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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 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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

Helena is located in Iowa 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 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)
    • Cassell
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hyde
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Pleasant Ridge
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Ridgeway
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Ridgeway is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeway
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
    • Barneveld
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Barneveld is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneveld
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
    • Dodgeville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
      • Dodgeville is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,677 people
    • Avoca
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Avoca is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
    • Edmund
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Hollandale
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Cobb
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Highland
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Linden
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Linden is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Linden
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 523 people
  • 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)
    • Lodi
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
    • Lake Wisconsin
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
    • Harmony Grove
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
  • 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)
      • Mazomanie is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazomanie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,715 people
    • Elvers
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Black Earth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Blue Mounds
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
    • Marxville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Mount Horeb
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Mount Horeb is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Horeb
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,563 people
    • Cross Plains
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Cross Plains is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
    • Klevenville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Martinsville
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Ashton
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Ashton Corners
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Dane
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Dane is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dane
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
    • Middleton
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Middleton is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middleton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 20,195 people
  • 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)
      • Muscoda is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscoda
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,236 people
    • Montfort
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Blue River
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Blue River is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
    • Livingston
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Livingston is located in Grant County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Livingston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 632 people
    • Preston
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Lafayette County
  • 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)
      • Spring Green is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
    • Plain
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Plain is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
    • Witwen
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Leland
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
    • Denzer
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Prairie du Sac village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Sauk City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
    • Sandusky
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Loganville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Lime Ridge
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • North Freedom
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • Rock Springs
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
      • Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Moon Valley
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)

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

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.

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

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.

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 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)
    • Spring Green is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,630 people
  • Wyoming
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Wyoming is located in Iowa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyoming
  • Arena
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Cassell
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Plain
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Plain is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
  • Black Hawk
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Black Hawk is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
  • Mazomanie
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Mazomanie is located in Dane County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazomanie
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,715 people
  • Leland
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Barneveld
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Barneveld is located in Iowa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barneveld
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,252 people
  • Bear Valley
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Elvers
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Denzer
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
  • Continue List   (20 more) ...
    • Blue Mounds
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Blue Mounds is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue Mounds
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
    • Black Earth
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Gotham
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
      • Gotham is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gotham

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.

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]<3>. 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 first visit 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:

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 Helena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.