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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 Harrison (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 Harrison. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Harrison is located in Douglas County.

To see how the shape of South Dakota's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Douglas County: Aurora, Charles Mix, Davison & Hutchinson.

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

  • Douglas County     (The home county of Harrison)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • New Holland
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Corsica
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corsica have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corsica
      • Corsica is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 569 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Corsica <1>
    • Joubert
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
      • Joubert is located in Douglas County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
    • Douglas City ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Douglas City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas City
      • Douglas City is located in Douglas County
    • Armour
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Armour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
      • Armour is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Armour <1>
    • Hillside
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
      • Hillside is located in Douglas County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 31 people
    • Delmont
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delmont
      • Delmont is located in Douglas County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delmont <1>
  • Aurora County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Aurora Center
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora Center have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora Center
      • Aurora Center is located in Aurora County
    • Stickney
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stickney have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stickney
      • Stickney is located in Aurora County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 267 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stickney <1>
    • Plankinton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • White Lake
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
      • White Lake is located in Aurora County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Lake <1>
  • Brule County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Eagle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
      • Eagle is located in Brule County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
    • Kimball
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Charles Mix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Geddes
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geddes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geddes
      • Geddes is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geddes <1>
    • Platte
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
      • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
    • Lake Andes
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Andes have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Andes
      • Lake Andes is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 815 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Andes <1>
    • Ravinia
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ravinia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ravinia
      • Ravinia is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ravinia <1>
    • Pickstown
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wagner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wagner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wagner
      • Wagner is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,537 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wagner <1>
    • Academy
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Academy
      • Academy is located in Charles Mix County
    • Marty
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marty
      • Marty is located in Charles Mix County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 402 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marty <1>
    • Platte Colony
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Platte Colony have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte Colony
      • Platte Colony is located in Charles Mix County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 51 people
  • Davison County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Mount Vernon
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Vernon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
      • Mount Vernon is located in Davison County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Vernon <1>
    • Ethan
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Gregory County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • East Gregory
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Gregory have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Gregory
      • East Gregory is located in Gregory County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 182 people
    • Fort Randall
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Randall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Randall
      • Fort Randall is located in Gregory County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 2,135 people
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Harrison, with the one closest to Harrison listed first.
    • Dimock
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dimock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dimock
      • Dimock is located in Hutchinson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 171 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dimock <1>
    • Parkston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Harrison ...

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 52 newspapers that have been published in the area around Harrison.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Harrison. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Harrison and those printed in the larger area surrounding Harrison.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Harrison.

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 professional and volunteer 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 Harrison:

Cemeteries Near Harrison ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Harrison.

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

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

  • Harrison Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Harrison Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Harrison Cemetery
  • Ebenezer Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Cemetery
  • New Holland Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Holland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Holland Cemetery
  • Graceland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Cemetery
  • Aurora Center Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Aurora Center Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Aurora Center Cemetery
  • Quaker Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Quaker Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Quaker Cemetery
  • Morningside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Morningside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morningside Cemetery
  • Grandview Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Grandview Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Grandview Cemetery
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • Old St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old St. Paul Cemetery
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Paul Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Paul Cemetery
  • German Reform Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the German Reform Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the German Reform Cemetery
  • Continue List   (79 more) ...
    • Old Ebenezer Cemetery
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Ebenezer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Ebenezer Cemetery
    • Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery
    • St. John Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. John Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Harrison had a population of 322 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • New Holland
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Joubert
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joubert
    • Joubert is located in Douglas County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 126 people
  • Grandview ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
    • Grandview is located in Douglas County
  • Armour
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Armour have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Armour
    • Armour is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 666 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Armour <1>
  • Platte
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Platte
    • Platte is located in Charles Mix County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,257 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Platte <1>
  • Plankinton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Delmont
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Delmont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delmont
    • Delmont is located in Douglas County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 215 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Delmont <1>
  • White Lake
    (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Lake
    • White Lake is located in Aurora County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 365 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for White Lake <1>
  • Mount Vernon
    (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Vernon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Vernon
    • Mount Vernon is located in Davison County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 438 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mount Vernon <1>
  • Wheeler ‑ Historic
    (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wheeler have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
    • Wheeler is located in Charles Mix County
  • Parkston
    (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
  • Ethan
    (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Eagle
    (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle
    • Eagle is located in Brule County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 17 people

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

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

The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/

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 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>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- Harrison) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Harrison. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.4297, Longitude: -98.5273       In this case, the coordinates for Harrison have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Harrison, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024