RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Dakota >> Hand County >> Miller Dale Colony >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
South Dakota

The Commemorative Quarter for South Dakota





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 Miller Dale Colony (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 Miller Dale Colony. 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Miller Dale Colony is located in Hand 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 Hand County: Beadle, Buffalo, Faulk, Hyde, Jerauld & Spink.

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

  • Hand County     (The home county of Miller Dale Colony)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miller Dale Colony, with the one closest to Miller Dale Colony listed first.
    • Ree Heights
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Ames
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
      • Ames is located in Hand County
    • Miller
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Saint Lawrence
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lawrence
      • Saint Lawrence is located in Hand County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Lawrence <1>
    • Florence ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
      • Florence is located in Hand County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 374 people
    • Polo
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Polo have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Polo
      • Polo is located in Hand County
      • Estimated population in 2014: 227 people
  • Beadle County
    • Wessington
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wessington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wessington
      • Wessington is located in Beadle County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wessington <1>
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miller Dale Colony, with the one closest to Miller Dale Colony listed first.
    • Gann Valley
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Fort Thompson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fort Thompson have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Thompson
      • Fort Thompson is located in Buffalo County
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 1,282 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fort Thompson <1>
  • Hyde County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Miller Dale Colony, with the one closest to Miller Dale Colony listed first.
    • Highmore
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
    • Stephan
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Holabird
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holabird. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holabird
      • Holabird is located in Hyde County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holabird <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Miller Dale Colony ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Miller Dale Colony.

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 Miller Dale Colony covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Morningside Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Morningside Cemetery
    • 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.
  • G A R Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the G A R Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the G A R Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Cedar Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Anns Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Anns Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the St. Anns Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Miller.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97512 <4>
  • St. Lawrence Cemetery
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lawrence Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lawrence Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Saint Placidus Cemetery
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saint Placidus Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Saint Placidus Cemetery is located 20 miles [32.2 km]<5> to the southwest of Fort Thompson.
    • The Saint Placidus Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Saint Placidus Catholic Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2168066 <4>
  • Ebenezer Baptist Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ebenezer Baptist Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ebenezer Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Highmore Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Highmore Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Highmore Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the southeast of Highmore.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97093 <4>
  • Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located outside and to the southeast of Highmore.
    • The Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery has also been known as:
    • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2167348 <4>
  • Rosehill Cemetery
    (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rosehill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rosehill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Alden Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Alden Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Alden Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • New Zion Cemetery
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the New Zion Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the New Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (23 more) ...
    • Immaculate Conception Mission Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Immaculate Conception Mission Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Immaculate Conception Mission Cemetery is located 18 miles [29 km]<5> to the north of Highmore.
      • The Immaculate Conception Mission Cemetery has also been known as:
      • Immaculate Conception Cemetery
      • Stephen Mission Cemetery
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97149 <4>
    • Wessington Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wessington Cemetery
      • To give a relative sense of its location, the Wessington Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside of Wessington
      • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97801 <4>
    • Beulah Cemetery
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Beulah Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Beulah Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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>

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

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

  • Sweetland ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetland
    • Sweetland is located in Hand County
  • Ames
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ames
    • Ames is located in Hand County
  • Ree Heights
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Miller
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Lawrence
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Lawrence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Lawrence
    • Saint Lawrence is located in Hand County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 181 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Saint Lawrence <1>
  • Bramhall ‑ Historic
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bramhall have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bramhall
    • Bramhall is located in Hyde County
  • Highmore
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Stephan
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Wessington
    (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wessington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wessington
    • Wessington is located in Beadle County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wessington <1>
  • Florence ‑ Historic
    (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Florence have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
    • Florence is located in Hand County
    • Estimated population in 2014: 374 people
  • Holabird
    (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Holabird. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holabird
    • Holabird is located in Hyde County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holabird <1>
  • Gann Valley
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
  • Burdette
    (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burdette have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burdette
    • Burdette is located in Hand County

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

Newspapers Published in Miller Dale Colony ...

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 14 newspapers that have been published in the area around Miller Dale Colony.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Miller Dale Colony, there are papers which were published within 26 miles [41.8 km]<5>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Miller Dale Colony.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful 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 Miller Dale Colony:

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

The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.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>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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Miller Dale Colony) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Miller Dale Colony. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.4000, Longitude: -99.1129       In this case, the coordinates for Miller Dale Colony have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Miller Dale Colony, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025