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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 Rock Falls (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 Rock Falls. 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 hospitals and doctors 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.

Rock Falls is located in Dunn 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 Dunn County: Barron, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce, Polk & Saint Croix.

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

  • Dunn County     (The home county of Rock Falls)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Meridean
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Falls City
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Falls City is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
    • Elk Mound
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
    • Dunnville
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Menomonie
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Eau Galle
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Colfax
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
      • Colfax is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
    • Tainter Lake
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
    • Wheeler
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Wheeler is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Knapp
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Boyceville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Mondovi
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Springdale ‑ Historic
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Springdale is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springdale
    • Gilmanton
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Lookout
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Maxville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Savoy ‑ Historic
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
    • Nelson
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Nelson is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nelson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 343 people
    • Montana
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Waumandee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
    • Alma
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Chippewa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Albertville
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Lake Hallie
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Hallie is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hallie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,779 people
    • Irvine
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
    • Chippewa Falls
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Wissota
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Lake Wissota is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wissota
    • Eagleton
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Bloomer
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
    • Cadott
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Cadott is located in Chippewa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cadott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,411 people
  • Eau Claire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Lufkin
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Shawtown
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Eau Claire
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Altoona
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
      • Altoona is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,062 people
    • Seymour
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Seymour is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seymour
    • Allen
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Fall Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Fall Creek is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Creek
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
    • Augusta
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Augusta is located in Eau Claire County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Augusta
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,517 people
  • Jackson County
  • Pepin County
  • Pierce County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Elmwood
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Plum City
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
      • Plum City is located in Pierce County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plum City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 603 people
    • Waverly
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Olivet
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Spring Valley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
  • Saint Croix County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Wilson
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Hersey
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Trempealeau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Eleva
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Strum
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
    • Russell
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Osseo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Independence
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Independence is located in Trempealeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
    • New City ‑ Historic
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • New City is located in Trempealeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New City
    • Whitehall
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Whitehall is located in Trempealeau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,565 people
  • Wabasha County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls listed first.
    • Reads Landing
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Wabasha
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Wabasha is located in Wabasha County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wabasha
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,467 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wabasha <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Rock Falls ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Falls.

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 Rock Falls - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Falls, with the one closest to Rock Falls 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.<4>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Rock Falls had a population of 89 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service.

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

  • Caryville
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Caryville is located in Dunn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caryville
  • Meridean
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Shawtown
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Mondovi
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Truax
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Truax is located in Eau Claire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Truax
  • Elk Mound
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
    • Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
  • Dunnville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Eau Claire
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Downsville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Downsville is located in Dunn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
  • Altoona
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Altoona is located in Eau Claire County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Altoona
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,062 people
  • Durand
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Eleva
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • 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 Rock Falls. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Falls.

Newspapers Published in Rock Falls ...

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 157 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Falls.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Rock Falls, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Rock Falls.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer 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 Rock Falls:

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>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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rock Falls) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Rock Falls, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.