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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 Wilson (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 Wilson. 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 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.

Wilson is located in Saint Croix 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 Saint Croix County: Washington (MN), Barron, Dunn, Pierce & Polk.

Below are the counties that are near Wilson. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Wilson:

  • Saint Croix County     (The home county of Wilson)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Hersey
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Woodville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Glenwood City
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Glenwood City is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenwood City
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,214 people
    • Baldwin
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Hammond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Erin Corner
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Roberts
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Deer Park
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • New Richmond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Star Prairie
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Burkhardt
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
    • Somerset
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Hudson
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
  • Barron County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Prairie Farm
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
    • Dallas
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Twin Town
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Twin Town is located in Barron County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Town
    • Hillsdale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Turtle Lake
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
  • Buffalo County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Maxville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
    • Savoy ‑ Historic
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
      • Savoy is located in Buffalo County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Savoy
  • Chippewa County
  • Dunn County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Knapp
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Downing
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Boyceville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Menomonie
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Wheeler
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Wheeler is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wheeler
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 353 people
    • Tainter Lake
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
    • Eau Galle
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Dunnville
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ridgeland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Ridgeland is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeland
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
    • Colfax
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Colfax is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colfax
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,151 people
    • Falls City
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Falls City is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls City
    • Meridean
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Elk Mound
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Elk Mound is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Mound
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 884 people
  • Eau Claire County
  • Pepin County
  • Pierce County
  • Polk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Clear Lake
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Clayton
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
      • Clayton is located in Polk County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 541 people
    • Amery
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Deronda
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Horse Creek
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Volga ‑ Historic
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
  • Washington County (MN)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wilson, with the one closest to Wilson listed first.
    • Lake Saint Croix Beach
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
      • Lake Saint Croix Beach is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Saint Croix Beach
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,071 people
    • Lakeland Shores
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Lakeland
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Saint Marys Point
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
      • Saint Marys Point is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Marys Point
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 388 people
    • Afton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Bayport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Bayport is located in Washington County (MN)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bayport
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,789 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bayport <1>

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

Cemeteries Near Wilson ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wilson.

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 Wilson - one of the links might be able to help.

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

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

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 Wilson had a population of 393 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Wilson had a population of 185 people.

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

  • Hersey
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
  • Knapp
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Woodville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Hatchville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Hatchville is located in Dunn County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hatchville
  • Downing
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Wildwood
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Wildwood is located in Saint Croix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood
  • Spring Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Emerald
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Emerald is located in Saint Croix County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald
  • Boyceville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Baldwin
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Olivet
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Elmwood
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • North Menomonie
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • North Menomonie is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Menomonie
    • Menomonie Junction
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
      • Menomonie Junction is located in Dunn County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Menomonie Junction
    • Hammond
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wilson ...

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 99 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wilson.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Wilson. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Wilson and those printed in the larger area surrounding Wilson.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<4> of Wilson.

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 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 Wilson:

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 Wilson, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Wilson) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.