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 Springs (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 Springs. 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 Rock Springs ...
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.
Another variation: Rocksprings.
- A typical abbreviation for Rock Springs: Rock Spgs. (or less commonly used: Rock Spngs. or Rock Sprngs.)
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Rock Springs. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rock Springs.
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 southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most 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 Springs is located in Sauk 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 Sauk County: Adams, Columbia, Dane, Iowa, Juneau, Richland & Vernon.
Below are the counties that are near Rock Springs. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Rock Springs:
- Sauk County (The home county of Rock Springs)
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- North Freedom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Freedom is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Reedsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
- Loganville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Loganville is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
- West Baraboo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
- Baraboo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- Denzer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Lake Delton
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
- Lake Delton is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Delton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,986 people
- Leland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Leland is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Lime Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- La Valle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- La Valle is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Valle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
- Ironton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ironton is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Witwen
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Witwen is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Witwen
- Sandusky
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Adams County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Plainville
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Plainville is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Easton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
- Easton is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Easton
- Quincy ‑ Historic
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Quincy is located in Adams County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quincy
- Columbia County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Wisconsin Dells
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- Wisconsin Dells is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Dells
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
- Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Durwards Glen is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durwards Glen
- Lake Wisconsin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
- Okee
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Okee is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
- Harmony Grove
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
- Harmony Grove is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
- Lodi
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Lodi is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lodi
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,109 people
- Portage
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Portage is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,381 people
- Poynette
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Poynette is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poynette
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,508 people
- Arlington
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Arlington is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
- Wyocena
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Wyocena is located in Columbia County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyocena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 727 people
- Former names for Wyocena:
- Duck Creek
- Wiocena
- Dane County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Mazomanie
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Mazomanie is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazomanie
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,715 people
- Marxville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Marxville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marxville
- Black Earth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
- Black Earth is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Earth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,422 people
- Dane
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Dane is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dane
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
- Martinsville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Martinsville is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
- Elvers
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Elvers is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elvers
- Cross Plains
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Cross Plains is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
- Ashton Corners
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ashton Corners is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Corners
- Ashton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Ashton is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
- Waunakee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Waunakee is located in Dane County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waunakee
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,188 people
- Iowa County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Cassell
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Cassell is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassell
- Arena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Arena is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arena
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Helena
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Helena is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
- Hyde
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Hyde is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
- Avoca
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Avoca is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avoca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 620 people
- Pleasant Ridge
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Pleasant Ridge is located in Iowa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Ridge
- Juneau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Lyndon Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Wonewoc
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
- Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
- Lemonweir
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Lemonweir is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonweir
- Union Center
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Union Center is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Mauston
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Mauston is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
- Elroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Elroy is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
- New Lisbon
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- New Lisbon is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,547 people
- Marquette County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Douglas Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Douglas Center is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas Center
- Former name for Douglas Center:
- Douglas Centre
- Endeavor
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Endeavor is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endeavor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
- Oxford
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Oxford is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxford
- Population from the 2020 Census: 604 people
- Packwaukee
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Packwaukee is located in Marquette County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwaukee
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Cazenovia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cazenovia is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Bear Valley
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Bear Valley is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
- Neptune
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Ithaca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Ithaca is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
- Aubrey
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Hub City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Hub City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
- Sextonville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Sextonville is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextonville
- Lone Rock
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Lone Rock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lone Rock
- Population from the 2020 Census: 835 people
- Richland Center
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Former name for Richland Center:
- Richland Centre
- Woodstock
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Woodstock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Yuba
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Yuba is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Gillingham
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Bloom City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Hillsboro
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Hillsboro is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,387 people
- Trippville
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Trippville is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trippville
- White City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- White City is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- Mount Tabor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Mount Tabor is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Rock Springs, see our County-by-County Page for Rock Springs.
Cemeteries Near Rock Springs ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Rock Springs.
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 Springs - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Rock Springs covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- Oak Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pine Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Cole Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- East Narrows Prairie Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Maple Hill Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- St. Johns Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Rock Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Butterfield Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Glenwood Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- St. Peter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (224 more) ...
- St. Paul Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Dellona Center Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Westfield Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
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>
While we didn't find Rock Springs in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Rock Springs.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Rock Springs, with the one closest to Rock Springs listed first.
- North Freedom
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- North Freedom is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
- Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
- Reedsburg
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
- Loganville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Loganville is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
- Baraboo
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Baraboo is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
- Denzer
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Denzer is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
- Leland
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Leland is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
- Lime Ridge
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- La Valle
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- La Valle is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Valle
- Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
- Ironton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
- Ironton is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
- Sandusky
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Sandusky is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandusky
- Black Hawk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Black Hawk is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk
- Cazenovia
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Cazenovia is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cazenovia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Plain
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Plain is located in Sauk County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plain
- Population from the 2020 Census: 765 people
- Lyndon Station
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
- Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
- Loyd
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Loyd is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loyd
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Rock Springs. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rock Springs.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Rock Springs ...
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 146 newspapers that have been published in the area around Rock Springs.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Rock Springs. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Rock Springs and those printed in the larger area surrounding Rock Springs.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3> of Rock Springs.
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 either 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 Springs:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Sauk County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Adams County
- Columbia County
- Dane County
- Iowa County
- Juneau County
- Marquette County
- Richland County
- Vernon County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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 Rock Springs, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Rock Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |