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 Sterling 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 Sterling 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 Sterling 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.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Sterling Center: Sterling Ctr. (or less commonly used: Sterling Cen., Sterling Cent. or Sterling Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Sterling Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Sterling 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.
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 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 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.
Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County: Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Waseca & Watonwan.
Below are the counties that are near Sterling Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Sterling Center:
- Blue Earth County (The home county of Sterling Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Amboy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Vernon Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Mapleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Good Thunder
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Beauford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Willow Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Garden City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Rapidan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
- Lake Crystal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Skyline
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Pemberton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pemberton is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pemberton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 241 people
- Saint Clair
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Hanska
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Searles
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Searles is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Delavan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Winnebago
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Minnesota Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Easton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Huntley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Blue Earth
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Blue Earth is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,098 people
- Former name for Blue Earth:
- Blue Earth City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blue Earth <1>
- Wells
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Dell
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Frost
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Elmore
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Elmore is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elmore
- Population from the 2020 Census: 613 people
- Bricelyn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Bricelyn is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricelyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Walters
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Walters is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walters
- Population from the 2020 Census: 67 people
- Freeborn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Freeborn
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Alden
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Hartland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Hartland is located in Freeborn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Le Sueur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Marysburg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
- Kasota
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Greenland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Truman
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Truman is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,028 people
- Granada
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Northrop
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Nicollet County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- North Mankato
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Nicollet
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Oshawa
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
- Courtland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Peter
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Waldorf
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Alma City
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Janesville
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Wilton is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Elysian
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- New Richland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Vista
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Vista is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Waseca
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Watonwan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Lewisville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Madelia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Grogan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Grogan is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
- La Salle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- La Salle is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Saint James
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Winnebago County (IA)
- Rake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Rake is located in Winnebago County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 206 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Sterling Center, see our County-by-County Page for Sterling Center.
Cemeteries Near Sterling Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Sterling 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 Sterling Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Sterling Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Sterling Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Belle of Sterling Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Jackson Lake Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- West Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Chase Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Pioneer Shelbyville Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Bass Lake Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Calvary Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Union Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- St. Matthews Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon Center Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (219 more) ...
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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, Sterling Center had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Sterling Center, with the one closest to Sterling Center listed first.
- Amboy
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Vernon Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Vernon Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vernon Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 313 people
- Mapleton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Good Thunder
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Delavan
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Beauford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Willow Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Winnebago
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Garden City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Nashville Center
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nashville Center is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville Center
- Easton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Easton is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Minnesota Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Rapidan
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
- Huntley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Lake Crystal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Sterling Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Sterling Center.
Newspapers Published in Sterling 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 140 newspapers that have been published in the area around Sterling Center.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Sterling Center, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Sterling Center.
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 Sterling Center:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Blue Earth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Faribault County
- Freeborn County
- Le Sueur County
- Martin County
- Nicollet County
- Waseca County
- Watonwan County
- Winnebago 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 Sterling Center, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Sterling Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |