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 have occurred.
For example, a typical abbreviation for Rice Lake: Rice Lk.
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors and hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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 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) - Haugen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Barron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Poskin
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poskin
- Poskin is located in Barron County
- Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Almena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Dallas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south) - Twin Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest) - Turtle Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Prairie Farm
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- 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) - Hertel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hertel
- Hertel is located in Burnett County
- 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)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Auburn
- New Auburn is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 576 people
- Bloomer
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Dunn County
- 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) - Clam Falls
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Falls
- Clam Falls is located in Polk County
- Clear Lake
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clear Lake
- Clear Lake is located in Polk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,099 people
- 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)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strickland
- Strickland is located in Rusk County
- Weyerhaeuser
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Weyerhaeuser have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weyerhaeuser
- Weyerhaeuser is located in Rusk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 210 people
- Apollonia
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apollonia
- Apollonia is located in Rusk County
- Bruce
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east) - Port Arthur
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Port Arthur
- Port Arthur is located in Rusk County
- 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)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Lake
- Stone Lake is located in Sawyer County
- Exeland
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast) - Couderay
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- 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) - Birchwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast) - Madge
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madge
- Madge is located in Washburn County
- Shell Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Spooner
(23 miles [37 km] to the north) - Earl
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Earl
- Earl is located in Washburn County
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rice Lake, see our County-by-County Page for 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 49 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 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
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Website for the //www.wisconsinhistory.org/
- Pages specific to Barron County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Burnett County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Chippewa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Dunn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Polk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Rusk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sawyer County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Washburn County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Burnett County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Barron County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
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.
If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).
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)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Joseph Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Joseph Cemetery
- Orchard Beach Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Orchard Beach Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Orchard Beach Cemetery
- Nora Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Nora Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Nora Cemetery
- Swede Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Swede Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Swede Cemetery
- Meadows Creek Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Meadows Creek Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Meadows Creek Cemetery
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Cemetery
- Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Stanfold Lutheran Cemetery
- Pioneer Rest Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Rest Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Rest Cemetery
- Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Our Saviors Lutheran Cemetery
- Wiesner Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wiesner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wiesner Cemetery
- Pine Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pine Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pine Grove Cemetery
- Wayside Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Wayside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Wayside Cemetery
- Continue List (104 more) ...
- Faaberg Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Faaberg Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Faaberg Cemetery
- Cedar Lake Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Cedar Lake Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Cedar Lake Cemetery
- Bohemian National Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bohemian National Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bohemian National Cemetery
- Faaberg Cemetery
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>
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) - Canton
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Haugen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Barron
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barron
- Barron is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
- Lehigh
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Nobleton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north) - Hillsdale
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Chetek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Cumberland
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cumberland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cumberland
- Cumberland is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,097 people
- Almena
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Barronett
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest) - Dallas
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south) - Continue List (12 more) ...
- Comstock
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west) - Shell Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shell Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shell Lake
- Shell Lake is located in Washburn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,318 people
- Turtle Lake
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
- Comstock
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.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Rice Lake: www.ci.rice-lake.wi.us/
The official website for Barron County: www.co.barron.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rice Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rice Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.4969, Longitude: -91.7393 In this case, the coordinates for Rice Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Rice Lake, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |