RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Dakota >> Traill County >> Kelso >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
North Dakota

The Commemorative Quarter for North Dakota





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 Kelso (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 Kelso. 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.

Kelso 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 Kelso. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Kelso:

  • Traill County     (The home county of Kelso)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Alton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Traill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Alton
      • From Kelso to Alton
    • Hillsboro
      (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Grandin
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Greenfield
      (9 miles [14.5 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
      • Greenfield is located in Traill County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Greenfield
      • From Kelso to Greenfield
    • Blanchard
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Caledonia
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Cummings
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Clifford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Mayville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Roseville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Galesburg
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesburg
      • Galesburg is located in Traill County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 101 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Galesburg <3>
    • Buxton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buxton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Portland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Gardner
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gardner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Hunter
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hunter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
      • Hunter is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <3>
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Hunter
      • From Kelso to Hunter
    • Arthur
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Argusville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
    • Erie
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
      • Erie is located in Cass County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <3>
    • Amenia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Harwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • North River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Nolan ‑ Historic
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Nolan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolan
      • Nolan is located in Cass County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nolan
      • From Kelso to Nolan
    • Page
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Reile's Acres
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reile's Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reile's Acres
      • Reile's Acres is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 748 people
    • Absaraka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Ayr
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ayr
      • Ayr is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ayr <3>
  • Grand Forks County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Reynolds
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reynolds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Holmes
      (29 miles [46.7 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.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmes
      • Holmes is located in Grand Forks County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Holmes
      • From Kelso to Holmes
  • Clay County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Georgetown
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Kragnes
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Felton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Oakport
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakport have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakport
      • Oakport is located in Clay County (MN)
  • Norman County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Halstad
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Hendrum
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Shelly
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelly have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Perley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Ada
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ada have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
    • Borup
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Borup have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
  • Polk County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Kelso, with the one closest to Kelso listed first.
    • Nielsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Climax have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beltrami have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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

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

Cemeteries Near Kelso ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Kelso.

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

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

  • Bohnsack Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohnsack Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohnsack Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Grandin Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandin Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Elmwood Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Rose Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Lynn Elton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Arnegard Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arnegard Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arnegard Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Quincy Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quincy Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quincy Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Immanuel Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • South Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • North Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (83 more) ...

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 Kelso had a population of 50 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.

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

  • Alton
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
    • Alton is located in Traill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Alton
    • From Kelso to Alton
  • Hillsboro
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillsboro have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
  • Grandin
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
  • Greenfield
    (9 miles [14.5 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.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Greenfield is located in Traill County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Greenfield
    • From Kelso to Greenfield
  • Halstad
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halstad have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>
  • Blanchard
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Hendrum
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Caledonia
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hunter
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Hunter. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunter
    • Hunter is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hunter <3>
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Hunter
    • From Kelso to Hunter
  • Cummings
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Murray
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Murray have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Murray
    • Murray is located in Traill County
  • Perley
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (16 more) ...
    • Arthur
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Nielsville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nielsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Clifford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clifford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 <3>

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

Newspapers Published in Kelso ...

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 50 newspapers that have been published in the area around Kelso.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Kelso, 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 Kelso.

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 either 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 Kelso:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Kelso. 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>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.
<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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Kelso, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Kelso) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Kelso. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.3228, Longitude: -97.0296    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025