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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 Willmar (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 Willmar. 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.

Willmar is located in Kandiyohi 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 Kandiyohi County: Chippewa, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stearns & Swift.

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

  • Kandiyohi County     (The home county of Willmar)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willmar, with the one closest to Willmar listed first.
    • Wilmar
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Kandiyohi
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kandiyohi have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kandiyohi
      • Kandiyohi is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
    • Pennock
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pennock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pennock
      • Pennock is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 509 people
    • Svea
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Spicer
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spicer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
      • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <2>
    • Blomkest
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blomkest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blomkest
      • Blomkest is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
    • Raymond
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
      • Raymond is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <2>
    • Atwater
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Roseland
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lake Lillian
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Lillian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lillian
      • Lake Lillian is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Lillian <2>
    • Prinsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • New London
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Sunburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willmar, with the one closest to Willmar listed first.
    • Clara City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clara City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara City
      • Clara City is located in Chippewa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clara City <2>
    • Maynard
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maynard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maynard
      • Maynard is located in Chippewa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maynard <2>
  • Meeker County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willmar, with the one closest to Willmar listed first.
    • Grove City
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
      • Grove City is located in Meeker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grove City <2>
    • Rosendale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosendale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
      • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Rosendale
      • From Willmar to Rosendale
    • Cosmos
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cosmos have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cosmos
      • Cosmos is located in Meeker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 448 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cosmos <2>
    • Manannah
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Manannah. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manannah
      • Manannah is located in Meeker County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Manannah
      • From Willmar to Manannah
    • Litchfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Cedar Mills
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Forest City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Eden Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
      • Eden Valley is located in Meeker County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,038 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden Valley <2>
  • Renville County
  • Stearns County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willmar, with the one closest to Willmar listed first.
    • Belgrade
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Belgrade have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belgrade
      • Belgrade is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 787 people
    • Paynesville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paynesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
      • Paynesville is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,531 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paynesville <2>
    • Brooten
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brooten have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brooten
      • Brooten is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 750 people
    • Lake Henry
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Henry have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Henry
      • Lake Henry is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 113 people
    • Roscoe
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roscoe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roscoe
      • Roscoe is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roscoe <2>
    • Spring Hill
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Hill
      • Spring Hill is located in Stearns County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 95 people
  • Swift County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willmar, with the one closest to Willmar listed first.
    • Kerkhoven
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerkhoven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerkhoven
      • Kerkhoven is located in Swift County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kerkhoven <2>
    • Murdock
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • De Graff
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for De Graff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Graff
      • De Graff is located in Swift County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 120 people
    • Swift Falls
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swift Falls. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift Falls
      • Swift Falls is located in Swift County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Swift Falls
      • From Willmar to Swift Falls
    • Benson
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Willmar ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willmar.

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

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

  • Bethel Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marys Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marys Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Free Church Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Free Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Free Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Clover Leaf Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Fairview Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Fairview Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Fairview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Old Baptist Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Baptist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • 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.
  • Vikor Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vikor Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vikor Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Oak Park Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Park Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Park Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Tripolis Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Tripolis Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Tripolis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Endresen Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Endresen Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Endresen Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (177 more) ...
    • Eagle Lake Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Eagle Lake Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Eagle Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. John's Cemetery
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John's Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Ebenezer Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer 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.<5>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Willmar had a population of 1,825 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Willmar had a population of 19,891 people.

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

  • Svea
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Spicer
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spicer have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spicer
    • Spicer is located in Kandiyohi County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,224 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spicer <2>
  • Raymond
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raymond have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raymond
    • Raymond is located in Kandiyohi County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 759 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Raymond <2>
  • Roseland
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Norway Lake
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norway Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway Lake
    • Norway Lake is located in Kandiyohi County
  • Atwater
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Prinsburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Lake Lillian
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Lillian have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Lillian
    • Lake Lillian is located in Kandiyohi County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Lillian <2>
  • New London
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Kerkhoven
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kerkhoven have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kerkhoven
    • Kerkhoven is located in Swift County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 696 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kerkhoven <2>
  • Rosendale
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rosendale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosendale
    • Rosendale is located in Meeker County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Rosendale
    • From Willmar to Rosendale
  • Grove City
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove City
    • Grove City is located in Meeker County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grove City <2>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Clara City
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clara City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clara City
      • Clara City is located in Chippewa County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,273 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clara City <2>
    • Crow River
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crow River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crow River
      • Crow River is located in Meeker County
    • Sunburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunburg
      • Sunburg is located in Kandiyohi County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Willmar ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willmar.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Willmar. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Willmar and those printed in the larger area surrounding Willmar.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6> of Willmar.

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 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 Willmar:

The official website for Willmar: www.ci.willmar.mn.us/

The official website for Kandiyohi County: www.co.kandiyohi.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>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 Willmar, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willmar) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willmar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.1106, Longitude: -95.0428    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025