RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Hennepin County >> Woodland >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

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 Woodland (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 Woodland. 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 northwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and 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.

Woodland is located in Hennepin County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Hennepin County: Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne & Wright.

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

  • Hennepin County     (The home county of Woodland)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Wayzata
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Deephaven
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Minnetonka
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Minnetonka Mills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
    • Long Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenwood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Greenwood is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 937 people
    • Shorewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Crystal Bay
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Crystal Bay is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Bay
    • Minnetonka Beach
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Minnetonka Beach is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
    • Orono
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Orono is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orono
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,348 people
    • Excelsior
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Tonka Bay
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Tonka Bay is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tonka Bay
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,551 people
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Columbia Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hilltop
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Fridley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Coon Creek
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Spring Lake Park
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Anoka
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Coon Rapids
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Ramsey
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Blaine
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lexington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Circle Pines
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Andover
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
  • Carver County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Chanhassen
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hazeltine
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Hazeltine is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazeltine
    • Victoria
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Chaska
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Carver
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Dahlgren
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Dahlgren is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dahlgren
    • Waconia
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Watertown
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cologne
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hydes Lake
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Hydes Lake is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hydes Lake
    • Mayer
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Gotha
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Gotha is located in Carver County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotha
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Nicols
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Mendota
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Burnsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Lilydale
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • Mendota Heights
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Eagan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • West Saint Paul
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Apple Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • South Saint Paul
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Lakeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
  • McLeod County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Lester Prairie
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Winsted
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
    • Plato
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Lauderdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Lauderdale is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lauderdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,484 people
    • Falcon Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • New Brighton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Roseville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Arden Hills
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Mounds View
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Saint Paul
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Shoreview
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Little Canada
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Vadnais Heights
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • North Oaks
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Rice County
  • Scott County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Shakopee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Marystown
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Marystown is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marystown
    • Savage
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Prior Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Credit River
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Credit River is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Credit River
    • Jordan
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Saint Patrick
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Saint Patrick is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Patrick
    • Cedar Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Cedar Lake is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Lake
    • Belle Plaine
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Elko New Market
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Elko New Market is located in Scott County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elko New Market
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,733 people
    • New Market
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Elko
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Sherburne County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Elk River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Big Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sibley County
    • Green Isle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Washington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Newport
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Landfall
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Oakdale
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Oakdale is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
    • Saint Paul Park
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Birchwood Village
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Pine Springs
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Dellwood
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Willernie
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Cottage Grove
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Woodbury
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Hugo
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
  • Wright County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Woodland, with the one closest to Woodland listed first.
    • Delano
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hanover
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Saint Michael
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Albertville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Montrose
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Otsego
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Waverly
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Monticello
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rassat
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Rassat is located in Wright County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rassat
    • Howard Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Woodland ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Woodland.

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.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Woodland - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Woodland covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Greenlawn Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Summit Park Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Resurrection Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Parkers Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Long Lake Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Georges Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Maxwell Family Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Holy Name Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Shady Oak Lake Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Margaret Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Woodside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Continue List   (299 more) ...
    • St. Hubert's Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mt. Olivet Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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.<3>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, Woodland had railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Woodland had a population of 487 people.

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

  • Wayzata
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
  • Minnetonka
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Minnetonka Beach
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Minnetonka Beach is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Beach
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
  • Minnetonka Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Minnetonka Mills is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnetonka Mills
  • Long Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Excelsior
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Ditter
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Ditter is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ditter
  • Spring Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hopkins
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Plymouth
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Chanhassen
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hamel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (22 more) ...
    • Eden Prairie
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Rowland
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Rowland is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowland
    • Saint Louis Park
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Woodland ...

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 295 newspapers that have been published in the area around Woodland.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Woodland, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Woodland.

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 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 Woodland:

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 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.
<3>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 Woodland, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Woodland) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.