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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 Wall Lake (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 Wall Lake. 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 Wall Lake ...

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.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wall Lake: Wall Lk.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Wall Lake is located in Otter Tail 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 Wall Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wall Lake:

  • Otter Tail County     (The home county of Wall Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Underwood
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
      • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
    • Fergus Falls
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Dalton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Edwards
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
      • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
    • Elizabeth
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
      • Elizabeth is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <2>
    • Battle Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Amor
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
      • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
    • Erhard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erhard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhard
      • Erhard is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erhard <2>
    • Western
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Western have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
    • Clitherall
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Nirvana
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nirvana
      • Nirvana is located in Otter Tail County
    • Rothsay
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rothsay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rothsay
      • Rothsay is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rothsay <2>
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Bucks Mill
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bucks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bucks Mill
      • Bucks Mill is located in Becker County
    • Cormorant
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cormorant
      • Cormorant is located in Becker County
  • Douglas County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Melby
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melby
      • Melby is located in Douglas County
    • Evansville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Millerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerville
      • Millerville is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Brandon
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brandon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brandon
      • Brandon is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 489 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brandon <2>
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Ashby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>
    • Wendell
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Elbow Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Erdahl
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erdahl
      • Erdahl is located in Grant County
    • Barrett
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barrett have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barrett
      • Barrett is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
  • Traverse County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Tintah
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tintah
      • Tintah is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
    • Charlesville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Charlesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charlesville
      • Charlesville is located in Traverse County
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wall Lake, with the one closest to Wall Lake listed first.
    • Foxhome
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Foxhome have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Foxhome
      • Foxhome is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
    • Nashua
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashua have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashua
      • Nashua is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66 people
    • Campbell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campbell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campbell
      • Campbell is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 152 people
    • Doran
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doran have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
    • Lawndale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lawndale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lawndale
      • Lawndale is located in Wilkin County
    • Tenney
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tenney have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tenney
      • Tenney is located in Wilkin County
      • Estimated population in 2011: 5 people
    • Breckenridge
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
  • Richland County (ND)
    • Wahpeton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wahpeton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wahpeton
      • Wahpeton is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,728 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wahpeton <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Wall Lake ...

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 89 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wall Lake.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wall Lake, 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 Wall Lake.

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 Wall Lake:

Cemeteries Near Wall Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wall Lake.

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 Wall Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Vang Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vang Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vang Cemetery
  • Aurdal Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurdal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurdal Cemetery
  • Swan Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Cemetery
  • Kongsberg Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Kongsberg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Kongsberg Cemetery
  • Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stavanger Lutheran Church Cemetery
  • Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Unitarian Cemetery
  • Sverdrup Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sverdrup Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sverdrup Cemetery
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • 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
  • Trinity Faith Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • St. Otto's Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Oak Grove Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Bethlehem Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethlehem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethlehem Cemetery
  • Continue List   (187 more) ...
    • Knollwood Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Knollwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Knollwood Cemetery
    • Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swan Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Free Lutheran Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Lutheran 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, Wall Lake had a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Parkdale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parkdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parkdale
    • Parkdale is located in Otter Tail County
  • Underwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Underwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Underwood
    • Underwood is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Underwood <2>
  • Fergus Falls
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Dalton
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Phelps
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Phelps have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phelps
    • Phelps is located in Otter Tail County
  • Maine
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maine
    • Maine is located in Otter Tail County
  • Elizabeth
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elizabeth have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elizabeth
    • Elizabeth is located in Otter Tail County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elizabeth <2>
  • Edwards
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwards
    • Edwards is located in Otter Tail County
  • Battle Lake
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Carlisle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carlisle have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlisle
    • Carlisle is located in Otter Tail County
  • French
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French
    • French is located in Otter Tail County
  • Amor
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amor
    • Amor is located in Otter Tail County
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Western
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Western have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
    • Erhard
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erhard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erhard
      • Erhard is located in Otter Tail County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 145 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erhard <2>
    • Ashby
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashby
      • Ashby is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ashby <2>

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

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wall Lake. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

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- Wall Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wall Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2908, Longitude: -95.9648       In this case, the coordinates for Wall Lake 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 Wall Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024