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 Rich Valley (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 Rich Valley. 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 Rich Valley ...
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 Rich Valley: Rich Vly. (or less commonly used: Rich Vally. or Rich Vlly.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rich Valley. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rich Valley.
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 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 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.
Rich Valley is located in Dakota 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 Dakota County: Goodhue, Hennepin, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Washington & Pierce (WI).
Below are the counties that are near Rich Valley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rich Valley:
- Dakota County (The home county of Rich Valley)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Rosemount
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Coates
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Coates is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
- Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
- Inver Grove Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Vermillion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Nininger
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Nininger is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nininger
- Apple Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Eagan
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Farmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hastings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- South Saint Paul
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Sunfish Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Hampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Anoka County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Columbia Heights
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hilltop
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hilltop is located in Anoka County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
- Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
- Fridley
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Lake Park
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Circle Pines
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lexington
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Centerville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Lino Lakes
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Blaine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Coon Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
- Carver County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Chanhassen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Chaska
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Carver
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hazeltine
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Hazeltine is located in Carver County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
- Goodhue County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Cannon Falls
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Stanton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Stanton is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stanton
- Welch
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dennison
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wangs
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Wangs is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangs
- White Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- White Rock is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
- Belle Creek
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Belle Creek is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Creek
- Red Wing
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Hader
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Hader is located in Goodhue County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hader
- Hennepin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Bloomington
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Richfield
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Edina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Minneapolis
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Anthony
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Hopkins
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Louis Park
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Eden Prairie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Golden Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Minnetonka Mills
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
- Minnetonka
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Robbinsdale
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Ramsey County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Highwood
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Highwood is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highwood
- Saint Paul
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Falcon Heights
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- North Saint Paul
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Lauderdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
- Little Canada
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Maplewood
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Roseville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Cardigan Junction
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
- Gem Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
- Vadnais Heights
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Arden Hills
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Rice County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Northfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Webster
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Dundas
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Trondjem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Trondjem is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trondjem
- Lonsdale
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millersburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Millersburg is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millersburg
- Nerstrand
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Cannon City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Cannon City is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cannon City
- Wheatland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Wheatland is located in Rice County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
- Scott County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Savage
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Credit River
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Credit River is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
- Elko
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Prior Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Elko New Market
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Elko New Market is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
- New Market
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Shakopee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Cedar Lake
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
- Saint Patrick
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
- Marystown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Marystown is located in Scott County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
- New Prague
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Jordan
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Washington County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Saint Paul Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Cottage Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Newport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Woodbury
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Landfall
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Landfall is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
- Afton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oakdale
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Marys Point
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
- Lake Saint Croix Beach
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Saint Croix Beach is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Saint Croix Beach
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,071 people
- Lake Elmo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeland Shores
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Lakeland Shores is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeland Shores
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Lakeland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Pierce County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Prescott
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Prescott is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,279 people
- River Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- River Falls is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,306 people
- Trimbelle
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Trimbelle is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimbelle
- Moeville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Moeville is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moeville
- Beldenville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beldenville is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beldenville
- Hager City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Hager City is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hager City
- Ellsworth
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Ellsworth is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellsworth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,272 people
- Morton Corner
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Morton Corner is located in Pierce County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corner
- Saint Croix County (WI)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Hudson
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
- North Hudson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
- Burkhardt
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Burkhardt is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkhardt
- Roberts
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Roberts is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,018 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rich Valley, see our County-by-County Page for Rich Valley.
Cemeteries Near Rich Valley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rich Valley.
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 Rich Valley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rich Valley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- St. John's Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Pine Bend Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- St. Augustine Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Augustine Cemetery
- The St. Augustine Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Agatha's Catholic Cemetery
- St. Patrick Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Spring Lake Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Grey Cloud Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Joseph Cemetery
- The St. Joseph Cemetery has also been known as:
- Highland Cemetery
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rose Hill Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Lebanon Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Continue List (263 more) ...
- St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Farmington.
- The St. Michaels Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Michael's Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83459 <2>
- Lyon Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Oakwood Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Rich Valley had a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rich Valley, with the one closest to Rich Valley listed first.
- Rosemount
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- Pine Bend
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pine Bend is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Bend
- Vermillion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Saint Paul Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Langdon
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Langdon is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Langdon
- Cottage Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Farmington
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hampton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Hastings
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Newport
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- South Saint Paul
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Nicols
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Nicols is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Lakeville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- New Trier
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- New Trier is located in Dakota County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Trier
- Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
- Point Douglas
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Point Douglas is located in Washington County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Point Douglas
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rich Valley. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rich Valley.
Newspapers Published in Rich Valley ...
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 446 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rich Valley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rich Valley, there are papers which were published within 24 miles [38.6 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rich Valley.
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 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 Rich Valley:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Dakota County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Anoka County
- Carver County
- Goodhue County
- Hennepin County
- Ramsey County
- Rice County
- Scott County
- Washington County
- Pierce County
- Saint Croix 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 Rich Valley, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Rich Valley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |