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 Arena (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 Arena. 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 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.
Arena is located in Iowa County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Iowa County: Dane, Grant, Green, Lafayette, Richland & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near Arena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Arena:
- Iowa County (The home county of Arena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Cassell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Helena
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Helena is located in Iowa County
- Hyde
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
- Hyde is located in Iowa County
- Barneveld
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Pleasant Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Iowa County
- Ridgeway
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south) - Dodgeville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodgeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
- Hollandale
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollandale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollandale
- Hollandale is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Avoca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west) - Edmund
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmund
- Edmund is located in Iowa County
- Moscow
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moscow
- Moscow is located in Iowa County
- Highland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Lodi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Lodi is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Okee
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
- Okee is located in Columbia County
- Lake Wisconsin
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wisconsin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
- Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
- Harmony Grove
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
- Harmony Grove is located in Columbia County
- Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durwards Glen
- Durwards Glen is located in Columbia County
- Arlington
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Poynette
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Mazomanie
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Black Earth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Earth
- Black Earth is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,422 people
- Elvers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Blue Mounds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mounds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
- Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Marxville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Cross Plains
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
- Cross Plains is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
- Mount Horeb
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Horeb have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
- Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
- Klevenville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Klevenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klevenville
- Klevenville is located in Dane County
- Martinsville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Martinsville is located in Dane County
- Ashton
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Ashton is located in Dane County
- Ashton Corners
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Corners
- Ashton Corners is located in Dane County
- Middleton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Muscoda
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west) - Montfort
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montfort
- Montfort is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
- Green County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- New Glarus
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Glarus
- New Glarus is located in Green County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,136 people
- Dayton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dayton
- Dayton is located in Green County
- Lafayette County
- Blanchardville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchardville
- Blanchardville is located in Lafayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Blanchardville
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Lone Rock
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Aubrey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Neptune
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Richland Center
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Cazenovia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest) - Balmoral
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west) - Hub City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Spring Green
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Witwen
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witwen
- Witwen is located in Sauk County
- Plain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Leland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Sauk City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Denzer
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Prairie du Sac village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
- Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
- Moon Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley
- Moon Valley is located in Sauk County
- Loganville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Loganville is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
- North Freedom
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- North Freedom is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Merrimac
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Rock Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Arena, see our County-by-County Page for Arena.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Arena ...
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 186 newspapers that have been published in the area around Arena.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Arena. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Arena and those printed in the larger area surrounding Arena.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Arena.
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 Arena:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Iowa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dane County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Grant County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Green County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Lafayette County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Richland County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Columbia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Iowa County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
Cemeteries Near Arena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Arena.
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 Arena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Arena Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arena Cemetery
- Davis Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
- Culver Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Culver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Culver Cemetery
- Cassell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cassell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cassell Cemetery
- St. Barnabas Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- The St. Barnabas Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. Barnabus Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Barnabas Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #88898 <3>
- Old Helena Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Helena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Helena Cemetery
- Union Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Grove Cemetery
- Bethel Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethel Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethel Cemetery
- Old Black Earth Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for the Old Black Earth Cemetery. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- The Old Black Earth Cemetery has also been known as:
- George Beaty Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Black Earth Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2405349 <3>
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Oak Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Oak Hill Cemetery
- Ruggles Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ruggles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ruggles Cemetery
- Dunlap Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dunlap Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dunlap Cemetery
- Continue List (206 more) ...
- Wyoming Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wyoming Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wyoming Cemetery
- Jennieton Baptist Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jennieton Baptist Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jennieton Baptist Cemetery
- Jennieton Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jennieton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jennieton Cemetery
- Wyoming 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.<5>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Arena had a population of 354 people in 1895 with railroad service and no post office. In 2020, Arena had a population of 831 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Arena, with the one closest to Arena listed first.
- Cassell
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Mazomanie
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Helena
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Helena is located in Iowa County
- Black Hawk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Hawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
- Black Hawk is located in Sauk County
- Spring Green
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Elvers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Black Earth
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Earth
- Black Earth is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,422 people
- Wyoming
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Barneveld
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Blue Mounds
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mounds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
- Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Plain
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Sauk City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast) - Continue List (14 more) ...
- Leland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Marxville
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Prairie du Sac village
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
- Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
- Leland
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Arena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Arena.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Arena. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iowa County: www.iowacounty.org/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- Arena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Arena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1652, Longitude: -89.9125 |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Arena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |