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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 Wisconsin Dells (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 Wisconsin Dells. 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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors 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.

Wisconsin Dells is primarily located in Columbia County. A portion of Wisconsin Dells extends into Sauk County, Adams County and Juneau County.

To see how the shape of Wisconsin's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Columbia County: Adams, Dane, Dodge, Green Lake, Juneau, Marquette & Sauk.

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

  • Columbia County     (The home county of Wisconsin Dells)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Durwards Glen ‑ Historic
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Portage
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Harmony Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Lake Wisconsin
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wisconsin have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wisconsin
      • Lake Wisconsin is located in Columbia County
    • Okee
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Pardeeville
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pardeeville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pardeeville
      • Pardeeville is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,053 people
    • Wyocena
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Lodi
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Poynette
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Arlington
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Rio
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rio have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rio
      • Rio is located in Columbia County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,047 people
    • North Leeds
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Plainville
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Easton
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Quincy ‑ Historic
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Adams
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
    • Friendship
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
      • Friendship is located in Adams County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 676 people
    • Arkdale
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
  • Dane County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Dane
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dane have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dane
      • Dane is located in Dane County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,134 people
    • Marxville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Iowa County
    • Cassell
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Cassell. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cassell
      • Cassell is located in Iowa County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Cassell
      • From Wisconsin Dells to Cassell
  • Juneau County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Lyndon Station
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyndon Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
      • Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
    • Lemonweir
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Mauston
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mauston have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mauston
      • Mauston is located in Juneau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,358 people
    • Wonewoc
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wonewoc have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wonewoc
      • Wonewoc is located in Juneau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 789 people
    • Union Center
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
    • New Lisbon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Elroy
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elroy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elroy
      • Elroy is located in Juneau County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,306 people
    • Hustler
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Marquette County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Douglas Center
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Oxford
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Endeavor
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Endeavor have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Endeavor
      • Endeavor is located in Marquette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 464 people
    • Packwaukee
      (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
    • Glen Oak
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Westfield
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Westfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield
      • Westfield is located in Marquette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,268 people
    • Montello
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montello have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montello
      • Montello is located in Marquette County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,454 people
  • Richland County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Cazenovia
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
    • Bear Valley
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Neptune
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Sauk County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells listed first.
    • Lake Delton
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Delton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Delton
      • Lake Delton is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,986 people
    • Baraboo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • West Baraboo
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Baraboo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Baraboo
      • West Baraboo is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,416 people
    • North Freedom
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
      • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
    • Rock Springs
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Springs
      • Rock Springs is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 361 people
    • Reedsburg
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
      • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
    • Moon Valley
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Merrimac
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Merrimac have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrimac
      • Merrimac is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 441 people
    • Loganville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Loganville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loganville
      • Loganville is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 297 people
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Loganville
      • From Wisconsin Dells to Loganville
    • La Valle
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Ironton
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ironton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ironton
      • Ironton is located in Sauk County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 251 people
    • Denzer
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
  • Vernon County
  • Waushara County
    • Coloma
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coloma
      • Coloma is located in Waushara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 444 people

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

Cemeteries Near Wisconsin Dells ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Wisconsin Dells.

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.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

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

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Wisconsin Dells, with the one closest to Wisconsin Dells 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.<5>

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

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

  • Dell Prairie ‑ Historic
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dell Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell Prairie
    • Dell Prairie is located in Adams County
  • Plainville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Big Spring
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
    • Big Spring is located in Adams County
  • Lyndon Station
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lyndon Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyndon Station
    • Lyndon Station is located in Juneau County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 485 people
  • Briggsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Briggsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briggsville
    • Briggsville is located in Marquette County
  • Baraboo
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Douglas Center
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • North Freedom
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Freedom have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Freedom
    • North Freedom is located in Sauk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
  • Reedsburg
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reedsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reedsburg
    • Reedsburg is located in Sauk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,500 people
  • White Creek
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Creek
    • White Creek is located in Adams County
  • Oxford
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Easton
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Portage
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
    • Lemonweir
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • New Chester ‑ Historic
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Chester have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Chester
      • New Chester is located in Adams County

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

Newspapers Published in Wisconsin Dells ...

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 128 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wisconsin Dells.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Wisconsin Dells, there are papers which were published within 29 miles [46.7 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Wisconsin Dells.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to 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 Wisconsin Dells:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Wisconsin Dells. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Columbia County: www.co.columbia.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<2>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<3>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.
<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 drawn from Point A (ie- Wisconsin Dells) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wisconsin Dells. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.6276, Longitude: -89.7692    
<5>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 Wisconsin Dells, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025