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 Rice Lake (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 Rice Lake. 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.
Name Variations for Rice Lake ...
When searching records, keep in mind that names and their spelling can change over time. Our sources include documents like maps, railroad schedules, Travel, Express and Shipping Guides. Many of these documents date from the 1800's and it's common to find spelling differences.
Although we can't give a definitive list, hopefully the following will give you a feel for the variations that might occur.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rice Lake: Rice Lk.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rice Lake. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rice Lake.
If you have information about these names (such as the reason for the change, date of change, the origin of the name), please Contact Us.
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.
Rice Lake is located in Barron 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 Barron County: Burnett, Chippewa, Dunn, Polk, Rusk, Saint Croix, Sawyer & Washburn.
Below are the counties that are near Rice Lake. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rice Lake:
- Barron County (The home county of Rice Lake)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Cameron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Haugen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Barron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Poskin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Hillsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Almena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Dallas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Twin Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Twin Town is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
- Turtle Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Prairie Farm
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Burnett County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Bashaw
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Bashaw is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bashaw
- Hertel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Hertel is located in Burnett County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertel
- Chippewa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- New Auburn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Bloomer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Dunn County
- Ridgeland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Polk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Clayton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Clayton is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
- Clam Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Clam Falls is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
- Clear Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- Bunyan
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- Bunyan is located in Polk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bunyan
- Rusk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Strickland
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Weyerhaeuser
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Bruce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Bruce is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bruce
- Population from the 2020 Census: 688 people
- Port Arthur
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Ladysmith
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Ladysmith is located in Rusk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ladysmith
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,054 people
- Sawyer County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Stone Lake
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Stone Lake is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Lake
- Exeland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Exeland is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exeland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 190 people
- Couderay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Couderay is located in Sawyer County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Couderay
- Population from the 2020 Census: 86 people
- Washburn County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Nobleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Birchwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Birchwood is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 426 people
- Madge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Shell Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Spooner
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Spooner is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spooner
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,553 people
- Earl
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Earl is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rice Lake, see our County-by-County Page for Rice Lake.
Cemeteries Near Rice Lake ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rice Lake.
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 Rice Lake - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rice Lake covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Orchard Beach Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Nora Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Swede Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Meadows Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
- Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Pioneer Rest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Wiesner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Wayside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (109 more) ...
- Faaberg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Cedar Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bohemian National Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
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 Rice Lake had a population of 2,130 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Rice Lake had a population of 8,498 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rice Lake, with the one closest to Rice Lake listed first.
- Cameron
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Cameron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cameron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,798 people
- Canton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Canton is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canton
- Haugen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Haugen is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haugen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 270 people
- Barron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Lehigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Lehigh is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lehigh
- Nobleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Nobleton is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nobleton
- Hillsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Hillsdale is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsdale
- Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Chetek is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chetek
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,094 people
- Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Almena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Almena is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Almena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 638 people
- Barronett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Barronett is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barronett
- Dallas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Dallas is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dallas
- Population from the 2020 Census: 344 people
- Continue List (12 more) ...
- Comstock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Comstock is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comstock
- Shell Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Turtle Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rice Lake. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rice Lake.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rice Lake ...
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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rice Lake.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rice Lake. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rice Lake and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rice Lake.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2> of Rice Lake.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we begin with 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 Rice Lake:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burnett County
- Chippewa County
- Dunn County
- Polk County
- Rusk County
- Sawyer County
- Washburn County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 Rice Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Rice Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |