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 El Rancho Acres (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 El Rancho Acres. 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.
El Rancho Acres is located in Minnehaha County.
To see how the shape of South Dakota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Minnehaha County: Lyon (IA), Rock (MN), Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Moody & Turner.
Below are the counties that are near El Rancho Acres. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to El Rancho Acres:
- Minnehaha County (The home county of El Rancho Acres)
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- West Acres Development
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- West Acres Development is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Acres Development
- Estimated population in 2014: 180 people
- Silver Valley Addition
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Silver Valley Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Valley Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 112 people
- Hayward Addition
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Hayward Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 380 people
- Webster Grove Addition
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Webster Grove Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster Grove Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 156 people
- Ellis Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Ellis Corner is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis Corner
- Estimated population in 2014: 99 people
- Sioux Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Norton Acres
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Norton Acres is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norton Acres
- Population from the 2010 Census: 342 people
- Hartford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Split Rock Heights
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
- Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
- Crooks
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Meadow View Addition
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Meadow View Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow View Addition
- Population from the 2010 Census: 538 people
- Pumpkin Center
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Pumpkin Center is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pumpkin Center
- Estimated population in 2014: 13 people
- Pine Lakes Addition
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- Pine Lakes Addition is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Lakes Addition
- Population from the 2010 Census: 314 people
- Clay County
- Glenwood ‑ Historic
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Glenwood is located in Clay County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood
- Estimated population in 2014: 103 people
- Hutchinson County
- Freeman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Lake County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Chester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Brant Lake
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Brant Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brant Lake
- Franklin
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Franklin is located in Lake County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franklin
- Estimated population in 2014: 333 people
- Lincoln County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Tea
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lennox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Harrisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shindler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Shindler is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shindler
- Population from the 2010 Census: 584 people
- Worthing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Canton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Fairview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moe
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Moe is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moe
- McCook County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Montrose
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Canistota
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Moody County
- Trent
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Turner County
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Chancellor
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Parker
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Davis
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Monroe
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Hurley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Marion
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Hooker
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Hooker is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
- Viborg
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Dolton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Dolton is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dolton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 39 people
- Centerville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Spring Valley
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Spring Valley is located in Turner County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Union County
- Beresford
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Beresford is located in Union County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beresford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,043 people
- Former name for Beresford:
- Paris
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Beresford <1>
- Lyon County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Klondike
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Klondike is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klondike
- Beloit
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Beloit is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beloit
- Larchwood
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Inwood
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Lester
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Lester is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 303 people
- Alvord
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Rock County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Manley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Manley is located in Rock County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manley
- Bruce
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Bruce is located in Rock County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Hills
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Beaver Creek
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Beaver Creek is located in Rock County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Steen
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Steen is located in Rock County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 164 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to El Rancho Acres, see our County-by-County Page for El Rancho Acres.
Cemeteries Near El Rancho Acres ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of El Rancho Acres.
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.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for El Rancho Acres - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for El Rancho Acres covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Norwegian Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Tea Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bethel Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Chancellor Baptist Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hartford Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- St. George Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- St. Michaels Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Berg Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- German Methodist Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Continue List (132 more) ...
- Lennox Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Hills of Rest Memorial Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Wellington Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
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.<3>
While we didn't find El Rancho Acres in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of El Rancho Acres.
These communities are listed based on their distance from El Rancho Acres, with the one closest to El Rancho Acres listed first.
- Ellis
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Ellis is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellis
- Sioux Falls
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Hartford
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Lennox
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Harrisburg
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Shindler
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Shindler is located in Lincoln County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shindler
- Population from the 2010 Census: 584 people
- Worthing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- East Sioux Falls
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- East Sioux Falls is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Sioux Falls
- Humboldt
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Parker
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Rowena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Lyons
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Granite
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Granite is located in Lyon County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite
- Brandon
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Corson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Corson is located in Minnehaha County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corson
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around El Rancho Acres. See our List of 1890's Communities around El Rancho Acres.
Newspapers Published in El Rancho Acres ...
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 139 newspapers that have been published in the area around El Rancho Acres.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of El Rancho Acres, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for El Rancho Acres.
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 El Rancho Acres:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Minnehaha County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Clay County
- Hutchinson County
- Lake County
- Lincoln County
- McCook County
- Moody County
- Turner County
- Union County
- Lyon County
- Rock County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for South Dakota
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 El Rancho Acres, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- El Rancho Acres) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |