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 Viroqua (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 Viroqua. 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 Viroqua ...
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.
In past government published Postal Guides, Viroqua was referred to as Viroqua Courthouse.
You might be interested in other communities that are also named Viroqua. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Viroqua.
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.
For more information about how community names might have been affected by the Board of Geographic Names (BGN), see our page about Placename Rules.
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 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.
Viroqua is located in Vernon County and is the County Seat.
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 Vernon County: Allamakee (IA), Houston (MN), Crawford, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near Viroqua. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Viroqua:
- Vernon County (The home county of Viroqua)
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Liberty Pole
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Westby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Fargo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Purdy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Readstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- West Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Newton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Newry
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
- Newry is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newry
- Coon Valley
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- La Farge
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
- La Farge is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Farge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 763 people
- Chaseburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Rising Sun
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Towerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Soldiers Grove
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Gays Mills
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Mount Sterling
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Freeman
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Ferryville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Bell Center
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- De Soto
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Petersburg
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Steuben
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Eastman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Boscobel
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- Blue River
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Blue River is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blue River
- Population from the 2020 Census: 418 people
- La Crosse County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Middle Ridge
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Middle Ridge is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ridge
- Saint Joseph
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Shelby
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Barre Mills
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- Bangor
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Bangor is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bangor
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,442 people
- Rockland
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Rockland is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
- Population from the 2020 Census: 710 people
- La Crosse
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- West Salem
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Grand Crossing
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- North La Crosse
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- French Island
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- Onalaska
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Cashton
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Cashton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
- Melvina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Oil City
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Oil City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Norwalk
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Norwalk is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
- Population from the 2020 Census: 633 people
- Wilton
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 498 people
- Sparta
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Sparta is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,800 people
- Angelo
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Angelo is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelo
- Kendall
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Kendall is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kendall
- Population from the 2020 Census: 472 people
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Viola
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Viola is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viola
- Population from the 2020 Census: 665 people
- Sabin
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Sabin is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabin
- Bloom City
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Yuba
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Yuba is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Gillingham
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Woodstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Boaz
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
- Boaz is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Hub City
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
- Hub City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
- Westport
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Westport is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Richland Center
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Richland Center is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richland Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,949 people
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- New Albin
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Lansing
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
- Harpers Ferry
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Dalby
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Dalby is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby
- Elon
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Reno
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Brownsville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Hokah
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- La Crescent
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Eitzen
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Eitzen is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eitzen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Caledonia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Viroqua, see our County-by-County Page for Viroqua.
Cemeteries Near Viroqua ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Viroqua.
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 Viroqua - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Viroqua covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Viroqua Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Pioneer Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Belgium Ridge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
- White Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- County Farm Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- Brookville Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
- Bishop Branch Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Asbury Ridge Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Zion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Brush Hollow Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Coon Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Bethesda Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Continue List (238 more) ...
- Pleasant View Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Our Saviours Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Zion Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
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 Viroqua had a population of 1,270 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Viroqua had a population of 4,394 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Viroqua, with the one closest to Viroqua listed first.
- Springville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Springville is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Liberty Pole
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Ross
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
- Ross is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ross
- Avalanche
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
- Avalanche is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Avalanche
- Westby
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Esofea
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Esofea is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Esofea
- Fargo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Bloomingdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Bloomingdale is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomingdale
- Purdy
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Folsom
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- Folsom is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Liberty
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- West Prairie
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Readstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Newton
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Rising Sun
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Viroqua. See our List of 1890's Communities around Viroqua.
Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Viroqua ...
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 172 newspapers that have been published in the area around Viroqua.
We have organized these newspapers into two lists:
- A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Viroqua. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Viroqua and those printed in the larger area surrounding Viroqua.
- An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Viroqua.
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 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 Viroqua:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to Vernon County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Crawford County
- Grant County
- La Crosse County
- Monroe County
- Richland County
- Allamakee County
- Houston County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Wisconsin
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> | 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. |
| <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 Viroqua, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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 from Point A (ie- Viroqua) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |