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 Chetek (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 Chetek. 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 northwest 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 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 west 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.
Chetek is located in Barron 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 Barron County: Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sawyer & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Chetek. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Chetek:
- Barron County (The home county of Chetek)
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Cameron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Hillsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Barron
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Poskin
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Prairie Farm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Twin Town
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Haugen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Cumberland
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Turtle Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- New Auburn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Bloomer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Eagleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Albertville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Albertville is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albertville
- Cornell
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Cornell is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornell
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Estella
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Estella is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Estella
- Population from the 2020 Census: 452 people
- Chippewa Falls
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- Drywood
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Drywood is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drywood
- Irvine
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Irvine is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvine
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Ridgeland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Colfax is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
- Wheeler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Tainter Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
- Boyceville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Downing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Downing is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Elk Mound
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
- Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Clayton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Clear Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Strickland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Weyerhaeuser
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Bruce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Bruce is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Port Arthur
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Ladysmith
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Ladysmith is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,054 people
- Conrath
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Conrath is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conrath
- Population from the 2020 Census: 90 people
- Saint Croix County
- Glenwood City
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Nobleton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Madge
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Chetek, see our County-by-County Page for Chetek.
Cemeteries Near Chetek ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Chetek.
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 Chetek - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Chetek covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Lakeview Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Johnson Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Plain Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Otterholt Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Faaberg Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dovre Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Sioux Creek Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Twin Lakes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- New Scandinavia Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Dallas Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Myron Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Continue List (123 more) ...
- Springbrook Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Evergreen Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Chetek had a population of 406 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Chetek had a population of 2,094 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Chetek, with the one closest to Chetek listed first.
- Canton
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Canton is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Cameron
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Dallas
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Lehigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lehigh is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
- Sand Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Hillsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Barron
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Prairie Farm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Almena
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Haugen
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Eagleton
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Eagleton is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagleton
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Wheeler
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Wheeler is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Colfax
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Colfax is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
- Eagle Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Eagle Point is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Chetek. See our List of 1890's Communities around Chetek.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Chetek ...
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 74 newspapers that have been published in the area around Chetek.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Chetek. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Chetek and those printed in the larger area surrounding Chetek.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Chetek.
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 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 Chetek:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Chippewa County
- Dunn County
- Polk County
- Rusk County
- Saint Croix County
- Washburn 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 Chetek, 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- Chetek) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |