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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 Napa Junction (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 Napa Junction. 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.

Name Variations for Napa Junction ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Napa Junction: Napa Jct. (or less commonly used: Napa Jctn.)

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Napa Junction. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Napa Junction.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

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 and hospitals 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.

Napa Junction is located in Yankton 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 Yankton County: Cedar (NE), Knox (NE), Bon Homme, Clay, Hutchinson & Turner.

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

  • Yankton County     (The home county of Napa Junction)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Utica
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Yankton
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Fairview Heights
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Fairview Heights is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairview Heights
      • Estimated population in 2014: 77 people
    • Oak Hills Addition
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Oak Hills Addition is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Hills Addition
      • Estimated population in 2014: 23 people
    • Mission Hill
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Valleyview
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Valleyview is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valleyview
    • Lesterville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Jamesville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Jamesville is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
      • Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
    • Mayfield
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Mayfield is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
      • Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
    • Volin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Midway
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
      • Midway is located in Yankton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
    • Gayville
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Bon Homme County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Tabor
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Tabor is located in Bon Homme County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tabor <1>
    • Scotland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Tyndall
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Springfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Kingsburg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
      • Kingsburg is located in Bon Homme County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsburg
      • Estimated population in 2014: 697 people
    • Perkins
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Perkins is located in Bon Homme County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Perkins
    • Avon
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Avon is located in Bon Homme County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avon
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 584 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Avon <1>
  • Clay County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Wakonda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Meckling
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
    • Westreville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Westreville is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westreville
      • Population from the 2010 Census: 208 people
    • Lodi
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Lodi is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
      • Estimated population in 2014: 82 people
    • Bloomingdale
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Bloomingdale is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
    • Riverside ‑ Historic
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Riverside is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside
    • Hub City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Hub City is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
    • Komstad ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Komstad is located in Clay County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Komstad
      • Estimated population in 2014: 12 people
    • Vermillion
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Hutchinson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Menno
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Menno is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menno
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 615 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Menno <1>
    • Olivet
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
    • Kaylor
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Freeman
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Wolf Creek
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Wolf Creek is located in Hutchinson County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wolf Creek
      • Estimated population in 2014: 195 people
  • Turner County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Irene
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Spring Valley
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Spring Valley is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
    • Viborg
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Centerville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hooker
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Hooker is located in Turner County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hooker
    • Hurley
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Cedar County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Aten
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Aten is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aten
    • Saint Helena
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Constance
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Constance is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constance
    • Fordyce
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Bow Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Bow Valley is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Valley
    • Wynot
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Wynot is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wynot
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wynot <1>
    • Hartington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Obert
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Obert is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Obert
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 22 people
  • Dixon County (NE)
    • Maskell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Maskell is located in Dixon County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maskell
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 68 people
  • Knox County (NE)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Napa Junction, with the one closest to Napa Junction listed first.
    • Crofton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Tewsville ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Tewsville is located in Knox County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tewsville
    • Lindy
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Lindy is located in Knox County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lindy
    • Santee
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
      • Santee is located in Knox County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Santee
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 338 people
    • Bloomfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Wausa
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Wausa is located in Knox County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wausa
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 557 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wausa <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Napa Junction ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Napa Junction.

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 Napa Junction - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Napa Junction covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Garden of Memories Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Yankton Municipal Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Sacred Heart Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Martinus Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Nikodym Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Nedved Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Lake Port Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Klasi Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Aten Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Beadleston Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Elm Grove Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Mueller Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (122 more) ...
    • Voll Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Civil Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Polish Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)

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 Napa Junction in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Napa Junction.

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

  • Utica
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Yankton
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Lakeport
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Lakeport is located in Yankton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeport
  • Aten
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Aten is located in Cedar County (NE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aten
  • Lesterville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Tabor
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Tabor is located in Bon Homme County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tabor
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 398 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tabor <1>
  • Menominee
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Menominee is located in Cedar County (NE)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menominee
  • Mayfield
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Mayfield is located in Yankton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayfield
    • Estimated population in 2014: 208 people
  • Jamesville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Jamesville is located in Yankton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
    • Estimated population in 2014: 232 people
  • Saint Helena
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Volin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Gayville
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Constance
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Constance is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constance
    • Bow Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Bow Valley is located in Cedar County (NE)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bow Valley
    • Wakonda
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Napa Junction ...

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 116 newspapers that have been published in the area around Napa Junction.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Napa Junction, 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 Napa Junction.

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 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 Napa Junction:

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 Napa Junction, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Napa Junction) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.