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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 Spring Creek (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 Spring Creek. 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 Spring Creek ...

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 Spring Creek: Spring Crk. (or less commonly used: Spring Ck. or Spring Cr.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Spring Creek. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Spring Creek.

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 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.

Spring Creek is located in Yellow Medicine 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 Yellow Medicine County: Chippewa, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood, Renville & Deuel (SD).

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

  • Yellow Medicine County     (The home county of Spring Creek)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Clarkfield
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Hazel Run
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Saint Leo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
    • Hanley Falls
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
    • Wood Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Granite Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Porter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Canby
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Canby is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canby
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,645 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Canby <1>
    • Echo
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Echo is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 247 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Echo <1>
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Montevideo
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Watson
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Maynard
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Milan
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Clara City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Bend City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Big Bend City is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Bend City
  • Lac qui Parle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Boyd
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
    • Providence
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
    • Dawson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Dawson is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dawson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,378 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dawson <1>
    • Madison
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Madison is located in Lac qui Parle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madison
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,376 people
  • Lincoln County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Ivanhoe
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Arco
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Lyon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Cottonwood
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Minneota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Taunton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Ghent
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Marshall
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Lynd
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Russell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Russell is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Amiret
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Amiret is located in Lyon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amiret
  • Redwood County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spring Creek, with the one closest to Spring Creek listed first.
    • Milroy
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Vesta
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Vesta is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vesta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 295 people
    • Belview
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Belview is located in Redwood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belview
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
    • Lucan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Seaforth
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Renville County
    • Sacred Heart
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
  • Deuel County (SD)
    • Gary
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Gary is located in Deuel County (SD)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Spring Creek ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spring Creek.

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 Spring Creek - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Spring Creek Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Fridhem Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Israels Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Swede Home Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Bethlehem Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Lucas Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Clarkfield Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Icelandic Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Josephson Family Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (140 more) ...
    • West Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the West Cemetery is located less than 2 miles<2> to the west of Hanley Falls.
      • The West Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Hanley Falls Cemetery
      • West Yellow Medicine Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
      • West Yellow Medicine Lutheran Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #83799 <3>
    • Ten Mile Lake Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Burton Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)

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 Spring Creek in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Spring Creek.

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

  • Clarkfield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Hazel Run
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Hazel Run is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Run
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
  • Boyd
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Boyd is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyd
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Boyd <1>
  • Saint Leo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Saint Leo is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Leo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
  • Cottonwood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Hanley Falls
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Hanley Falls is located in Yellow Medicine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hanley Falls
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Minneota
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Taunton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Green Valley
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Green Valley is located in Lyon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
  • Ghent
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Wegdahl
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wegdahl is located in Chippewa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wegdahl
  • Providence
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Providence is located in Lac qui Parle County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Porter
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Porter is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porter
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
    • Wood Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Wood Lake is located in Yellow Medicine County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 395 people
    • Granite Falls
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)

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

Newspapers Published in Spring Creek ...

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 97 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spring Creek.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Spring Creek, 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 Spring Creek.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Spring Creek:

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 '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- Spring Creek) 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 Spring Creek, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.