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 Hecla (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 Hecla. 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.
Hecla is located in Brown 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 Brown County: Dickey (ND), Sargent (ND), Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Marshall, McPherson & Spink.
Below are the counties that are near Hecla. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Hecla:
- Brown County (The home county of Hecla)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Houghton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Claremont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Frederick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Winship
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Winship is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winship
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,862 people
- Huffton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Huffton is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffton
- Estimated population in 2014: 316 people
- Barnard
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
- Putney
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Putney is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Putney
- Estimated population in 2014: 104 people
- Tacoma Park
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Tacoma Park is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tacoma Park
- Estimated population in 2014: 413 people
- Westport
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Ordway
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Ordway is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ordway
- Estimated population in 2014: 306 people
- James
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- James is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for James
- Prairie Wood Village Addition
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie Wood Village Addition is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Wood Village Addition
- Estimated population in 2014: 276 people
- Day County
- Pierpont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Marshall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Amherst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- West Britton ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- West Britton is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Britton
- Population from the 2010 Census: 1,368 people
- Newark
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Newark is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
- Britton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Kidder
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Kidder is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kidder
- Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
- Spain
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Spain is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spain
- Population from the 2010 Census: 989 people
- Langford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Dickey County (ND)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Ludden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ludden is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Guelph
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Guelph is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
- Silverleaf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Silverleaf is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
- Norway
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Norway is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norway
- Oakes
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Ellendale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Fullerton
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Glover
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Glover is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glover
- Monango
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Monango is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monango
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Forbes
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Sargent County (ND)
- The following are listed by their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Straubville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Straubville is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
- Brampton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brampton is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
- Cogswell
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Harlem ‑ Historic
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Harlem is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Havana
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Stirum
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Stirum is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stirum
- Forman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Hecla, see our County-by-County Page for Hecla.
Cemeteries Near Hecla ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Hecla.
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 Hecla - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Hecla covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Hecla City Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hecla City Cemetery
- The Hecla City Cemetery has also been known as:
- Hecla Cemetery
- Peace Lutheran Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Detroit Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ludden Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Houghton Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Savo Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Amherst Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Frederick Cemetery
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Free Mission Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Britton Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Oakes View Cemetery
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Norwegian Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Continue List (26 more) ...
- Brampton Cemetery
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Nicholson Cemetery
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Augustana Cemetery
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Hecla had a population of 457 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Hecla had a population of 217 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Hecla, with the one closest to Hecla listed first.
- Houghton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Ludden
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Ludden is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ludden
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
- Port Emma ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Port Emma is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Emma
- Guelph
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Guelph is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guelph
- Amherst
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Silverleaf
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Silverleaf is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverleaf
- Claremont
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Straubville ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Straubville is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Straubville
- Frederick
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Newark
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Newark is located in Marshall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newark
- Estimated population in 2014: 109 people
- Winship
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Winship is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winship
- Estimated population in 2014: 2,862 people
- Huffton
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Huffton is located in Brown County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huffton
- Estimated population in 2014: 316 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Oakes
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Clement
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Clement is located in Dickey County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clement
- Brampton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Brampton is located in Sargent County (ND)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brampton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Hecla. See our List of 1890's Communities around Hecla.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Hecla ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Hecla.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Hecla. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Hecla and those printed in the larger area surrounding Hecla.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Hecla.
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 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 Hecla:
- Websites specific to South Dakota
- Pages specific to Brown County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Day County
- Marshall County
- Dickey County
- Sargent 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 Hecla, 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hecla) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |