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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 Caledonia (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 Caledonia. 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.

Caledonia is located in Traill County.

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

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Traill County: Norman (MN), Polk (MN), Cass, Grand Forks & Steele.

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

  • Traill County     (The home county of Caledonia)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caledonia, with the one closest to Caledonia listed first.
    • Hillsboro
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
      • Hillsboro is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <2>
    • Cummings
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Alton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Traill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alton
      • From Caledonia to Alton
    • Kelso
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Buxton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
      • Buxton is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buxton <2>
    • Grandin
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandin
      • Grandin is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grandin <2>
    • Blanchard
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Greenfield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Greenfield. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
      • Greenfield is located in Traill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greenfield
      • From Caledonia to Greenfield
    • Mayville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Portland
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Roseville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Clifford
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifford
      • Clifford is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 43 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clifford <2>
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caledonia, with the one closest to Caledonia listed first.
    • Gardner
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardner
      • Gardner is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 73 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gardner <2>
    • Hunter
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Argusville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Arthur
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Grand Forks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caledonia, with the one closest to Caledonia listed first.
    • Reynolds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
      • Reynolds is located in Grand Forks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reynolds <2>
    • Thompson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thompson have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thompson
      • Thompson is located in Grand Forks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,027 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Thompson <2>
    • Holmes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holmes. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
      • Holmes is located in Grand Forks County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holmes
      • From Caledonia to Holmes
  • Clay County (MN)
    • Georgetown
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
      • Georgetown is located in Clay County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 126 people
  • Norman County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caledonia, with the one closest to Caledonia listed first.
    • Shelly
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelly have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelly
      • Shelly is located in Norman County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 178 people
    • Halstad
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstad
      • Halstad is located in Norman County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstad <2>
    • Hendrum
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Perley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Ada
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,556 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ada <2>
    • Borup
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • 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 (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 103 people
    • Flaming
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • 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 (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Flaming
      • From Caledonia to Flaming
    • Gary
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • 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 (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 201 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gary <2>
  • Polk County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Caledonia, with the one closest to Caledonia listed first.
    • Nielsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nielsville
      • Nielsville is located in Polk County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
    • Climax
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Climax
      • Climax is located in Polk County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 261 people
    • Beltrami
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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 (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
    • Fisher
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisher have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
      • Fisher is located in Polk County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 410 people
    • Crookston
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Melvin
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fertile
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
    • Mallory
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mallory. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mallory
      • Mallory is located in Polk County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mallory
      • From Caledonia to Mallory
    • Gentilly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Shirley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Shirley. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shirley
      • Shirley is located in Polk County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Shirley
      • From Caledonia to Shirley

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

Cemeteries Near Caledonia ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Caledonia.

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

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

  • Shelly Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Shelly Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Shelly Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Marsh River Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Marsh River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Marsh River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Zion Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 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.
  • St. Petri Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • 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.
  • Salem Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Salem Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Salem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 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.
  • Augustana Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Augustana Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Augustana Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the North Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the North Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sundet Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Lynn Elton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lynn Elton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lynn Elton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Rose Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (107 more) ...
    • Elmwood Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elmwood Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elmwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Riverside Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Bergit Cemetery
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bergit Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bergit 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 Caledonia had a population of 267 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Nielsville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nielsville
    • Nielsville is located in Polk County (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 82 people
  • Halstad
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halstad
    • Halstad is located in Norman County (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 548 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Halstad <2>
  • Hillsboro
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
    • Hillsboro is located in Traill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,624 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsboro <2>
  • Cummings
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Alton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Alton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Traill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Alton
    • From Caledonia to Alton
  • Kelso
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Hendrum
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Buxton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buxton
    • Buxton is located in Traill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 316 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buxton <2>
  • Lockhart
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • 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 (MN)
  • Grandin
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandin
    • Grandin is located in Traill County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grandin <2>
  • Blanchard
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Beltrami
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • 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 (MN)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 99 people
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Reynolds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reynolds
      • Reynolds is located in Grand Forks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reynolds <2>
    • Murray
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murray have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
      • Murray is located in Traill County
    • Perley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)

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

Newspapers Published in Caledonia ...

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 29 newspapers that have been published in the area around Caledonia.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Caledonia, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Caledonia.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin 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 Caledonia:

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

The official website for State of North Dakota: https://www.nd.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 Caledonia, 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 from Point A (ie- Caledonia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Caledonia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.4594, Longitude: -96.8861    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025