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 Vernon 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 Vernon 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 Vernon 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 Vernon Center: Vernon Ctr. (or less commonly used: Vernon Cen., Vernon Cent. or Vernon Cntr.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Vernon Center. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Vernon 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 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.
Vernon 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 Vernon Center. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Vernon Center:
- Blue Earth County (The home county of Vernon Center)
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Garden City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Good Thunder
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Amboy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Willow Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Beauford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Mapleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Lake Crystal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Rapidan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
- Skyline
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Skyline is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline
- Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
- Judson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Judson is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
- Mankato
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Saint Clair
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Hanska
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Searles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Searles is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Searles
- New Ulm
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Faribault County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Winnebago
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Delavan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Huntley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Easton
(18 miles [29 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
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Blue Earth
(22 miles [35.4 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>
- Dell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dell is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell
- Wells
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Frost
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Le Sueur County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Kasota
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Marysburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Marysburg is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marysburg
- Greenland
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Greenland is located in Le Sueur County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
- Cleveland
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Martin County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Truman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- 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
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Fairmont
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ormsby
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Ormsby is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ormsby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Trimont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Welcome
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Nicollet County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- North Mankato
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Nicollet
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Courtland
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Oshawa
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Oshawa is located in Nicollet County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oshawa
- Saint Peter
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Waseca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Alma City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Alma City is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alma City
- Waldorf
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Waldorf is located in Waseca County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waldorf
- Population from the 2020 Census: 224 people
- Janesville
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Elysian
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Watonwan County
- The following are listed by their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Madelia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Lewisville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Lewisville is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 244 people
- Grogan
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Grogan is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grogan
- La Salle
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- La Salle is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Salle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Saint James
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Godahl
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Godahl is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godahl
- Odin
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Odin is located in Watonwan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Vernon Center, see our County-by-County Page for Vernon Center.
Cemeteries Near Vernon Center ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Vernon 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 Vernon Center - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Vernon Center covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Vernon Center Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- St. Matthews Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- North St. Johns Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Old Willow Creek Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Lyra Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Jackson Lake Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Calvary Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (218 more) ...
- Pioneer Shelbyville Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Sterling Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Belle of Sterling Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
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 Vernon Center had a population of 105 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Vernon Center had a population of 313 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Vernon Center, with the one closest to Vernon Center listed first.
- Amboy
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sterling Center
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Sterling Center is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sterling Center
- Good Thunder
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Garden City
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Willow Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Willow Creek is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Lake Crystal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Mapleton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Beauford
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Beauford is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beauford
- Rapidan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Rapidan is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapidan
- Nashville Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Nashville Center is located in Martin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville Center
- Winnebago
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Madelia
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Delavan
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Delavan is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delavan
- Population from the 2020 Census: 166 people
- Huntley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Huntley is located in Faribault County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntley
- Judson
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Judson is located in Blue Earth County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Judson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Vernon Center. See our List of 1890's Communities around Vernon Center.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Vernon 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 148 newspapers that have been published in the area around Vernon Center.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Vernon Center. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Vernon Center and those printed in the larger area surrounding Vernon Center.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Vernon Center.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with 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 Vernon Center:
- Websites specific to Minnesota
- Pages specific to Blue Earth County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Faribault County
- Le Sueur County
- Martin County
- Nicollet County
- Waseca County
- Watonwan 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 Vernon 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 from Point A (ie- Vernon Center) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |