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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 Wadena (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 Wadena. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

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 south 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.

Wadena is primarily located in Otter Tail County and is the County Seat. A portion of Wadena extends into Wadena County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Otter Tail County: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Todd, Wadena & Wilkin.

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

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Wadena)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Bluffton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluffton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
      • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
    • Deer Creek
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
      • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
    • New York Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Leaf City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leaf City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leaf City
      • Leaf City is located in Otter Tail County
    • Henning
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
      • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
    • Ottertail
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ottertail have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ottertail
      • Ottertail is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 660 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ottertail <2>
    • Parkers Prairie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Perham
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Perham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perham
      • Perham is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,638 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Perham <2>
    • Vining
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Nirvana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
    • Richville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richville
      • Richville is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Richville <2>
    • Clitherall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clitherall have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clitherall
      • Clitherall is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 106 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clitherall <2>
    • Urbank
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbank have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbank
      • Urbank is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52 people
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Evergreen
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
      • Evergreen is located in Becker County
    • Wolf Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wolf Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Lake
      • Wolf Lake is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Rose City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose City
      • Rose City is located in Douglas County
    • Miltona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miltona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
      • Miltona is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <2>
  • Morrison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Motley
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Motley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Motley
      • Motley is located in Morrison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 653 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Motley <2>
    • Lincoln
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln
      • Lincoln is located in Morrison County
  • Todd County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Hewitt
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
      • Hewitt is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
    • Bertha
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bertha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
      • Bertha is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bertha <2>
    • Staples
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Staples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staples
      • Staples is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,068 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Staples <2>
    • Eagle Bend
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Bend
      • Eagle Bend is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Bend <2>
    • Clarissa
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clarissa have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarissa
      • Clarissa is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 651 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clarissa <2>
    • Browerville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browerville
      • Browerville is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 744 people
    • Clotho
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clotho
      • Clotho is located in Todd County
  • Wadena County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wadena, with the one closest to Wadena listed first.
    • Verndale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verndale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verndale
      • Verndale is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Verndale <2>
    • Aldrich
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aldrich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
      • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
    • Sebeka
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebeka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebeka
      • Sebeka is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebeka <2>
    • Nimrod
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Menahga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menahga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menahga
      • Menahga is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,307 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menahga <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Wadena ...

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 41 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wadena.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wadena, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wadena.

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 Wadena:

Cemeteries Near Wadena ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wadena.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

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

  • Wadena Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • St. Anns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Leaf River Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Leaf River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Leaf River Cemetery
  • Compton Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Compton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Compton Cemetery
  • Gustafva Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gustafva Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gustafva Cemetery
  • Mt. Nebo Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Nebo Cemetery
  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenlawn Cemetery
  • St. Fredericks Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Fredericks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Fredericks Cemetery
  • St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Catholic Church Cemetery
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Trinity Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
  • Hewitt Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hewitt Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hewitt Cemetery
  • Continue List   (148 more) ...
    • St. Huberts Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Huberts Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Huberts Cemetery
    • Topelius Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Topelius Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Topelius Cemetery
    • Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Evangelical Church Cemetery

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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Wadena had a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wadena had a population of 4,121 people.

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

  • Bluffton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bluffton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluffton
    • Bluffton is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 216 people
  • Verndale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Verndale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Verndale
    • Verndale is located in Wadena County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Verndale <2>
  • Hewitt
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hewitt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hewitt
    • Hewitt is located in Todd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
  • Deer Creek
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Creek
    • Deer Creek is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
  • Aldrich
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aldrich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aldrich
    • Aldrich is located in Wadena County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 46 people
  • Wrightstown
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrightstown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrightstown
    • Wrightstown is located in Otter Tail County
  • Bertha
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bertha have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bertha
    • Bertha is located in Todd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 481 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bertha <2>
  • Sebeka
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sebeka have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sebeka
    • Sebeka is located in Wadena County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 668 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sebeka <2>
  • New York Mills
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Davies
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Davies have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Davies
    • Davies is located in Otter Tail County
  • Staples
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Staples have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Staples
    • Staples is located in Todd County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,068 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Staples <2>
  • Henning
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Henning have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henning
    • Henning is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henning <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Nimrod
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Eagle Bend
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Bend
      • Eagle Bend is located in Todd County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 518 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Bend <2>
    • Menahga
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Menahga have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menahga
      • Menahga is located in Wadena County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,307 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menahga <2>

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

The official website for Wadena: www.wadena.org/

The official website for Otter Tail County: www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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 from Point A (ie- Wadena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wadena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.4451, Longitude: -95.1281       In this case, the coordinates for Wadena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>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.
<5>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 Wadena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024