • Eureka Center
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Miesville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miesville
      • Miesville is located in Dakota County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miesville <1>
    • Coates
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coates have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
      • Coates is located in Dakota County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
    • Lakeville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Rosemount
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosemount have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosemount
      • Rosemount is located in Dakota County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 25,798 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosemount <1>
    • Hastings
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • West Concord
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Concord
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Concord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
      • Concord is located in Dodge County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Concord
      • From Randolph to Concord
  • Goodhue County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Stanton
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cannon Falls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Falls
      • Cannon Falls is located in Goodhue County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,022 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cannon Falls <1>
    • Dennison
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • White Rock
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for White Rock. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Goodhue County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to White Rock
      • From Randolph to White Rock
    • Belle Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Welch
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Hader
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Kenyon
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Wanamingo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Goodhue
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodhue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodhue
      • Goodhue is located in Goodhue County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,164 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goodhue <1>
    • Red Wing
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Zumbrota
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Zumbrota have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zumbrota
      • Zumbrota is located in Goodhue County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,530 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Zumbrota <1>
  • Hennepin County
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Montgomery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Heidelberg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Heidelberg. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Heidelberg
      • From Randolph to Heidelberg
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Highwood
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Highwood. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
      • Highwood is located in Ramsey County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Highwood
      • From Randolph to Highwood
    • Saint Paul
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Northfield
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Dundas
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundas
      • Dundas is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,652 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundas <1>
    • Nerstrand
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Cannon City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
    • Millersburg
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Webster
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Trondjem
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Faribault
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lonsdale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lonsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lonsdale
      • Lonsdale is located in Rice County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lonsdale <1>
    • Moland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moland
      • Moland is located in Rice County
    • Warsaw
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Morristown
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Elko New Market
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elko New Market have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
      • Elko New Market is located in Scott County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
    • Elko
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elko have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko
      • Elko is located in Scott County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elko <1>
    • New Market
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Market have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Market
      • New Market is located in Scott County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Market <1>
    • Credit River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Credit River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
    • Cedar Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Prior Lake
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Savage
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Savage have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savage
      • Savage is located in Scott County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 32,858 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Savage <1>
    • Saint Patrick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • New Prague
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Marystown
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Marystown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Marystown
      • From Randolph to Marystown
    • Shakopee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shakopee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakopee
      • Shakopee is located in Scott County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43,020 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shakopee <1>
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Medford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Rice Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Steele County
  • Wabasha County
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Cottage Grove
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Saint Paul Park
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Newport
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newport
      • Newport is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,138 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newport <1>
    • Woodbury
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodbury
      • Woodbury is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74,255 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodbury <1>
    • Afton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Landfall
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Landfall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Saint Marys Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Marys Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
      • Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
    • Lake Saint Croix Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Saint Croix Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Saint Croix Beach
      • Lake Saint Croix Beach is located in Washington County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,071 people
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph listed first.
    • Prescott
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Hager City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hager City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hager City
      • Hager City is located in Pierce County (WI)
    • Trimbelle
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Trimbelle. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimbelle
      • Trimbelle is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Trimbelle
      • From Randolph to Trimbelle
    • Moeville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Bay City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Beldenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellsworth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellsworth have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
      • Ellsworth is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,272 people
    • River Falls
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Randolph ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Randolph.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Randolph, with the one closest to Randolph 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 Randolph had a population of 75 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Randolph had a population of 444 people.

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

  • Stanton
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Cannon Falls
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cannon Falls have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon Falls
    • Cannon Falls is located in Goodhue County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,022 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cannon Falls <1>
  • Hampton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Waterford
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Waterford. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Waterford is located in Dakota County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Waterford
    • From Randolph to Waterford
  • New Trier
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Trier have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Trier
    • New Trier is located in Dakota County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
  • Castle Rock
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
    • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
  • Northfield
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Dennison
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Wangs
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wangs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
    • Wangs is located in Goodhue County
  • Farmington
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Vermillion
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vermillion have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vermillion
    • Vermillion is located in Dakota County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 419 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vermillion <1>
  • Dundas
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dundas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dundas
    • Dundas is located in Rice County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,652 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dundas <1>
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Wastedo
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wastedo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wastedo
      • Wastedo is located in Goodhue County
    • Nerstrand
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Belle Creek
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Randolph ...

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 292 newspapers that have been published in the area around Randolph.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Randolph, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Randolph.

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 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 Randolph:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Randolph. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Dakota County: www.co.dakota.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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Randolph) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Randolph. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.5272, Longitude: -93.0198    
<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 Randolph, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025