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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 Crystal (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 Crystal. 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 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 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.

Crystal is located in Pembina 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 Pembina County: Kittson (MN), Cavalier & Walsh.

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

  • Pembina County     (The home county of Crystal)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal, with the one closest to Crystal listed first.
    • Canton City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Gardar
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Saint Thomas
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
      • Saint Thomas is located in Pembina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Thomas <1>
    • Mountain
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain
      • Mountain is located in Pembina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain <1>
    • Akra
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Glasston
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Cavalier
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Svold
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Svold. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Svold
      • Svold is located in Pembina County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Svold
      • From Crystal to Svold
    • Backoo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Hamilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamilton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
      • Hamilton is located in Pembina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamilton <1>
    • Bathgate
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Drayton
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
  • Cavalier County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal, with the one closest to Crystal listed first.
    • Hanks Corner
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Milton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Osnabrock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Osnabrock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osnabrock
      • Osnabrock is located in Cavalier County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 119 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Osnabrock <1>
  • Grand Forks County
  • Walsh County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Crystal, with the one closest to Crystal listed first.
    • Hoople
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoople have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoople
      • Hoople is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoople <1>
    • Edinburg
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edinburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edinburg
      • Edinburg is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edinburg <1>
    • Kerry ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Mandt
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Auburn
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Park River
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park River
      • Park River is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park River <1>
    • Grafton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Cashel ‑ Historic
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cashel. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashel
      • Cashel is located in Walsh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cashel
      • From Crystal to Cashel
    • Pleasant Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Pisek
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Herrick
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Herriott
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Herriott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herriott
      • Herriott is located in Walsh County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Herriott
      • From Crystal to Herriott
  • Kittson County (MN)
    • Mattson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Mattson. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mattson
      • Mattson is located in Kittson County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Mattson
      • From Crystal to Mattson

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

Cemeteries Near Crystal ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Crystal.

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

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

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.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Crystal had a population of 90 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Crystal had a population of 125 people.

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

  • Hoople
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoople have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoople
    • Hoople is located in Walsh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 221 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoople <1>
  • Canton City
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Saint Thomas
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Thomas
    • Saint Thomas is located in Pembina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 301 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Thomas <1>
  • Mountain
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain
    • Mountain is located in Pembina County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 81 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mountain <1>
  • Nash
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nash have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nash
    • Nash is located in Walsh County
  • Akra
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Auburn
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Glasston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Union
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
    • Union is located in Cavalier County
  • Hallson
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hallson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hallson
    • Hallson is located in Pembina County
  • Cavalier
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Park River
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park River
    • Park River is located in Walsh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,305 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Park River <1>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Backoo
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Grafton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hamilton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hamilton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hamilton
      • Hamilton is located in Pembina County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 55 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hamilton <1>

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

Newspapers Published in Crystal ...

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 53 newspapers that have been published in the area around Crystal.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Crystal, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Crystal.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Crystal:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Crystal. 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>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>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>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- Crystal) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Crystal. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.5970, Longitude: -97.6696    
<6>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 Crystal, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025