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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 Spruce Center (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 Spruce Center. 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 Spruce Center ...

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 Spruce Center: Spruce Ctr. (or less commonly used: Spruce Cen., Spruce Cent. or Spruce Cntr.)

You might see Spruce Centre instead of Spruce Center.

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.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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 hospitals and 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.

Spruce Center is located in Douglas 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 Douglas County: Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stearns, Stevens & Todd.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Spruce Center)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Rose City
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
    • Miltona
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Belle River
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Belle River is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
    • Carlos
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Nelson
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Nelson is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
    • Osakis
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Alexandria
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Garfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Millerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Brandon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Forada
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Evansville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Ashby
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Erdahl
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
  • Morrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Lincoln
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Lincoln is located in Morrison County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
    • Swanville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Otter Tail County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Parkers Prairie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Urbank
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Vining
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Henning
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Deer Creek
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • Nirvana
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
    • Clitherall
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Wadena
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Wadena is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wadena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,121 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wadena <1>
    • Leaf City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
    • Bluffton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Battle Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ottertail
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Pope County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Villard
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Westport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Westport is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 61 people
    • Lowry
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Farwell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Farwell is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farwell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
    • Glenwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Long Beach
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Long Beach is located in Pope County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 417 people
  • Stearns County
    • Sauk Centre
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Clotho
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
    • Eagle Bend
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Clarissa
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Bertha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Browerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Browerville is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Long Prairie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Hewitt
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • West Union
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • West Union is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Union
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 123 people
    • Pillsbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pillsbury is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
    • Philbrook
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Philbrook is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Philbrook
    • Staples
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Grey Eagle
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Spruce Center, with the one closest to Spruce Center listed first.
    • Verndale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Aldrich
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people

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

Cemeteries Near Spruce Center ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Spruce Center.

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 Spruce Center - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Scribbner Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Free Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
  • Spruce Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Esther Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mt. Calvary Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Faith Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Mound Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Swedish Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Paul's Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Emmanuel Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • St. Williams Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (189 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.<4>

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

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

  • Miltona
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Belle River
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Belle River is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle River
  • Parkers Prairie
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Clotho
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Clotho is located in Todd County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
  • Eagle Bend
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Leaf Valley
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Leaf Valley is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf Valley
  • Nelson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Nelson is located in Douglas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 192 people
  • Clarissa
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Alexandria
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Osakis
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Wrightstown
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
  • Garfield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Bertha
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Millerville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Browerville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Browerville is located in Todd County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people

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

Newspapers Published in Spruce Center ...

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 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Spruce Center.

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Spruce Center:

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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Spruce Center) 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 Spruce Center, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.