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 La Crosse (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 La Crosse. 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 La Crosse ...
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 La Crosse: W. La Crosse
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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the east. 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 east 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.
West La Crosse is located in La Crosse 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 La Crosse County: Houston (MN), Winona (MN), Jackson, Monroe, Trempealeau & Vernon.
Below are the counties that are near West La Crosse. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West La Crosse:
- La Crosse County (The home county of West La Crosse)
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- North La Crosse
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- French Island
(Less than 2 miles to the north)
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- Grand Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- La Crosse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Onalaska
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- Midway
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Midway is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Brice Prairie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Brice Prairie is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brice Prairie
- Barre Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- Holmen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Holmen is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
- Shelby
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- West Salem
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Saint Joseph
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Buffalo County
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Marshland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Marshland is located in Buffalo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshland
- Bluff Siding
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Bluff Siding is located in Buffalo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Siding
- Fountain City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Fountain City is located in Buffalo County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fountain City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 842 people
- Crawford County
- De Soto
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Jackson County
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- North Bend
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- North Bend is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Bend
- Melrose
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Melrose is located in Jackson County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melrose
- Population from the 2020 Census: 476 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Sparta
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sparta is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sparta
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,800 people
- Cashton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Cashton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
- Melvina
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Angelo
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
- Angelo is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angelo
- Trempealeau County
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Trempealeau
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Trempealeau is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trempealeau
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,663 people
- Galesville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
- Galesville is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Galesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,602 people
- Wrights Corners
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Wrights Corners is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wrights Corners
- Frenchville
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
- Frenchville is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Frenchville
- Ettrick
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Ettrick is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ettrick
- Population from the 2020 Census: 511 people
- Arcadia
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
- Arcadia is located in Trempealeau County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arcadia
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,026 people
- Vernon County
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Stoddard
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Chaseburg
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Coon Valley
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Genoa
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Genoa is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Newton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Newry
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Newry is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newry
- Westby
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Purdy
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Viroqua
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- West Prairie
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- West Prairie is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Prairie
- Retreat
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- Fargo
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- New Albin
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Dorchester
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
- Fillmore County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Rushford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Rushford
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- South Rushford is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Rushford
- Bratsberg
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Bratsberg is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bratsberg
- Rushford Village
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Rushford Village is located in Fillmore County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rushford Village
- Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
- Peterson
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- La Crescent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Hokah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Brownsville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
- Brownsville is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownsville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 505 people
- Reno
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Houston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Money Creek
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Money Creek is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Money Creek
- Caledonia
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Willington Grove
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Willington Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington Grove
- Yucatan
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southwest)
- Yucatan is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yucatan
- Eitzen
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Eitzen is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eitzen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 248 people
- Wilmington
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
- Wilmington is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Spring Grove
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Winona County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Dakota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dakota is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Nodine
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
- Nodine is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nodine
- Lamoille
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Lamoille is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lamoille
- Homer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
- Homer is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Wilson
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Wilson is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilson
- Winona
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
- Goodview
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
- Goodview is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodview
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,127 people
- Wyattville
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Wyattville is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wyattville
- Stockton
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Stockton is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stockton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 773 people
- Minnesota City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West La Crosse, see our County-by-County Page for West La Crosse.
Cemeteries Near West La Crosse ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West La Crosse.
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 La Crosse - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West La Crosse covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- Campbell Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Prospect Hill Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Oak Grove Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
- Crucifixion Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Onalaska City Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Creek Catholic Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
- Gate of Heaven Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Dresbach Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
- St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Convent Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Hoffman Family Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Woodlawn Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (212 more) ...
- Toledo Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)
- Immanuel German Lutheran Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Brice Prairie Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
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>
While we didn't find West La Crosse in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of West La Crosse.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West La Crosse, with the one closest to West La Crosse listed first.
- North La Crosse
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- Grand Crossing
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- River Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the west)
- River Junction is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- La Crescent
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- La Crosse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Medary
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
- Medary is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medary
- Onalaska
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- Midway
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Midway is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midway
- Dresbach
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Dresbach is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresbach
- Calvert
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Calvert is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Calvert
- Dakota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
- Dakota is located in Winona County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dakota
- Population from the 2020 Census: 307 people
- Hokah
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (17 more) ...
- Barre Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- Holmen
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Holmen is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holmen
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,368 people
- New Amsterdam
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- New Amsterdam is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Amsterdam
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West La Crosse. See our List of 1890's Communities around West La Crosse.
Newspapers Published in West La Crosse ...
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 86 newspapers that have been published in the area around West La Crosse.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West La Crosse, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West La Crosse.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 La Crosse:
- Websites specific to Wisconsin
- Pages specific to La Crosse County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Buffalo County
- Crawford County
- Jackson County
- Monroe County
- Trempealeau County
- Vernon County
- Allamakee County
- Fillmore County
- Houston County
- Winona 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 West La Crosse, 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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West La Crosse) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |