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 Joel (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 Joel. 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.
Joel 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 Joel. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Joel:
- Polk County (The home county of Joel)
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Clayton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Clear Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Amery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amery is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,799 people
- Volga ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
- Bunyan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Deronda
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Deronda is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deronda
- Balsam Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
- Centuria
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Centuria is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centuria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 905 people
- Milltown
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Milltown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
- Luck
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Luck is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
- Horse Creek
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Horse Creek is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
- Dresser
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Dresser is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
- Barron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Turtle Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Twin Town
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Almena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Poskin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Prairie Farm
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Cumberland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Barron
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Hillsdale
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Dallas
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Cameron
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Rice Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Rice Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,498 people
- Haugen
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Burnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Bashaw
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Siren
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Siren is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Dunn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Ridgeland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Downing
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
- Downing is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downing
- Population from the 2020 Census: 262 people
- Boyceville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Boyceville is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boyceville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,124 people
- Wheeler
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Wheeler is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
- Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
- Knapp
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Knapp is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Knapp
- Population from the 2020 Census: 458 people
- Saint Croix County
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Deer Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Park is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Star Prairie
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
- Glenwood City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
- Erin Corner
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Erin Corner is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Corner
- New Richmond
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- New Richmond is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,730 people
- Somerset
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Somerset is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,992 people
- Baldwin
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Baldwin is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,078 people
- Hersey
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
- Hersey is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hersey
- Hammond
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hammond is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,890 people
- Wilson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Wilson is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Population from the 2020 Census: 185 people
- Woodville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Woodville is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,351 people
- Roberts
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Roberts is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,018 people
- Washburn County
- Shell Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Chisago County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Taylors Falls
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Franconia
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Franconia is located in Chisago County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
- Shafer
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Almelund
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Center City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Lindstrom
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Washington County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Otisville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Otisville is located in Washington County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otisville
- Marine-on-Saint-Croix
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Scandia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Joel, see our County-by-County Page for Joel.
Cemeteries Near Joel ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Joel.
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 Joel - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Joel covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- West Clayton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Elim Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Marys Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Clayton Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- St. Ann Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Amery Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Peace Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- St. Charles Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lake View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Volga Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Volga Cemetery is located 3 miles [4.8 km]<3> to the north of Amery.
- The Volga Cemetery has also been known as:
- Traveler's Rest Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1361634 <2>
- Continue List (126 more) ...
- Lincoln Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Bethany Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
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 in 1895, Joel had railroad service and no post office.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Joel, with the one closest to Joel listed first.
- Richardson
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Richardson is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Clayton
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Turtle Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Amery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Amery is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amery
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,799 people
- Clear Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Volga ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
- Deronda
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Deronda is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deronda
- Little Falls
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
- Little Falls is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Falls
- Almena
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Bunyan
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Comstock
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Comstock is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- Balsam Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Deer Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Deer Park is located in Saint Croix County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
- Prairie Farm
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Cumberland
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Joel. See our List of 1890's Communities around Joel.
Newspapers Published in Joel ...
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 104 newspapers that have been published in the area around Joel.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Joel, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Joel.
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 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 Joel:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Polk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Barron County
- Burnett County
- Dunn County
- Saint Croix County
- Washburn County
- Chisago County
- Washington County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 '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- Joel) 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 Joel, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |