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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 Willow Lake (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 Willow Lake. 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 Willow Lake ...

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 Willow Lake: Willow Lk.

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

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 southwest 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 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.

Willow Lake is located in Clark 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 Clark County: Beadle, Codington, Day, Hamlin, Kingsbury & Spink.

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

  • Clark County     (The home county of Willow Lake)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • Success ‑ Historic
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Success is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
      • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
    • Vienna
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
      • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
    • Naples
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Naples is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
    • Carpenter
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Merton ‑ Historic
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Merton is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
      • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
    • Clark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Elrod
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Elrod is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
      • Estimated population in 2014: 92 people
    • Garden City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Raymond
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Beadle County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • Yale
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cavour
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Huron Colony
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Huron Colony is located in Beadle County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huron Colony
      • Estimated population in 2014: 403 people
  • Codington County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • Henry
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Henry is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Henry
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 264 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Henry <1>
    • Grover
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Grover is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grover
      • Estimated population in 2014: 171 people
    • Kampeska
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Kampeska is located in Codington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kampeska
      • Estimated population in 2014: 331 people
  • Hamlin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • Bryant
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Hazel
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Hayti
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Norden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Thomas
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Thomas is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thomas
      • Estimated population in 2014: 290 people
    • Alsville
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Alsville is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alsville
    • Kones Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Kones Corner is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kones Corner
    • Stone Bridge
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Stone Bridge is located in Hamlin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Bridge
      • Estimated population in 2014: 105 people
    • Castlewood
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Kingsbury County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • Bancroft
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
    • Erwin
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Osceola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Osceola is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Estimated population in 2014: 90 people
    • De Smet
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Manchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Iroquois
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Lake Preston
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Badger
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Esmond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Esmond is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esmond
      • Estimated population in 2014: 60 people
    • Hetland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Spink County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Willow Lake, with the one closest to Willow Lake listed first.
    • LaDelle
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • LaDelle is located in Spink County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for LaDelle
    • Doland
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Willow Lake ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Willow Lake.

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 Willow Lake - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

  • Collins Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Pleasant Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodland Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hague Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • St. Marys Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Our Redeemer Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • West Merton Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Vienna Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Woodlawn Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodlawn Cemetery
    • To give a relative sense of its location, the Woodlawn Cemetery is a large cemetery that is located outside and to the east of Bryant.
    • Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #97826 <2>
  • Dixon Cemetery
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • LeSueur Cemetery
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Spirt Lake Cemetery
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (74 more) ...
    • Naples Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • St. Patricks Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Petrodie Cemetery
      (11 miles [17.7 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Willow Lake had a population of 240 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Willow Lake had a population of 244 people.

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

  • Success ‑ Historic
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Success is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Success
    • Estimated population in 2014: 6,741 people
  • Bryant
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Vienna
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Pitrodie ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pitrodie is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pitrodie
    • Estimated population in 2014: 25 people
  • Bancroft
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Bancroft is located in Kingsbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19 people
  • Naples
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Naples is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 49 people
  • Carlton ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Carlton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carlton
  • Erwin
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Osceola
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Osceola is located in Kingsbury County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
    • Estimated population in 2014: 90 people
  • Merton ‑ Historic
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Merton is located in Clark County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merton
    • Estimated population in 2014: 55 people
  • Hazel
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • De Smet
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Clark
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Manchester
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Manchester is located in Kingsbury County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Manchester
      • Estimated population in 2014: 65 people
    • Elrod
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
      • Elrod is located in Clark County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elrod
      • Estimated population in 2014: 92 people

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Willow Lake ...

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 35 newspapers that have been published in the area around Willow Lake.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Willow Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Willow Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Willow Lake.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Willow Lake.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These websites either 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 Willow Lake:

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 Willow Lake, 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- Willow Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.