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 McKinley (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 McKinley. 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.
McKinley 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 McKinley. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to McKinley:
- Polk County (The home county of McKinley)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Clam Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clam Falls is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
- Bunyan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Luck
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Luck is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luck
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
- Frederic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Frederic is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frederic
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,080 people
- Balsam Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
- Milltown
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Milltown is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milltown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 875 people
- Clayton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Volga ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
- Amery
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Centuria
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Centuria is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centuria
- Population from the 2020 Census: 905 people
- Atlas
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Atlas is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Atlas
- Clear Lake
(22 miles [35.4 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
- Barron County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Turtle Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Almena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Poskin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Twin Town
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Haugen
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Barron
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Rice Lake
(21 miles [33.8 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
- Cameron
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Hillsdale
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Prairie Farm
(24 miles [38.6 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
- Dallas
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Burnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Bashaw
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Hertel
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Hertel is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertel
- Siren
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Siren is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Siren
- Population from the 2020 Census: 780 people
- Alpha
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Alpha is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
- Webster
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Webster is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webster
- Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
- Grantsburg
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Grantsburg is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,296 people
- Webb Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Webb Lake is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Webb Lake
- Dunn County
- Ridgeland
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Saint Croix County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Deer Park
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- 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
(30 miles [48.3 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
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Shell Lake
(16 miles [25.7 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
- Spooner
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Spooner is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
- Nobleton
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Madge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Birchwood
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Earl
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Earl is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Chisago County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Taylors Falls
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Franconia
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Franconia is located in Chisago County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
- Almelund
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Shafer
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to McKinley, see our County-by-County Page for McKinley.
Cemeteries Near McKinley ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of McKinley.
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 McKinley - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for McKinley covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Johnstown Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Comstock Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- St. Anthony Abbot Catholic Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Side Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Georgetown Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Lorain Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Lake View Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Bethany Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
- Barronett Lakeside Cemetery
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Union Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- East Cumberland Cemetery
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Continue List (117 more) ...
- Mt. Hope Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- St. Ann Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
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.<3>
While we didn't find McKinley in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of McKinley.
These communities are listed based on their distance from McKinley, with the one closest to McKinley listed first.
- Cumberland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Comstock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Comstock is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- Barronett
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Barronett is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronett
- Clam Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Clam Falls is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
- Bunyan
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Turtle Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Almena
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Joel
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Joel is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joel
- Bashaw
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Balsam Lake
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Balsam Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Balsam Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 978 people
- Shell Lake
(16 miles [25.7 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
- West Denmark
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- West Denmark is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Denmark
- Continue List (16 more) ...
- Richardson
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Richardson is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richardson
- Clayton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Volga ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Volga is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volga
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around McKinley. See our List of 1890's Communities around McKinley.
Newspapers Published in McKinley ...
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 80 newspapers that have been published in the area around McKinley.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of McKinley, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for McKinley.
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 McKinley:
- 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
- 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> | 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 McKinley, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- McKinley) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |