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 Birchwood (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 Birchwood. 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 doctors 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.
Birchwood is located in Washburn County.
To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Washburn County: Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Rusk & Sawyer.
Below are the counties that are near Birchwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birchwood:
- Washburn County (The home county of Birchwood)
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Nobleton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Madge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Shell Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Spooner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Spooner is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
- Earl
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Earl is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Barron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Haugen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Rice Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Cameron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Barron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Chetek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Cumberland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Poskin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Hillsdale
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Almena
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Dallas
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Twin Town
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Burnett County
- Bashaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Strickland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Weyerhaeuser
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Bruce
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Bruce is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Port Arthur
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Ladysmith
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Ladysmith is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,054 people
- Tony
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Tony is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tony
- Population from the 2020 Census: 100 people
- Sawyer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Stone Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Stone Lake is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Lake
- Exeland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Exeland is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Couderay
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Couderay is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couderay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Radisson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Radisson is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Radisson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 232 people
- Reserve
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reserve is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reserve
- Chief Lake
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
- Chief Lake is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chief Lake
- Little Round Lake
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Little Round Lake is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Round Lake
- Hayward
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hayward is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,352 people
- New Post
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- New Post is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Post
- Phipps
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Phipps is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Phipps
- Winter
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
- Winter is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter
- Population from the 2020 Census: 294 people
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birchwood, see our County-by-County Page for Birchwood.
Cemeteries Near Birchwood ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birchwood.
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 Birchwood - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birchwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Cedar Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Bohemian National Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Nora Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sarona Cemetery
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Wiesner Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Orchard Beach Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Pioneer Rest Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Blue Hills Cemetery
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (69 more) ...
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Assumption Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Polish Cemetery
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
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.<2>
While we didn't find Birchwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birchwood.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
- Nobleton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Haugen
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Rice Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Lehigh
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Lehigh is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
- Canton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Canton is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Reserve
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
- Reserve is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reserve
- Shell Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Cameron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Spooner
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Spooner is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
- Barronett
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Barronett is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronett
- Barron
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Cumberland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Continue List (7 more) ...
- Chetek
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Hayward
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Hayward is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayward
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,352 people
- Bashaw
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birchwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birchwood.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Birchwood ...
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 62 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birchwood.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Birchwood. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Birchwood and those printed in the larger area surrounding Birchwood.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 25 miles [40.2 km]<3> of Birchwood.
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 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 Birchwood:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Washburn County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barron County
- Burnett County
- Rusk County
- Sawyer County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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 Birchwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Birchwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |