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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 Waconia (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 Waconia. 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.

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.

Waconia is located in Carver 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 Carver County: Hennepin, McLeod, Scott, Sibley & Wright.

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

  • Carver County     (The home county of Waconia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Hydes Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Cologne
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Mayer
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Young America
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Victoria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Dahlgren
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Norwood Young America
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Norwood Young America is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwood Young America
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,794 people
    • Watertown
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Gotha
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
    • Norwood
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Hazeltine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Carver
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Columbia Heights
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltop
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Burnsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Nicols
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Apple Valley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Eagan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Lakeville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Saint Bonifacius
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Minnetrista
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Mound
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Mound is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,404 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound <1>
    • Spring Park
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Tonka Bay
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Tonka Bay is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tonka Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
    • Excelsior
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Greenwood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Greenwood is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 937 people
    • Minnetonka Beach
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Minnetonka Beach is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
    • Shorewood
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Independence
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Independence is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
    • Crystal Bay
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Crystal Bay is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Bay
    • Maple Plain
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Le Sueur County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Saint Thomas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Saint Thomas is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Heidelberg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Heidelberg is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heidelberg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 122 people
    • Le Sueur
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Lexington
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Lexington is located in Le Sueur County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lexington
    • Montgomery
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Lester Prairie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Plato
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Winsted
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Glencoe
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Silver Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Biscay
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Biscay is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biscay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
    • Sumter
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Sumter is located in McLeod County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sumter
    • Brownton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hutchinson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Meeker County
    • Dassel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ramsey County
    • Lauderdale
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
  • Rice County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Webster
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheatland
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Wheatland is located in Rice County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Jordan
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Belle Plaine
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Marystown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Shakopee
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Prior Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Union Hill
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Union Hill is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
    • Savage
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Saint Patrick
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Credit River
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • New Prague
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • New Market
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Sibley County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Green Isle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Arlington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Henderson
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • New Auburn
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Gaylord
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waconia, with the one closest to Waconia listed first.
    • Delano
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Montrose
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Rockford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Waverly
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Howard Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Smith Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Smith Lake is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smith Lake
    • Buffalo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Rassat
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Rassat is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
    • Saint Michael
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Albright
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Albright is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albright
    • Cokato
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Waconia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waconia.

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 Waconia - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Waconia Public Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Scandia Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Rutz Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Bernard Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • St. John's UCC Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Cologne United Methodist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • German Baptist Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • St. Bonifacius Catholic Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mau Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Young America Public Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (296 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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Waconia had a population of 441 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Waconia had a population of 12,415 people.

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

  • Coney Island
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Coney Island is located in Carver County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coney Island
  • Cologne
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Augusta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Augusta is located in Carver County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
  • Saint Bonifacius
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Mayer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Young America
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Dahlgren
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
  • Victoria
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Minnetrista
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Norwood
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Watertown
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
  • Gotha
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Gotha is located in Carver County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Carver
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Hazeltine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Hollywood
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Hollywood is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollywood

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Waconia ...

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 154 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waconia.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Waconia. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Waconia and those printed in the larger area surrounding Waconia.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<4> of Waconia.

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 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 Waconia:

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