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 Belle Plaine (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 Belle Plaine. 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 doctors and 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.
Belle Plaine is located in Shawano 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 Shawano County: Brown, Langlade, Marathon, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, Portage & Waupaca.
Below are the counties that are near Belle Plaine. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Belle Plaine:
- Shawano County (The home county of Belle Plaine)
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Shawano
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawano
- Shawano is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,885 people
- Lunds
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lunds
- Lunds is located in Shawano County
- Leopolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
- Leopolis is located in Shawano County
- Bonduel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonduel
- Bonduel is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
- Slab City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Gresham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Gresham is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 563 people
- Cecil
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Briarton
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Frazer Corners
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frazer Corners
- Frazer Corners is located in Shawano County
- Zachow
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zachow
- Zachow is located in Shawano County
- Middle Village
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Village
- Middle Village is located in Shawano County
- Pulcifer
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulcifer
- Pulcifer is located in Shawano County
- Split Rock
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock
- Split Rock is located in Shawano County
- Brown County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Pulaski
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pulaski
- Pulaski is located in Brown County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,766 people
- Pittsfield
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsfield
- Pittsfield is located in Brown County
- Flintville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flintville
- Flintville is located in Brown County
- Oneida
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast) - Hobart
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast) - Howard
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Langlade County
- Phlox
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phlox
- Phlox is located in Langlade County
- Phlox
- Marathon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Elderon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west) - Galloway
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galloway
- Galloway is located in Marathon County
- Menominee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Keshena
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keshena
- Keshena is located in Menominee County
- Legend Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Legend Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Legend Lake
- Legend Lake is located in Menominee County
- Neopit
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest) - Zoar
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Zoar
- Zoar is located in Menominee County
- Oconto County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Gillett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast) - Suring
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Suring
- Suring is located in Oconto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 524 people
- Frostville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frostville
- Frostville is located in Oconto County
- Breed
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast) - Oconto Falls
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oconto Falls
- Oconto Falls is located in Oconto County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,805 people
- Hickory Corners
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
- Hickory Corners is located in Oconto County
- Spruce
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce
- Spruce is located in Oconto County
- Outagamie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Leeman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Bear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Bear Creek is located in Outagamie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
- Nichols
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Shiocton
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south) - Black Creek
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Creek
- Black Creek is located in Outagamie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,309 people
- Seymour
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast) - Hortonville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hortonville
- Hortonville is located in Outagamie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,976 people
- Chicago Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicago Corners
- Chicago Corners is located in Outagamie County
- Greenville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Outagamie County
- Freedom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
- Freedom is located in Outagamie County
- Medina
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south) - Apple Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Creek
- Apple Creek is located in Outagamie County
- Portage County
- Alban
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alban
- Alban is located in Portage County
- Alban
- Waupaca County
- The following are listed by their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Embarrass
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Clintonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clintonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
- Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
- Granite City ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite City
- Granite City is located in Waupaca County
- Big Falls
(18 miles [29 km] to the west) - Manawa
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest) - New London
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
- New London is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,065 people
- Ostrander
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ostrander
- Ostrander is located in Waupaca County
- Little Wolf ‑ Historic
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Wolf have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Wolf
- Little Wolf is located in Waupaca County
- Ogdensburg
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ogdensburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ogdensburg
- Ogdensburg is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Iola
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest) - Scandinavia
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scandinavia have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scandinavia
- Scandinavia is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 349 people
- Gills Landing
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gills Landing
- Gills Landing is located in Waupaca County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Belle Plaine, see our County-by-County Page for Belle Plaine.
Newspapers Published in Belle Plaine ...
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 90 newspapers that have been published in the area around Belle Plaine.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Belle Plaine, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Belle Plaine.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Belle Plaine:
- 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 Shawano County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Brown County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Langlade County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Marathon County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Menominee County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Oconto County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Outagamie County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Portage County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Waupaca County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Brown County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Shawano County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Shawano County
Cemeteries Near Belle Plaine ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Belle Plaine.
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 Belle Plaine covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Bomke Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bomke Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- The Bomke Cemetery has also been known as:
- Belle Plaine Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bomke Cemetery
- Friendship Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Friendship Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- The Friendship Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lange Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Friendship Cemetery
- St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2373262 <3>
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Zion Cemetery
- St. Peter Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Peter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Peter Cemetery
- Greenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Greenwood Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Greenwood Cemetery
- St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery
- Hilda Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hilda Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hilda Cemetery
- Jerusalem Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Jerusalem Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- The Jerusalem Cemetery has also been known as:
- Jerusalem Lutheran Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Jerusalem Cemetery
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Woodlawn Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- The Woodlawn Cemetery has also been known as:
- Shawano City Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Woodlawn Cemetery
- Lake Drive Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lake Drive Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- The Lake Drive Cemetery has also been known as:
- Lundquist Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lake Drive Cemetery
- St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- The St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery has also been known as:
- St. John's Hermansfort Cemetery
- St. John's Hermansfort Cemetery
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Continue List (166 more) ...
- St. Martin Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Martin Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Martin Cemetery
- Graceland Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Graceland Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Graceland Cemetery
- St. Rose Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Rose Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Rose Cemetery
- St. Martin 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.<4>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Belle Plaine had a population of 67 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Belle Plaine, with the one closest to Belle Plaine listed first.
- Embarrass
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Shawano
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shawano
- Shawano is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,885 people
- Pella
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Clintonville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clintonville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clintonville
- Clintonville is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,353 people
- Buckbee
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Leopolis
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leopolis
- Leopolis is located in Shawano County
- Bonduel
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonduel
- Bonduel is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
- Marion
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion
- Marion is located in Waupaca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,167 people
- Leeman
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Gresham
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gresham
- Gresham is located in Shawano County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 563 people
- Keshena
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keshena
- Keshena is located in Menominee County
- Caroline
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Continue List (15 more) ...
- Cecil
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Bear Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Creek
- Bear Creek is located in Outagamie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
- Marble ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Cecil
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Belle Plaine. See our List of 1890's Communities around Belle Plaine.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Belle Plaine. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Shawano County: www.co.shawano.wi.us/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Belle Plaine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Belle Plaine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.7153, Longitude: -88.6662 In this case, the coordinates for Belle Plaine have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | 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 Belle Plaine, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |