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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 Grand Forks (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 Grand Forks. 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 Grand Forks ...

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 Grand Forks: Grand Frks.

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.

Grand Forks is located in Grand Forks County and is the County Seat.

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 Grand Forks County: Polk (MN), Nelson, Steele, Traill & Walsh.

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

  • Grand Forks County     (The home county of Grand Forks)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Forks, with the one closest to Grand Forks listed first.
    • Thompson
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Kelly
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
      • Kelly is located in Grand Forks County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Kelly
      • From Grand Forks to Kelly
    • Manvel
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • 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>
    • Emerado
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerado have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerado
      • Emerado is located in Grand Forks County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 461 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Emerado <2>
    • Mekinock
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Reynolds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Holmes
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • 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 Grand Forks to Holmes
    • Arvilla
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Gilby
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Johnstown
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Larimore
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Kempton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
  • Traill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Forks, with the one closest to Grand Forks listed first.
    • Buxton
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Hatton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hatton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatton
      • Hatton is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hatton <2>
    • Cummings
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
  • Walsh County
  • Marshall County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Forks, with the one closest to Grand Forks listed first.
    • Alvarado
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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
    • Oslo
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Warren
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Woods
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
    • Argyle
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Polk County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Grand Forks, with the one closest to Grand Forks listed first.
    • East Grand Forks
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Mallory
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
      • 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 Grand Forks to Mallory
    • Fisher
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Euclid
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Shirley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • 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 Grand Forks to Shirley
    • Crookston
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Climax
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Nielsville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • 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
    • Gentilly
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Red Lake County (MN)
    • Dorothy
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dorothy. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy
      • Dorothy is located in Red Lake County (MN)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Dorothy
      • From Grand Forks to Dorothy

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

Cemeteries Near Grand Forks ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Grand Forks.

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

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

  • Sunset Memorial Gardens
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sunset Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sunset Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Memorial Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • 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.
  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Resthaven Memorial Gardens
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Resthaven Memorial Gardens
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Resthaven Memorial Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Bethany Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the South Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the South Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bethany Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Bygland Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bygland Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bygland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Walle Lutheran Church Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Walle Lutheran Church Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Walle Lutheran Church Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • East Walle Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the East Walle Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the East Walle Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Nesbit Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nesbit Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nesbit Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. James Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. James Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. James Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (88 more) ...
    • Thompson Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Thompson Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Thompson Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Pioneer Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Holy Trinity Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Trinity Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Trinity 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Grand Forks had a population of 4,979 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Grand Forks had a population of 55,950 people.

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

  • East Grand Forks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Merrifield
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrifield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrifield
    • Merrifield is located in Grand Forks County
  • Mallory
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • 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 Grand Forks to Mallory
  • Thompson
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • 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>
  • Ojata ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ojata have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ojata
    • Ojata is located in Grand Forks County
  • Kelly
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kelly. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelly
    • Kelly is located in Grand Forks County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kelly
    • From Grand Forks to Kelly
  • Manvel
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • 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>
  • Fisher
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • 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
  • Tabor
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tabor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Tabor is located in Polk County (MN)
  • Freeman
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
    • Freeman is located in Polk County (MN)
  • Mekinock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Holmes
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • 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 Grand Forks to Holmes
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Reynolds
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
      • 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>
    • Hixon
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hixon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hixon
      • Hixon is located in Polk County (MN)
    • Euclid
      (20 miles [32.2 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 Grand Forks. See our List of 1890's Communities around Grand Forks.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Grand Forks ...

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 85 newspapers that have been published in the area around Grand Forks.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Grand Forks. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Grand Forks and those printed in the larger area surrounding Grand Forks.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Grand Forks.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with 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 Grand Forks:

The official website for Grand Forks: www.grandforksgov.com/

The official website for Grand Forks County: www.grandforkscountygov.com/

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>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 Grand Forks, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 from Point A (ie- Grand Forks) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grand Forks. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.9163, Longitude: -97.0664    









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025