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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 Willow River (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 Willow River. 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 Willow River ...

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 Willow River: Willow Riv.

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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Willow River is located in Pine 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 Pine County: Aitkin, Carlton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Burnett (WI), Douglas (WI) & Polk (WI).

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

  • Pine County     (The home county of Willow River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow River, with the one closest to Willow River listed first.
    • Sturgeon Lake
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Rutledge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rutledge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutledge
      • Rutledge is located in Pine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Denham
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Denham have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denham
      • Denham is located in Pine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 34 people
    • Bruno
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruno
      • Bruno is located in Pine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 97 people
    • Finlayson
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Askov
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Kerrick
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Sandstone
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
      • Sandstone is located in Pine County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,554 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandstone <1>
    • Duxbury
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duxbury
      • Duxbury is located in Pine County
    • Cloverdale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
      • Cloverdale is located in Pine County
    • Hinckley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Kingsdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsdale
      • Kingsdale is located in Pine County
  • Aitkin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow River, with the one closest to Willow River listed first.
    • McGrath
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McGrath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McGrath
      • McGrath is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McGrath <1>
    • Tamarack
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people
    • McGregor
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Carlton County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow River, with the one closest to Willow River listed first.
    • Moose Lake
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Kettle River
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kettle River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kettle River
      • Kettle River is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 170 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kettle River <1>
    • Barnum
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Automba
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Automba
      • Automba is located in Carlton County
    • Mahtowa
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
      • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
    • Holyoke
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holyoke have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
      • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
    • Cromwell
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cromwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
      • Cromwell is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cromwell <1>
    • Wright
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
      • Wright is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wright <1>
    • Otter Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
    • Sawyer
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sawyer have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sawyer
      • Sawyer is located in Carlton County
    • Carlton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Wrenshall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wrenshall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrenshall
      • Wrenshall is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 423 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wrenshall <1>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Willow River ...

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 19 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow River.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Willow River. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Willow River and those printed in the larger area surrounding Willow River.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Willow River.

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 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 Willow River:

Cemeteries Near Willow River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow River.

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

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

  • Willow River City Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Willow River City Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Willow River City Cemetery
  • St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery
  • Lakeview Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lakeview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lakeview Cemetery
  • St. Isidore's Catholic Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Isidore's Catholic Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the northeast of Sturgeon Lake.
    • The St. Isidore's Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Isadors Cemetery
    • St. Isidore's Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Isidore's Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1960067 <4>
  • Sturgeon Lake Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Denham Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Denham Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Denham Cemetery
  • Blomskog Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Vilstad Lutheran Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Vilstad Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Vilstad Lutheran Cemetery
  • Bruno Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bruno Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bruno Cemetery
  • Methodist Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Methodist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Methodist Cemetery
  • Faith Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faith Cemetery
  • Nordland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (73 more) ...

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, Willow River had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Willow River had a population of 397 people.

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

  • Sturgeon Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Finlayson
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Moose Lake
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
  • Kerrick
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Sandstone
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandstone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandstone
    • Sandstone is located in Pine County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,554 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandstone <1>
  • Barnum
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mahtowa
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mahtowa
    • Mahtowa is located in Carlton County
  • Hinckley
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
  • Holyoke
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holyoke have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holyoke
    • Holyoke is located in Carlton County
  • Mission Creek
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Creek
    • Mission Creek is located in Pine County
  • Corona
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corona have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corona
    • Corona is located in Carlton County
  • Cromwell
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cromwell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cromwell
    • Cromwell is located in Carlton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 228 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cromwell <1>
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Wright
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wright have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wright
      • Wright is located in Carlton County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wright <1>
    • Otter Creek
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otter Creek
      • Otter Creek is located in Carlton County
    • Tamarack
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tamarack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tamarack
      • Tamarack is located in Aitkin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 94 people

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

The official website for Willow River: www.ci.willow-river.mn.us/

The official website for Pine County: www.pinecounty.org/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Willow River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Willow River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.3195, Longitude: -92.8376    
<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 Willow River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024