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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 Rice 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 Rice 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 Rice 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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Rice Lake: Rice Lk.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rice Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rice 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Rice Lake is primarily located in Steele County. A portion of Rice Lake extends into Dodge 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 Steele County: Dodge, Freeborn, Goodhue, Mower, Rice & Waseca.

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

  • Steele County     (The home county of Rice Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Havana
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Havana is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
    • Pratt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Pratt is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
    • Owatonna
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Medford
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Medford is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
    • Steele Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Steele Center is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steele Center
    • Union
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Union is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Hope
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Hope is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
    • River Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
      • River Point is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
    • Blooming Prairie
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Ellendale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Waterford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Waterford is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterford
    • Randolph
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Randolph is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
    • Castle Rock
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Castle Rock is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Rock
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Claremont
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • West Concord
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Concord
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Concord is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
    • Dodge Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Mantorville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Kasson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Hayfield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Freeborn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Geneva
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollandale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Bath
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Bath is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
    • Clarks Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Oakland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Oakland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakland
    • Hartland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Hartland is located in Freeborn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
  • Goodhue County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Kenyon
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Roscoe
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Roscoe is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
    • Wanamingo
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Pine Island
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Dennison
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Wangs
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Wangs is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
    • Hader
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Hader is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hader
    • Zumbrota
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Stanton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Stanton is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
    • Belle Creek
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Belle Creek is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Creek
    • White Rock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • White Rock is located in Goodhue County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • Cannon Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Waterville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Kilkenny
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Mower County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Waltham
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Sargeant
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Sargeant is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sargeant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 60 people
    • Lansing
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Lansing is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
    • Brownsdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Mapleview
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Mapleview is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mapleview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
    • Renova ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Renova is located in Mower County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Renova
    • Austin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Olmsted County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Byron
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Byron is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Byron
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,691 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Byron <1>
    • Post Town
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Post Town is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Post Town
    • Genoa
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Genoa is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
    • Shanty Town
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Shanty Town is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shanty Town
    • Rock Dell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Rock Dell is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Dell
    • Oronoco
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Rochester
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • High Forest
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • High Forest is located in Olmsted County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Forest
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Moland
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Moland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moland
    • Walcott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Walcott is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walcott
    • Nerstrand
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Faribault
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Cannon City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Cannon City is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
    • Warsaw
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Warsaw is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warsaw
    • Morristown
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Dundas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Northfield
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Millersburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Millersburg is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
    • Trondjem
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Trondjem is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
  • Wabasha County
    • Mazeppa
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Waseca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
    • Waseca
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Vista
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Vista is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
    • Palmer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Palmer is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmer
    • Wilton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Wilton is located in Waseca County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
    • New Richland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Rice Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rice 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 Rice Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Rice Lake Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Claremont Street Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Dania Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Thompson Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Havana Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Moland Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Aurora Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Merton Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • German Methodist Episcopal Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Bohemian Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (208 more) ...

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.<2>

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

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

  • Havana
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Havana is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
  • Claremont
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Merton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Merton is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
  • Moland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Moland is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moland
  • West Concord
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Pratt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pratt is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pratt
  • Skyberg
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Skyberg is located in Goodhue County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyberg
  • Owatonna
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Concord
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Concord is located in Dodge County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Concord
  • Walcott
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Walcott is located in Rice County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walcott
  • Medford
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Medford is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medford
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,255 people
  • Clinton Falls
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Clinton Falls is located in Steele County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clinton Falls
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Bixby
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Bixby is located in Steele County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bixby
    • Westfield Center ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Westfield Center is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
    • Dodge Center
      (11 miles [17.7 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 Rice Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rice Lake.

Newspapers Published in Rice 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 46 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rice Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rice Lake, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rice Lake.

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 Rice Lake:

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>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 Rice Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Rice Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.