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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 Waukon (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 Waukon. 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 hospitals and 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.

Waukon is located in Norman 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 Norman County: Becker, Clay, Mahnomen, Polk, Cass (ND) & Traill (ND).

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

  • Norman County     (The home county of Waukon)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waukon, with the one closest to Waukon listed first.
    • Faith
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
      • Faith is located in Norman County
    • Gary
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
      • Gary is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
    • Flaming
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Flaming. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flaming
      • Flaming is located in Norman County
    • Rindal
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
      • Rindal is located in Norman County
    • Twin Valley
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
      • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
    • Flom
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Ada
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
      • Ada is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Borup
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borup have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borup
      • Borup is located in Norman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
  • Becker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waukon, with the one closest to Waukon listed first.
    • Ogema
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogema have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogema
      • Ogema is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
    • White Earth
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Callaway
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Callaway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Callaway
      • Callaway is located in Becker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 227 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Callaway <2>
    • Richwood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richwood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
      • Richwood is located in Becker County
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waukon, with the one closest to Waukon listed first.
    • Ulen
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ulen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulen
      • Ulen is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ulen <2>
    • Felton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hitterdal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hitterdal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hitterdal
      • Hitterdal is located in Clay County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 213 people
  • Clearwater County
    • Rice Lake
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
      • Rice Lake is located in Clearwater County
  • Mahnomen County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waukon, with the one closest to Waukon listed first.
    • Mahnomen
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mahnomen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahnomen
      • Mahnomen is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,220 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mahnomen <2>
    • Bejou
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bejou have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bejou
      • Bejou is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bejou <2>
    • Waubun
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waubun have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waubun
      • Waubun is located in Mahnomen County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 401 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waubun <2>
    • Naytahwaush
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Naytahwaush have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naytahwaush
      • Naytahwaush is located in Mahnomen County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Naytahwaush <2>
    • Roy Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roy Lake
      • Roy Lake is located in Mahnomen County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Waukon, with the one closest to Waukon listed first.
    • Winger
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
      • Winger is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
    • Fertile
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Erskine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • McIntosh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
    • Melvin
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvin
      • Melvin is located in Polk County
    • Mentor
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mentor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mentor
      • Mentor is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 147 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mentor <2>
    • Beltrami
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beltrami
      • Beltrami is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Dugdale
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugdale
      • Dugdale is located in Polk County
    • Fosston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Lengby
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lengby have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lengby
      • Lengby is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people

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

Cemeteries Near Waukon ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Waukon.

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

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

  • Ness Lutheran Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ness Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ness Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Petri Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Petri Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Petri Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immanuel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Immanuel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Hlubek Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hlubek Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hlubek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Norman Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Norman Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Norman Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Olaf Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • First Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the First Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the First Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sundal Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sundal Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sundal Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Gary Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Gary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Gary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Wild Rice Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Wild Rice Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Wild Rice Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Trinity Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Trinity Cemetery
    • 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.
  • Continue List   (143 more) ...
    • Old Sundal Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Sundal Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Sundal Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Zion Memorial Gardens
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Memorial Gardens
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Williams Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Williams Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Williams Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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.<4>

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

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

  • Faith
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Faith
    • Faith is located in Norman County
  • Gary
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gary have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gary
    • Gary is located in Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
  • Rindal
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rindal. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rindal
    • Rindal is located in Norman County
  • Heiberg
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heiberg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heiberg
    • Heiberg is located in Norman County
  • Twin Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Valley
    • Twin Valley is located in Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
  • Fossum
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fossum have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fossum
    • Fossum is located in Norman County
  • Fertile
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Winger
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winger have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winger
    • Winger is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 208 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winger <2>
  • Syre
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Syre have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Syre
    • Syre is located in Norman County
  • Ada
    (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ada
    • Ada is located in Norman County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
  • Maple Bay
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Bay
    • Maple Bay is located in Polk County
  • Ulen
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ulen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ulen
    • Ulen is located in Clay County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ulen <2>
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Lockhart
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lockhart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lockhart
      • Lockhart is located in Norman County
    • McIntosh
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McIntosh have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McIntosh
      • McIntosh is located in Polk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 596 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McIntosh <2>
    • Erskine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)

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

Newspapers Published in Waukon ...

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 25 newspapers that have been published in the area around Waukon.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Waukon, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Waukon.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Waukon:

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

The official website for Norman County: www.co.norman.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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<4>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 Waukon, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<5>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Waukon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waukon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3689, Longitude: -96.1312       In this case, the coordinates for Waukon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025