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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 Durand (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 Durand. 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.

Name Variations for Durand ...

When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.

Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.

Another variation: Durant.

  • In past government published Postal Guides, Durand was referred to as Durand Courthouse.

You might be interested in other communities that are also named Durand. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Durand.

If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.

For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.

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.

Durand is located in Pepin County and is the County Seat.

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 Pepin County: Goodhue (MN), Wabasha (MN), Buffalo, Dunn, Eau Claire & Pierce.

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

  • Pepin County     (The home county of Durand)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Arkansaw
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Ella
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Barry Corner
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Lund
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Pepin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Lakeport
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Stockholm
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Stockholm is located in Pepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockholm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 64 people
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Maxville
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Savoy ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
    • Springdale ‑ Historic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Springdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Mondovi
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Nelson
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Nelson is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Gilmanton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Alma
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Lookout
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Montana
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Waumandee
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Anchorage ‑ Historic
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Anchorage is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Anchorage
    • Buffalo City
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Buffalo
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Buffalo is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
  • Chippewa County
  • Dunn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Eau Galle
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Dunnville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Meridean
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Rock Falls
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Falls City
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Falls City is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
    • Menomonie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Elk Mound
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
    • Knapp
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Tainter Lake
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
    • Colfax
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Colfax is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
    • Boyceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Wheeler
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Wheeler is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Downing
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Eau Claire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Lufkin
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawtown
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Eau Claire
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Altoona
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Altoona is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,062 people
    • Allen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Seymour
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Seymour is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
  • Pierce County
  • Saint Croix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Wilson
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Hersey
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Woodville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Baldwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Trempealeau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Eleva
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Russell
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Strum
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
  • Goodhue County (MN)
  • Wabasha County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand listed first.
    • Reads Landing
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Wabasha
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
      • Wabasha is located in Wabasha County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabasha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wabasha <1>
    • Lake City
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Kellogg
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Kellogg is located in Wabasha County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kellogg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 460 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kellogg <1>
    • Weaver
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Minneiska
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)

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

Cemeteries Near Durand ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Durand.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Durand, with the one closest to Durand 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>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Durand had a population of 1,154 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Durand had a population of 1,789 people.

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

  • Arkansaw
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Eau Galle
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Dunnville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Porcupine
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Porcupine is located in Pepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Porcupine
  • Ella
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Savoy ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
  • Misha Mokwa
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Misha Mokwa is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Misha Mokwa
  • Urne
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
    • Urne is located in Buffalo County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urne
  • Downsville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Downsville is located in Dunn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
  • Meridean
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Exile
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Exile is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exile
  • Plum City
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Plum City is located in Pierce County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Lund
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Elmwood
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Trevino
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Trevino is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trevino

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Durand ...

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 54 newspapers that have been published in the area around Durand.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Durand. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Durand and those printed in the larger area surrounding Durand.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Durand.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Durand:

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>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.
<3>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- Durand) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Durand, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.