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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 Mason (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 Mason. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Mason is located in Cass 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 Cass County: Clay (MN), Norman (MN), Barnes, Ransom, Richland, Steele & Traill.

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

  • Cass County     (The home county of Mason)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Erie
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Arthur
      (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Amenia
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Absaraka
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Ayr
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Hunter
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • 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 <2>
    • Wheatland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
      • Wheatland is located in Cass County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheatland <2>
    • Nolan ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nolan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolan
      • Nolan is located in Cass County
    • Page
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Page have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Page
      • Page is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Page <2>
    • Casselton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Buffalo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
      • Buffalo is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <2>
    • Gardner
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Argusville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argusville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argusville
      • Argusville is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
  • Barnes County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Oriska
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oriska have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oriska
      • Oriska is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oriska <2>
    • Pillsbury
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pillsbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pillsbury
      • Pillsbury is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 11 people
    • Fingal
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fingal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fingal
      • Fingal is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fingal <2>
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Hope
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
      • Hope is located in Steele County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 250 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hope <2>
    • Luverne
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Luverne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luverne
      • Luverne is located in Steele County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 29 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Luverne <2>
  • Traill County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Galesburg
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
    • Grandin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Clifford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Kelso
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kelso
      • Kelso is located in Traill County
    • Alton
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Alton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alton
      • Alton is located in Traill County
    • Roseville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville
      • Roseville is located in Traill County
    • Hillsboro
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
    • Mayville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
    • Portland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Clay County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Georgetown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • 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
    • Kragnes
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kragnes
      • Kragnes is located in Clay County (MN)
    • Oakport
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oakport have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Mason, with the one closest to Mason listed first.
    • Perley
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perley
      • Perley is located in Norman County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 83 people
    • Hendrum
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hendrum
      • Hendrum is located in Norman County (MN)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 282 people
    • Halstad
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in Mason ...

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 Mason.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Mason, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Mason.

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 Mason:

Cemeteries Near Mason ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Mason.

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

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

  • St. Martins Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Martins Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Martins Cemetery
  • Erie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Erie Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Erie Cemetery
  • Arthur Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arthur Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arthur Cemetery
  • Good Samaritan Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Good Samaritan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Good Samaritan Cemetery
  • Wheatland Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wheatland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wheatland Cemetery
  • Rose Valley Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rose Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rose Valley Cemetery
  • Casselton Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • St. Leos Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Leos Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located in Casselton.
    • The St. Leos Cemetery has also been known as:
    • St. Leo Cemetery
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Leos Cemetery
  • Page Cemetery
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Page Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Page Cemetery
  • Elm River Cemetery
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Elm River Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Elm River Cemetery
  • Argusville Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Argusville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Argusville Cemetery
  • Grandin Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandin Cemetery
  • Continue List   (59 more) ...
    • Greenwood Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
    • Mapleton Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mapleton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mapleton Cemetery
    • Bohnsack Cemetery
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohnsack Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohnsack Cemetery

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>

While we didn't find Mason in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Mason.

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

  • Arthur
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Amenia
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Ayr
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ayr have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Absaraka
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Hunter
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunter have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • 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 <2>
  • Wheatland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheatland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheatland
    • Wheatland is located in Cass County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wheatland <2>
  • Magnolia
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Magnolia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia
    • Magnolia is located in Cass County
  • Page
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Page have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Page
    • Page is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Page <2>
  • Casselton
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Buffalo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
    • Buffalo is located in Cass County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <2>
  • Galesburg
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Galesburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
  • Greenfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
    • Greenfield is located in Traill County
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Mapleton
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Argusville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Argusville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Argusville
      • Argusville is located in Cass County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 467 people
    • Grandin
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>

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

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

The official website for Cass County: www.co.cass.nd.us/

The official website for State of North Dakota: 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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Mason) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mason. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.0736, Longitude: -97.3290       In this case, the coordinates for Mason have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Mason, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024