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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 Portage (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 Portage. 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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the west. 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 west 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.

Portage is located in Columbia County and is the County Seat.

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 Columbia County: Adams, Dane, Dodge, Green Lake, Juneau, Marquette & Sauk.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Portage)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage listed first.
    • Pardeeville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
      • Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
    • Wyocena
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Poynette
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Harmony Grove
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Lake Wisconsin
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
    • Rio
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Rio is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
    • Arlington
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Okee
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Lodi
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • North Leeds
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Wisconsin Dells
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Cambria
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
  • Adams County
  • Dane County
  • Dodge County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage listed first.
    • Randolph
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Randolph is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randolph
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,738 people
    • Fox Lake
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Fox Lake is located in Dodge County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,440 people
    • Astico
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Green Lake County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage listed first.
    • Kingston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Marquette
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Marquette is located in Green Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marquette
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
    • Markesan
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Markesan is located in Green Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Markesan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,389 people
    • Princeton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Utley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Juneau County
    • Lyndon Station
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage listed first.
    • Endeavor
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
      • Endeavor is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endeavor
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
    • Douglas Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Glen Oak
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Packwaukee
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Oxford
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Montello
      (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
    • Westfield
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Westfield is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,268 people
    • Germania
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Sauk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage listed first.
    • Merrimac
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Merrimac is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 441 people
    • Baraboo
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • Moon Valley
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • West Baraboo
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
    • Lake Delton
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • North Freedom
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • Prairie du Sac village
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Sauk City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
    • Rock Springs
      (23 miles [37 km] to the west)
      • Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Denzer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Reedsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
    • Witwen
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)

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

Cemeteries Near Portage ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Portage.

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

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Portage, with the one closest to Portage 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 Portage had a population of 5,143 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Portage had a population of 10,381 people.

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

  • Dekorra
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Dekorra is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekorra
  • Wyocena
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Pardeeville
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
  • Briggsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Briggsville is located in Marquette County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
  • Marcellon
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Marcellon is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcellon
  • Poynette
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • Douglas Center
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Belle Fountain
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Belle Fountain is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belle Fountain
  • Big Spring
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Big Spring is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Lowville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Lowville is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lowville
  • Rio
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Rio is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
  • Baraboo
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Portage ...

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 141 newspapers that have been published in the area around Portage.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Portage. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Portage and those printed in the larger area surrounding Portage.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Portage.

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 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 Portage:

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 Portage, 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' (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- Portage) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.