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 Helena (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 Helena. 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 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.
Helena is located in Iowa 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 Iowa County: Dane, Grant, Green, Lafayette, Richland & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near Helena. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Helena:
- Iowa County (The home county of Helena)
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Arena
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
- Arena is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Cassell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Hyde
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
- Hyde is located in Iowa County
- Pleasant Ridge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Iowa County
- Ridgeway
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south) - Barneveld
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Dodgeville
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dodgeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
- Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
- Avoca
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Edmund
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edmund
- Edmund is located in Iowa County
- Highland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Hollandale
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hollandale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollandale
- Hollandale is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
- Cobb
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Okee
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
- Okee is located in Columbia County
- Lodi
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Lodi is located in Columbia County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Lake Wisconsin
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wisconsin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
- Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
- Harmony Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
- Harmony Grove is located in Columbia County
- Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durwards Glen
- Durwards Glen is located in Columbia County
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Mazomanie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Elvers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Black Earth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Earth
- Black Earth is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,422 people
- Blue Mounds
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mounds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
- Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Marxville
(18 miles [29 km] to the east) - Mount Horeb
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Horeb have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
- Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
- Cross Plains
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cross Plains have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
- Cross Plains is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
- Klevenville
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Klevenville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Klevenville
- Klevenville is located in Dane County
- Martinsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Martinsville is located in Dane County
- Ashton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Ashton is located in Dane County
- Ashton Corners
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Corners
- Ashton Corners is located in Dane County
- Dane
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Muscoda
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west) - Montfort
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montfort
- Montfort is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 675 people
- Blue River
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- Livingston
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Livingston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
- Livingston is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
- Preston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Lafayette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Blanchardville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blanchardville
- Blanchardville is located in Lafayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 788 people
- Calamine
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calamine
- Calamine is located in Lafayette County
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Lone Rock
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Aubrey
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Neptune
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Richland Center
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Balmoral
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west) - Cazenovia
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north) - Hub City
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest) - Boaz
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest) - Gillingham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Spring Green
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Plain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Witwen
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witwen
- Witwen is located in Sauk County
- Leland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Denzer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Prairie du Sac village
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
- Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
- Sauk City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast) - Loganville
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loganville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Loganville is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
- Lime Ridge
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lime Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- North Freedom
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- North Freedom is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Rock Springs
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
- Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
- Moon Valley
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley
- Moon Valley is located in Sauk County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Helena, see our County-by-County Page for Helena.
Newspapers Published in Helena ...
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 145 newspapers that have been published in the area around Helena.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Helena, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Helena.
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 Helena:
- 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 Iowa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Columbia County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dane County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Grant County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Lafayette County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Richland County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Columbia County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Iowa County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
Cemeteries Near Helena ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Helena.
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 Helena covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Old Helena Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Old Helena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Old Helena Cemetery
- Davis Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Davis Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Davis Cemetery
- Wyoming Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wyoming Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wyoming Cemetery
- St. Lukes Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Lukes Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Lukes Cemetery
- Arena Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Arena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Arena Cemetery
- Big Hollow Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Big Hollow Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Big Hollow Cemetery
- Pleasant Hill Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Hill Cemetery
- Union Grove Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Union Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Union Grove Cemetery
- Ruggles Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Ruggles Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Ruggles Cemetery
- Cassell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cassell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cassell Cemetery
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pleasant Valley Cemetery
- Griffith Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Griffith Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Griffith Cemetery
- Continue List (202 more) ...
- Culver Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Culver Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Culver Cemetery
- Lone Rock Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lone Rock Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1978341 <3>
- Rockwell Mills Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Rockwell Mills Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Rockwell Mills Cemetery
- Culver 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 Helena had a population of 107 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Helena, with the one closest to Helena listed first.
- Spring Green
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
- Wyoming
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Arena
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
- Arena is located in Iowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Cassell
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Plain
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Black Hawk
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Hawk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
- Black Hawk is located in Sauk County
- Mazomanie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east) - Leland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north) - Barneveld
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Bear Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bear Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Bear Valley is located in Richland County
- Elvers
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast) - Denzer
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Continue List (20 more) ...
- Blue Mounds
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue Mounds have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
- Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Black Earth
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Earth
- Black Earth is located in Dane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,422 people
- Gotham
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Blue Mounds
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Helena. See our List of 1890's Communities around Helena.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Helena. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Iowa County: www.iowacounty.org/
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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Helena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.1716, Longitude: -90.0218 |
| <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 Helena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |