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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 Forest 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 Forest 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 Forest 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 Forest River: Forest 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 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.

Forest River is located in Walsh 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 Walsh County: Marshall (MN), Cavalier, Grand Forks, Nelson, Pembina & Ramsey.

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

  • Walsh County     (The home county of Forest River)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest River, with the one closest to Forest River listed first.
    • Ardoch
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ardoch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardoch
      • Ardoch is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ardoch <2>
    • Minto
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Conway
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
      • Conway is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
    • Herriott
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • 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 Forest River to Herriott
    • Warsaw
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Pisek
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Grafton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Mandt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Fordville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fordville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordville
      • Fordville is located in Walsh County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 194 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fordville <2>
    • Park River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Auburn
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
    • Cashel ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • 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 Forest River to Cashel
  • Grand Forks County
  • Nelson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest River, with the one closest to Forest River listed first.
    • Petersburg
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Petersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
      • Petersburg is located in Nelson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Petersburg <2>
    • Whitman
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Pembina County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest River, with the one closest to Forest River listed first.
    • Crystal
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Drayton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Thomas
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Thomas have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Marshall County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Forest River, with the one closest to Forest River listed first.
    • Oslo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oslo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oslo
      • Oslo is located in Marshall County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oslo <2>
    • Big Woods
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Alvarado
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alvarado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alvarado
      • Alvarado is located in Marshall County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 362 people
    • Argyle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Polk County (MN)

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

Cemeteries Near Forest River ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Forest 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 Forest River covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Memorial Park
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Memorial Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Minto Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Minto Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Minto Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sacred Heart Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sacred Heart Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Patrick Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Patrick Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Patrick Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Inkster Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • St. Lukes Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lukes Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lukes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Prairie Home Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Prairie Home Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Prairie Home Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Marks Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Marks Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Marks Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest River Colony Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest River Colony Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest River Colony Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 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.
  • East Forest River Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Forest River Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Forest River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Concordia Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Concordia Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Concordia Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (66 more) ...
    • St. Johns Cemetery
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • 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.
    • St. Timothy Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Timothy Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Timothy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Joseph Cemetery
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph 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 Forest River had a population of 84 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Forest River had a population of 118 people.

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

  • Johnstown
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Ardoch
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ardoch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ardoch
    • Ardoch is located in Walsh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 80 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ardoch <2>
  • Voss
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Voss have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Voss
    • Voss is located in Walsh County
  • Minto
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Veseleyville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Veseleyville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Veseleyville
    • Veseleyville is located in Walsh County
  • Inkster
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Gilby
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Conway
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Conway have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conway
    • Conway is located in Walsh County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 21 people
  • Orr
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Pisek
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Grafton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Mekinock
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Manvel
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Manvel have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manvel
      • Manvel is located in Grand Forks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 372 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Manvel <2>
    • Big Woods
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Park River
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>

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

Newspapers Published in Forest 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 57 newspapers that have been published in the area around Forest River.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Forest River, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Forest River.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Forest River:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Forest River. 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 Forest River, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Forest River) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Forest River. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.2149, Longitude: -97.4681    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025