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 Prairie (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 Prairie. 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 Prairie ...
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 Prairie: W. Prairie
You might be interested in other communities that are also named West Prairie. More information can be found on our Tidbits & Trivia Page for West Prairie.
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 northwest 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 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.
West Prairie is located in Vernon 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 Vernon County: Allamakee (IA), Houston (MN), Crawford, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland & Sauk.
Below are the counties that are near West Prairie. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to West Prairie:
- Vernon County (The home county of West Prairie)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Fargo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Purdy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Retreat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- Liberty Pole
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Newton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Viroqua
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Genoa
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Genoa is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Genoa
- Population from the 2020 Census: 260 people
- Readstown
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Readstown is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Readstown
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Chaseburg
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Chaseburg is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chaseburg
- Population from the 2020 Census: 291 people
- Liberty
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
- Liberty is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty
- Westby
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Westby is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westby
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,254 people
- Coon Valley
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Coon Valley is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Valley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 782 people
- Stoddard
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
- Stoddard is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stoddard
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Rising Sun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Freeman
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
- Towerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Ferryville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- De Soto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Mount Sterling
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
- Mount Sterling is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Sterling
- Population from the 2020 Census: 196 people
- Soldiers Grove
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Soldiers Grove is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Soldiers Grove
- Population from the 2020 Census: 535 people
- Gays Mills
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
- Gays Mills is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays Mills
- Population from the 2020 Census: 504 people
- Bell Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Bell Center is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bell Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 114 people
- Petersburg
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)
- Petersburg is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Petersburg
- Charme
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Charme is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Charme
- Eastman
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
- Eastman is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eastman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 404 people
- Steuben
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
- Steuben is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steuben
- Population from the 2020 Census: 121 people
- Grant County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Boscobel
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- Boscobel is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boscobel
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,134 people
- Woodman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Woodman is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodman
- Population from the 2020 Census: 129 people
- Blue River
(29 miles [46.7 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
- Millville
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Millville is located in Grant County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millville
- La Crosse County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Saint Joseph
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Saint Joseph is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Joseph
- Shelby
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Shelby is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelby
- Middle Ridge
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Middle Ridge is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Ridge
- Barre Mills
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
- Barre Mills is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barre Mills
- La Crosse
(26 miles [41.8 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
- Grand Crossing
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- North La Crosse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- North La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North La Crosse
- Bangor
(29 miles [46.7 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
- French Island
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- Onalaska
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- Onalaska is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onalaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,108 people
- Rockland
(30 miles [48.3 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
- West Salem
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
- West Salem is located in La Crosse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Salem
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,013 people
- Monroe County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Cashton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Cashton is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cashton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,111 people
- Melvina
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Melvina is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Melvina
- Population from the 2020 Census: 109 people
- Oil City
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Oil City is located in Monroe County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oil City
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Viola
(17 miles [27.4 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
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Sabin is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sabin
- Boaz
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
- Boaz is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boaz
- Population from the 2020 Census: 148 people
- Westport
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Westport is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westport
- Bloom City
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
- Bloom City is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloom City
- Gillingham
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Gillingham is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gillingham
- Woodstock
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Woodstock is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodstock
- Yuba
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Yuba is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yuba
- Population from the 2020 Census: 69 people
- Allamakee County (IA)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Lansing
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
- New Albin
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
- Dalby
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
- Dalby is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dalby
- Harpers Ferry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)
- Elon
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Elon is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elon
- Lycurgus
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Lycurgus is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lycurgus
- Waterville
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)
- Waterville is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waterville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 142 people
- Waukon Junction
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Waukon Junction is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon Junction
- Dorchester
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Rossville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Rossville is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rossville
- Waukon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southwest)
- Waukon is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waukon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,600 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Waukon <1>
- Ion
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
- Ion is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ion
- Quandahl
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Quandahl is located in Allamakee County (IA)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quandahl
- Clayton County (IA)
- Marquette
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Houston County (MN)
- The following are listed by their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Reno
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
- Reno is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reno
- Brownsville
(20 miles [32.2 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
- Eitzen
(22 miles [35.4 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
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hokah
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
- Wilmington
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
- Wilmington is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Bee
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Bee is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bee
- La Crescent
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
- Willington Grove
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Willington Grove is located in Houston County (MN)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willington Grove
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to West Prairie, see our County-by-County Page for West Prairie.
Cemeteries Near West Prairie ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of West Prairie.
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 Prairie - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for West Prairie covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Fargo Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
- Walnut Mound Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Rush Creek Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Freeman Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Zion Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Eitsert Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Belgium Ridge Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Lawrence Ridge Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
- Haukley Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Towerville Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Ferryville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Utica Lutheran Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Continue List (257 more) ...
- Kickapoo Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Fortney Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Brookville Cemetery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
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>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that in 1895, West Prairie had a post office and no railroad service.
These communities are listed based on their distance from West Prairie, with the one closest to West Prairie listed first.
- Retreat
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Retreat is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Retreat
- Purdy
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
- Purdy is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Purdy
- Fargo
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Fargo is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fargo
- Rising Sun
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Rising Sun is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising Sun
- Liberty Pole
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Liberty Pole is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Pole
- Red Mound
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Red Mound is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Red Mound
- Towerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Towerville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Towerville
- Newton
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Newton is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newton
- Romance
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Romance is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romance
- De Soto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- De Soto is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- Population from the 2020 Census: 278 people
- Ferryville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ferryville is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferryville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 173 people
- Folsom
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Folsom is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Folsom
- Continue List (15 more) ...
- Viroqua
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Viroqua is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Viroqua
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,394 people
- Springville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Springville is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springville
- Victory
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
- Victory is located in Vernon County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Victory
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around West Prairie. See our List of 1890's Communities around West Prairie.
Newspapers Published in West Prairie ...
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 136 newspapers that have been published in the area around West Prairie.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of West Prairie, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<3>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for West Prairie.
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 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 Prairie:
- 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
- Clayton 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> | 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 Prairie, 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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- West Prairie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |