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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 Wheaton (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 Wheaton. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and 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.

Wheaton is located in Traverse County and is the County Seat.

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 Traverse County: Big Stone, Grant, Stevens, Wilkin, Richland (ND) & Roberts (SD).

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

  • Traverse County     (The home county of Wheaton)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Dumont
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dumont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
      • Dumont is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
    • Collis
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Charlesville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Tintah
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Browns Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Browns Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Browns Valley
      • Browns Valley is located in Traverse County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 522 people
  • Big Stone County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Graceville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graceville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceville
      • Graceville is located in Big Stone County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graceville <3>
    • Barry
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Johnson
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Beardsley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Clinton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
  • Grant County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Norcross
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norcross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcross
      • Norcross is located in Grant County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
    • Herman
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Wendell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Elbow Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Barrett
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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
  • Otter Tail County
    • Western
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Western. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Western
      • Western is located in Otter Tail County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Western
      • From Wheaton to Western
  • Stevens County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Chokio
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Donnelly
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Donnelly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnelly
      • Donnelly is located in Stevens County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
    • Alberta
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Wilkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Tenney
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Childs
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Childs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
      • Childs is located in Wilkin County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Childs
      • From Wheaton to Childs
    • Nashua
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Doran. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doran
      • Doran is located in Wilkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Doran
      • From Wheaton to Doran
  • Richland County (ND)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • Fairmount
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Oswald
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oswald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswald
      • Oswald is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oswald
      • From Wheaton to Oswald
    • Hankinson
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Great Bend
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Bend
      • Great Bend is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Great Bend <3>
  • Roberts County (SD)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wheaton, with the one closest to Wheaton listed first.
    • White Rock
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
      • White Rock is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
    • Rosholt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rosholt have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosholt
      • Rosholt is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 424 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rosholt <3>
    • New Effington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Effington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Effington
      • New Effington is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 246 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Effington <3>
    • Hammer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hammer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammer
      • Hammer is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 241 people
    • Shady Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • South Dakota Park
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Dakota Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Dakota Park
      • South Dakota Park is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 15 people
    • Peever Flats
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Peever
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Sisseton
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Hartford Beach
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartford Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartford Beach
      • Hartford Beach is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • Claire City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Claire City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claire City
      • Claire City is located in Roberts County (SD)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 74 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Claire City <3>

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

Cemeteries Near Wheaton ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wheaton.

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

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

  • Wildwood Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wildwood Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wildwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nelson Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nelson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nelson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Monson Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Monson Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Monson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sharon Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sharon Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sharon Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • 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.
  • Lake View Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Siloah Lutheran Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethania Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethania Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethania Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (104 more) ...
    • St. Peter Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peter Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Lake View Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake View Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake View Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Eden Reformed Cemetery
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eden Reformed Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eden Reformed 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Wheaton had a population of 383 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wheaton had a population of 1,269 people.

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

  • Dumont
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dumont have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dumont
    • Dumont is located in Traverse County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 87 people
  • White Rock
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Rock
    • White Rock is located in Roberts County (SD)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3 people
  • Collis
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Norcross
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norcross have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norcross
    • Norcross is located in Grant County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
  • Graceville
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graceville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graceville
    • Graceville is located in Big Stone County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 552 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Graceville <3>
  • Herman
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Tintah
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Tenney
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • 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
  • Barry
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Fairmount
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Childs
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Childs. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childs
    • Childs is located in Wilkin County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Childs
    • From Wheaton to Childs
  • Johnson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Beardsley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Oswald
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Oswald. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oswald
      • Oswald is located in Richland County (ND)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Oswald
      • From Wheaton to Oswald
    • Campbell
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • 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

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wheaton ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wheaton.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wheaton. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wheaton and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wheaton.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<5> of Wheaton.

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 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 Wheaton:

The official website for Wheaton: www.cityofwheaton.com/

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>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.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Wheaton, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Wheaton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wheaton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8061, Longitude: -96.4955       In this case, the coordinates for Wheaton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025