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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 Dresser (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 Dresser. 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 and 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.

Dresser is located in Polk 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 Polk County: Chisago (MN), Washington (MN), Barron, Burnett, Dunn & Saint Croix.

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

  • Polk County     (The home county of Dresser)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Saint Croix Falls
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Osceola
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Centuria
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Horse Creek
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Deronda
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Balsam Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
    • Volga ‑ Historic
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Amery
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Milltown
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Milltown is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
    • Bunyan
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Luck
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Luck is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
    • Clear Lake
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Atlas
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
  • Barron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Turtle Lake
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Almena
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Almena is located in Barron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
    • Twin Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Twin Town is located in Barron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
  • Burnett County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Randall
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Randall is located in Burnett County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall
    • Alpha
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Grantsburg
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Saint Croix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Star Prairie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • New Richmond
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Somerset
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Deer Park
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Erin Corner
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Burkhardt
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • North Hudson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
    • Roberts
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Hammond
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hudson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • Baldwin
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Glenwood City
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
  • Anoka County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • City of Columbus
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • Linwood
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
    • Centerville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Lino Lakes
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • East Bethel
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Ham Lake
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Circle Pines
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Coopers Corner
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
    • Blaine
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Blaine is located in Anoka County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,697 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blaine <1>
    • Lexington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Bethel
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
  • Chisago County (MN)
  • Isanti County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Weber
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • Minnesota Boys Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Minnesota Boys Town is located in Isanti County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minnesota Boys Town
  • Pine County (MN)
    • Rock Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Ramsey County (MN)
  • Washington County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Dresser, with the one closest to Dresser listed first.
    • Otisville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Scandia
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Marine-on-Saint-Croix
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Forest Lake
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Withrow
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Hugo
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Stillwater
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stillwater is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,694 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stillwater <1>
    • Duluth Junction
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
    • Grant
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Grant is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Bayport
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Bayport is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayport <1>
    • Oak Park Heights
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Dellwood
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Dresser ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Dresser.

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 Dresser - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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>

While we didn't find Dresser in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Dresser.

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

  • Franconia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Nye
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Nye is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nye
  • Saint Croix Falls
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Taylors Falls
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Shafer
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Shafer is located in Chisago County (MN)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shafer
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,144 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Shafer <1>
  • East Farmington
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • East Farmington is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Farmington
  • Otisville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Center City
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Scandia
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Deronda
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
  • Lindstrom
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Little Falls
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Little Falls is located in Polk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Balsam Lake
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
    • Almelund
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Star Prairie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people

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

Newspapers Published in Dresser ...

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 146 newspapers that have been published in the area around Dresser.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Dresser, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Dresser.

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 Dresser:

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>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Dresser) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Dresser, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.