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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 Vadnais Heights (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 Vadnais Heights. 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 Vadnais Heights ...

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 Vadnais Heights: Vadnais Hts. (in Canada, 'Hgts.' is the more common abbreviation.)

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 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 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.

Vadnais Heights is located in Ramsey 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 Ramsey County: Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin & Washington.

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

  • Ramsey County     (The home county of Vadnais Heights)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Gem Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
    • Cardigan Junction
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • North Oaks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Little Canada
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • White Bear Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shoreview
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Maplewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • North Saint Paul
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Roseville
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Arden Hills
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • White Bear Beach
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
    • Falcon Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • New Brighton
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Circle Pines
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Centerville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lino Lakes
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Lexington
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Spring Lake Park
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Columbia Heights
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Hilltop
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Fridley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Blaine
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Coon Creek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Coon Rapids
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • City of Columbus
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • Ham Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Chanhassen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hazeltine
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
  • Chisago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Wyoming
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Chisago City
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Stacy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Stacy is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stacy <1>
    • Lindstrom
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Center City
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Shafer
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Franconia
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Franconia is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
    • Branch
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Branch is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • West Saint Paul
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Lilydale
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Mendota
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • South Saint Paul
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Eagan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Nicols
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Rosemount
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Nininger
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Nininger is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nininger
    • Apple Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Burnsville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Minneapolis
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Robbinsdale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Brooklyn Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Crystal
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Golden Valley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Richfield
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Louis Park
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • New Hope
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Osseo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Osseo is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osseo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,703 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osseo <1>
    • Edina
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Edina is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52,477 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edina <1>
    • Medicine Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Isanti County
    • Weber
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Weber is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Savage
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Shakopee
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Prior Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Credit River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
  • Sherburne County
    • Elk River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Birchwood Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Willernie
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Dellwood
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Pine Springs
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Oakdale
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Oakdale is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
    • Duluth Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction
    • Grant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Grant is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Hugo
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
    • Landfall
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Withrow
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Withrow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow
    • Lake Elmo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Oak Park Heights
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Hanover
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Otsego
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Prescott
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Prescott is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,279 people
    • River Falls
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • River Falls is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,306 people
  • Polk County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • Osceola
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
    • Horse Creek
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Horse Creek is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
    • Dresser
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Dresser is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Vadnais Heights, with the one closest to Vadnais Heights listed first.
    • North Hudson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Hudson
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • Burkhardt
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Burkhardt is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkhardt
    • Somerset
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Somerset is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,992 people
    • Roberts
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Roberts is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,018 people
    • New Richmond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • New Richmond is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,730 people
    • Star Prairie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people

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

Cemeteries Near Vadnais Heights ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vadnais Heights.

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 Vadnais Heights - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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>

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

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

  • Cardigan Junction
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
  • Little Canada
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • White Bear Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Gladstone
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Gladstone is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
  • North Saint Paul
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Mahtomedi
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Dellwood
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Dellwood is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
  • White Bear Beach
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
  • Hazel Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazel Park is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Park
  • New Brighton
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Saint Paul
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Oakdale
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakdale is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Centerville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Mounds View
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Duluth Junction
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction

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

Newspapers Published in Vadnais Heights ...

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 479 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vadnais Heights.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Vadnais Heights, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Vadnais Heights.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Vadnais Heights:

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 Vadnais Heights, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Vadnais Heights) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.