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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 Rapids (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 Rapids. 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 Wisconsin Rapids ...

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 have occurred.

For example, a typical abbreviation for Wisconsin Rapids: Wisconsin Rpds.

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 and hospitals 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.

Wisconsin Rapids is located in Wood County and is the County Seat.

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 Wood County: Adams, Clark, Jackson, Juneau, Marathon & Portage.

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

  • Wood County     (The home county of Wisconsin Rapids)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • Grand Rapids
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Lake Wazeecha
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Wazeecha have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Wazeecha
      • Lake Wazeecha is located in Wood County
    • Port Edwards
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Biron
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Biron have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Biron
      • Biron is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 761 people
    • Nekoosa
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Rudolph
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
      • Rudolph is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
    • Eight Corners
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Vesper
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Sherry
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Milladore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Arpin
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arpin have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arpin
      • Arpin is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 305 people
    • Pittsville
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
      • Pittsville is located in Wood County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
    • Blenker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Adams County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • New Rome ‑ Historic
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
    • Leola
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Leola. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leola
      • Leola is located in Adams County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Leola
      • From Wisconsin Rapids to Leola
    • Big Flats
      (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
    • Strongs Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Arkdale
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • Friendship
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    • Adams
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
  • Jackson County
    • City Point
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
  • Juneau County
  • Marathon County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • Ashley
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Rangeline
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the north)
    • Moon
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the north)
    • Rozellville
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Mosinee
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mosinee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mosinee
      • Mosinee is located in Marathon County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,195 people
    • McMillan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Portage County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • Plover
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
      • Plover is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,252 people
    • Junction City
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
      • Junction City is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
    • Whiting
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Whiting have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whiting
      • Whiting is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,704 people
    • Stevens Point
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Park Ridge
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
      • Park Ridge is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
    • Arnott
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Arnott. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arnott
      • Arnott is located in Portage County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Arnott
      • From Wisconsin Rapids to Arnott
    • Almond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
    • Custer
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Torun
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Ellis
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Polonia
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
    • Lake Emily ‑ Historic
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • Amherst Junction
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Amherst Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amherst Junction
      • Amherst Junction is located in Portage County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 392 people
  • Waupaca County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • Cobb Town
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cobb Town have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cobb Town
      • Cobb Town is located in Waupaca County
    • Sheridan
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Waushara County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Wisconsin Rapids, with the one closest to Wisconsin Rapids listed first.
    • Plainfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Waushara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 832 people
    • Hancock
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hancock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hancock
      • Hancock is located in Waushara County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 402 people
    • Coloma
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coloma have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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 Rapids, see our County-by-County Page for Wisconsin Rapids.

Cemeteries Near Wisconsin Rapids ...

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

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 Rapids covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

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

  • Calvary Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Calvary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Calvary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Forest Hill Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Forest Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Forest Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Village of Port Edwards Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Village of Port Edwards Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Village of Port Edwards Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Restlawn Memorial Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Riverside Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Riverside Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Riverside Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Johns Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Johns Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Johns Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. John Lutheran Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
  • Holy Rosary Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Holy Rosary Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Holy Rosary Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • St. Philomena Cemetery
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Philomena Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Philomena Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Hill Cemetery
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Hill Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Hill Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (124 more) ...
    • Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bethany Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bethany Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Pauls Lutheran Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • St. Josephs Cemetery
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the St. Josephs Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the St. Josephs Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.

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 Rapids in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Wisconsin Rapids.

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

  • Port Edwards
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Rudolph
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
    • Rudolph is located in Wood County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
  • Walker
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walker have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walker
    • Walker is located in Wood County
  • Meehan
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meehan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meehan
    • Meehan is located in Portage County
  • New Rome ‑ Historic
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Vesper
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Sherry
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Junction City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
    • Junction City is located in Portage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
  • Babcock
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Babcock have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Babcock
    • Babcock is located in Wood County
  • Bancroft
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bancroft have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bancroft
    • Bancroft is located in Portage County
  • Stevens Point
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Pittsville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pittsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pittsville
    • Pittsville is located in Wood County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 820 people
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Milladore
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
    • Blenker
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
    • Keene
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Keene have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Keene
      • Keene is located in Portage County

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

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Wisconsin Rapids ...

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 55 newspapers that have been published in the area around Wisconsin Rapids.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

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

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 Rapids:

The official website for Wisconsin Rapids: www.wirapids.org/

The official website for Wood County: www.co.wood.wi.us/

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 '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- Wisconsin Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wisconsin Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3840, Longitude: -89.8171    
<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 Rapids, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 29 Apr 2025