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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 Norwalk (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 Norwalk. 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.

Norwalk is located in Monroe 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 Monroe County: Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse & Vernon.

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

  • Monroe County     (The home county of Norwalk)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.
    • Wilton
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Wilton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
    • Oil City
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Oil City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
    • Melvina
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Cashton
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Cashton is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
    • Kendall
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Kendall is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
    • Tunnel City
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
      • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
    • Tomah
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Tomah is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
    • Angelo
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Sparta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Clifton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
    • Oakdale
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Wyeville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Wyeville is located in Monroe County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 141 people
    • Valley Junction
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
  • Crawford County
    • Lynxville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Lynxville is located in Crawford County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynxville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 125 people
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.
    • Millston
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Melrose
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • North Bend
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.
    • Hustler
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
    • Camp Douglas
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
    • Elroy
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
    • Union Center
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • New Lisbon
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Wonewoc
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
    • Mather
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Mauston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Mauston is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
    • Lemonweir
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Necedah
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • La Crosse County
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.
    • Viola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Yuba
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Yuba is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
    • Bloom City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Woodstock
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Sabin
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Hub City
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Hub City is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
    • Gillingham
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
    • Cazenovia
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Sauk County
  • Vernon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.
    • Ontario
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Ontario is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
    • Mount Tabor
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Newry
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Trippville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • White City
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
      • White City is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
    • Westby
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
    • La Farge
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Hillsboro
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Coon Valley
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
      • Liberty is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
    • Viroqua
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
      • Viroqua is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
    • Chaseburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Liberty Pole
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Norwalk ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Norwalk.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Norwalk, with the one closest to Norwalk listed first.

  • St. Jacobs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Pilgrims Home Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Catholic Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • Wanderers Rest Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
  • Summit Ridge Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Aney Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • St. Paul Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Hillside Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Worden - Burroughs Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Noth Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • County Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (191 more) ...
    • Union Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Home Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Hilltop Rest Cemetery
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)

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.<1>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Norwalk had a population of 384 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Norwalk had a population of 633 people.

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

  • Saint Marys
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Saint Marys is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys
  • Oil City
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Oil City is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
  • Melvina
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Ontario
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Ontario is located in Vernon County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ontario
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 561 people
  • Cashton
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Cashton is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
  • Leon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Leon is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon
  • Newry
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Mount Tabor
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Kendall
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
    • Kendall is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
  • Tomah
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Tomah is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tomah
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,363 people
  • Tunnel City
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
    • Tunnel City is located in Monroe County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunnel City
  • Angelo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Sparta
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Rockton
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Rockton is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockton
    • Valley
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Valley is located in Vernon County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Norwalk ...

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 103 newspapers that have been published in the area around Norwalk.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Norwalk. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Norwalk and those printed in the larger area surrounding Norwalk.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Norwalk.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 Norwalk:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Norwalk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Norwalk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.