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 Viola (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 Viola. 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 northwest 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 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.
Viola is primarily located in Richland County. A portion of Viola extends into Vernon 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 Richland County: Crawford, Grant, Iowa, Sauk & Vernon.
Below are the counties that are near Viola. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Viola:
- Richland County (The home county of Viola)
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Sabin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Bloom City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Yuba
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Gillingham
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Boaz
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Hub City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east) - Richland Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Westport
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south) - Aubrey
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
- Aubrey is located in Richland County
- Balmoral
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - Ithaca
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast) - Neptune
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
- Neptune is located in Richland County
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Soldiers Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soldiers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Towerville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Towerville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Rising Sun
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rising Sun. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Gays Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gays Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Bell Center
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Bell Center. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Mount Sterling
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Sterling have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Petersburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Freeman
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest) - Ferryville
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferryville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Steuben
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- De Soto
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Boydtown
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boydtown
- Boydtown is located in Crawford County
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Blue River
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blue River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- Muscoda
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast) - Boscobel
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the south) - Woodman
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Iowa County
- Juneau County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Union Center
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Center
- Union Center is located in Juneau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 193 people
- Wonewoc
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast) - Elroy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- La Crosse County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Middle Ridge
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Middle Ridge. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ridge
- Middle Ridge is located in La Crosse County
- Saint Joseph
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Bangor
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest) - Rockland
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Rockland is located in La Crosse County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
- Shelby
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Cashton
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - Oil City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north) - Melvina
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Norwalk
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Norwalk is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
- Wilton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north) - Kendall
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast) - Clifton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clifton
- Clifton is located in Monroe County
- Sparta
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Sparta is located in Monroe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,800 people
- Sauk County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Lime Ridge
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Ridge
- Lime Ridge is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 163 people
- Ironton
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - Sandusky
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east) - La Valle
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Valle
- La Valle is located in Sauk County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 360 people
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - La Farge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Readstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Viroqua
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Liberty Pole
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- White City
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White City
- White City is located in Vernon County
- Westby
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Ontario
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Newry
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newry
- Newry is located in Vernon County
- Fargo
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west) - Mount Tabor
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Tabor
- Mount Tabor is located in Vernon County
- Hillsboro
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsboro
- Hillsboro is located in Vernon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,387 people
- Allamakee County (IA)
- Lansing
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lansing
- Lansing is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 933 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lansing <3>
- Lansing
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Viola, see our County-by-County Page for Viola.
Cemeteries Near Viola ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Viola.
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 Viola covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Viola Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Viola Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1996947 <4>
- Bender Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bender Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Bender Cemetery is located 2 miles [3.2 km]<5> to the northwest of Viola.
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #2136070 <4>
- Lawton Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Lawton Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Lawton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Manning Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Manning Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Manning Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Berry Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Berry Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Berry Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Hopewell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Hopewell Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Hopewell Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Booher Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Booher Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Booher Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Mt. Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Mt. Zion Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Mt. Zion Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Bear Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bear Creek Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #87551 <4>
- Chapel Hill Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Chapel Hill Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Chapel Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Star Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Star Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Star Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Carter Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Carter Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Carter Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Continue List (232 more) ...
- Maiben Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Maiben Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Maiben Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Sugar Grove Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sugar Grove Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sugar Grove Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Sylvan Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Sylvan Cemetery
- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Sylvan Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Maiben 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.<6>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Viola had a population of 135 people in 1895 with a post office and no railroad service. In 2020, Viola had a population of 665 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Viola, with the one closest to Viola listed first.
- Liberty
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - La Farge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Ross
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Sugar Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Vernon County
- Readstown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Sylvan
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Sabin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - West Lima
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Avalanche
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Folsom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Soldiers Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Soldiers Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- North Clayton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Clayton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Clayton
- North Clayton is located in Crawford County
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Rockton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Mill Creek ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mill Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mill Creek
- Mill Creek is located in Richland County
- Bloom City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Rockton
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Viola. See our List of 1890's Communities around Viola.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Viola ...
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 137 newspapers that have been published in the area around Viola.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Viola. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Viola and those printed in the larger area surrounding Viola.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<5> of Viola.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit 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 Viola:
- 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 Richland County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Grant County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Iowa County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Juneau County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- La Crosse County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Monroe County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Sauk County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Vernon County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Allamakee County
- Jump to Cyndi's List
- Jump to Family Search
- Jump to Genealogy Trails
- Crawford County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
- Cemetery Junction: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cyndi's List
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Richland County
- FamilySearch.org: Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Find-A-Grave: Home Page
- Interment.net
- Cemeteries of Wisconsin
- Cemeteries of Richland County
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Viola. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Richland County: www.co.richland.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 from Point A (ie- Viola) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Viola. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5097, Longitude: -90.6665 In this case, the coordinates for Viola have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <6> | 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 Viola, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |