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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 Valley City (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 Valley City. 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.

Valley City is located in Barnes 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 Barnes County: Cass, Griggs, LaMoure, Ransom, Steele & Stutsman.

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

  • Barnes County     (The home county of Valley City)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley City, with the one closest to Valley City listed first.
    • North Valley City
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Valley City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Valley City
      • North Valley City is located in Barnes County
    • Oriska
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Sanborn
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Rogers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rogers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
      • Rogers is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 42 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <2>
    • Fingal
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
      • 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>
    • Eckelson
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Kathryn
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Leal
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leal
      • Leal is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 18 people
    • Nome
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Sibley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sibley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sibley
      • Sibley is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 28 people
    • Dazey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dazey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dazey
      • Dazey is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dazey <2>
    • Litchville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Pillsbury
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • 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
  • Cass County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley City, with the one closest to Valley City listed first.
    • Tower City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Buffalo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Alice
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Ayr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Nolan ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • 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.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nolan
      • Nolan is located in Cass County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Nolan
      • From Valley City to Nolan
    • Page
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Absaraka
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
  • Griggs County
  • LaMoure County
  • Ransom County
  • Steele County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley City, with the one closest to Valley City listed first.
    • Luverne
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
      • 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>
    • Hope
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • 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>
  • Stutsman County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Valley City, with the one closest to Valley City listed first.
    • Spiritwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Bloom
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bloom. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom
      • Bloom is located in Stutsman County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Bloom
      • From Valley City to Bloom
    • Spiritwood Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spiritwood Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spiritwood Lake
      • Spiritwood Lake is located in Stutsman County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 98 people
    • Ypsilanti
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)

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

Cemeteries Near Valley City ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Valley City.

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

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

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Valley City had a population of 1,089 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Valley City had a population of 6,300 people.

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

  • Berea
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Berea have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berea
    • Berea is located in Barnes County
  • Cuba
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Cuba is located in Barnes County
  • Oriska
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • 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>
  • Sanborn
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Odell ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Odell have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Odell
    • Odell is located in Barnes County
  • Daily
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Daily have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Daily
    • Daily is located in Barnes County
  • Fingal
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • 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>
  • Tower City
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Ashtabula ‑ Historic
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ashtabula have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashtabula
    • Ashtabula is located in Barnes County
  • Hastings
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hastings have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hastings
    • Hastings is located in Barnes County
  • Urbana
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbana have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbana
    • Urbana is located in Barnes County
  • Lucca
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lucca have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lucca
    • Lucca is located in Barnes County
  • Continue List   (12 more) ...
    • Dazey
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dazey have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dazey
      • Dazey is located in Barnes County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 93 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dazey <2>
    • Buffalo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • 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>
    • Ayr
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • 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>

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Valley City ...

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 77 newspapers that have been published in the area around Valley City.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites 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 Valley City:

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

The official website for Barnes County: www.co.barnes.nd.us/

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Valley City) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valley City. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.9234, Longitude: -98.0062    
<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Valley City, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025