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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 West Baraboo (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 West Baraboo. 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 West Baraboo ...

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.

For example, a typical abbreviation for West Baraboo: W. Baraboo

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 southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.

West Baraboo 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 West Baraboo. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Baraboo:

  • Sauk County     (The home county of West Baraboo)
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Baraboo
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Baraboo is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
    • North Freedom
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • Rock Springs
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
      • Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Lake Delton
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
      • Lake Delton is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Delton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,986 people
    • Moon Valley
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Moon Valley is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moon Valley
    • Merrimac
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Merrimac is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 441 people
    • Denzer
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Denzer is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
    • Reedsburg
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
      • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
    • Prairie du Sac village
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
    • Leland
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Leland is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
    • Loganville
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Loganville is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
    • Sauk City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo 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
      (29 miles [46.7 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 West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
      • Durwards Glen is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Durwards Glen
    • Wisconsin Dells
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
      • Wisconsin Dells is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Dells
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,061 people
    • Lake Wisconsin
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
    • Okee
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Okee is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
    • Harmony Grove
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Harmony Grove is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Grove
    • Portage
      (15 miles [24.1 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
    • Lodi
      (16 miles [25.7 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
    • Poynette
      (19 miles [30.6 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
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Arlington is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arlington
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 818 people
    • Pardeeville
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
      • Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
    • Wyocena
      (23 miles [37 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
    • North Leeds
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • North Leeds is located in Columbia County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leeds
  • Dane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Marxville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Marxville is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marxville
    • Mazomanie
      (20 miles [32.2 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
    • Dane
      (20 miles [32.2 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Martinsville is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsville
    • Black Earth
      (23 miles [37 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
    • Morrisonville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Morrisonville is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morrisonville
    • Cross Plains
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Cross Plains is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cross Plains
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,280 people
    • Ashton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashton is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton
    • Waunakee
      (25 miles [40.2 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
    • Ashton Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Ashton Corners is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ashton Corners
    • DeForest
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • DeForest is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for DeForest
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 10,915 people
    • Windsor
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Windsor is located in Dane County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor
  • Iowa County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo 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
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Helena is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Helena
    • Hyde
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Hyde is located in Iowa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hyde
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Lyndon Station
      (17 miles [27.4 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
    • Lemonweir
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Lemonweir is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemonweir
    • Wonewoc
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
    • Mauston
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
      • Mauston is located in Juneau County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
    • Union Center
      (28 miles [45.1 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
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Douglas Center
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
      • Douglas Center is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Douglas Center
    • Endeavor
      (22 miles [35.4 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
      (23 miles [37 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
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Packwaukee is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packwaukee
    • Glen Oak
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Glen Oak is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen Oak
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.
    • Cazenovia
      (21 miles [33.8 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
      • Bear Valley is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Valley
    • Neptune
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Neptune is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Neptune
    • Ithaca
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Ithaca is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ithaca
    • Aubrey
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
      • Aubrey is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aubrey
    • Lone Rock
      (29 miles [46.7 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
    • Sextonville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Sextonville is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sextonville
    • Hub City
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Hub City is located in Richland County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City

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

Cemeteries Near West Baraboo ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Baraboo.

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 West Baraboo - one of the links might be able to help.

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Baraboo, with the one closest to West Baraboo listed first.

  • St. Michaels Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
  • St. Josephs Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Walnut Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Rock Hill Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
  • Pleasant Valley Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Sumpter Hill Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Brewster Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Zuch Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jones Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Webster Prairie Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Oak Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Miller Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (215 more) ...
    • Kerth Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Tucker Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Fairfield Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)

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.<1>

While we didn't find West Baraboo in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West Baraboo.

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

  • Baraboo
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Baraboo is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baraboo
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,121 people
  • North Freedom
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
  • Denzer
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Denzer is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Denzer
  • Okee
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Okee is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Okee
  • Reedsburg
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
  • Loganville
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Loganville is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
  • Leland
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Leland is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leland
  • Prairie du Sac village
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Prairie du Sac village is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie du Sac village
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,426 people
  • Dell Prairie ‑ Historic
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Dell Prairie is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell Prairie
  • Sauk City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Sauk City is located in Sauk County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sauk City
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
  • Big Spring
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Spring is located in Adams County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Dekorra
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Dekorra is located in Columbia County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dekorra
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Portage
      (15 miles [24.1 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
    • Briggsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Briggsville is located in Marquette County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
    • Black Hawk
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Black Hawk is located in Sauk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Hawk

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Baraboo. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Baraboo.

Newspapers Published in West Baraboo ...

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 121 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Baraboo.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Baraboo, there are papers which were published within 28 miles [45.1 km]<2>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Baraboo.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to 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 West Baraboo:

Footnotes ...

<1>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 West Baraboo, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Baraboo) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.