RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Arkansas >> Crawford County >> Van Buren >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Van Buren, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Buren and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • Astronomy & Satellites ...
    • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
    • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Van Buren:
    • 35.462784, -94.356464
    • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
    • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Van Buren
  • Waymarking ...
    • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
    • Waymark.com

Communities Also Named Van Buren ...

We found twenty communities that share the name Van Buren.

Within Arkansas, the name Van Buren is unique.

Beyond Arkansas, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Jones County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Van Buren [Jones County].
    • Indiana
      • Grant County
      • This Van Buren is located in Grant County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Van Buren.
    • Iowa
      • Jackson County
      • This Van Buren is located in Jackson County and lies 505 miles [812.7 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Van Buren.
      • Lee County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Lee County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lee County community of Van Buren.
    • Kentucky
      • Anderson County
      • This Van Buren is located in Anderson County and lies 537 miles [864.2 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Van Buren.
    • Louisiana
      • Livingston Parish
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Van Buren [Livingston Parish].
    • Maine
      • Aroostook County
      • This Van Buren is located in Aroostook County and lies 1,579 miles [2,541.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Aroostook County community of Van Buren.
    • Michigan
      • Kalkaska County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Van Buren [Kalkaska County].
    • Mississippi
      • Itawamba County
      • This Van Buren is located in Itawamba County and lies 348 miles [560.1 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Itawamba County community of Van Buren.
    • Missouri
      • Carter County
      • This Van Buren is located in Carter County and lies 214 miles [344.4 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carter County community of Van Buren.
      • Osage County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Osage County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Osage County community of Van Buren.
    • New York
      • Chautauqua County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Van Buren [Chautauqua County].
      • Onondaga County
      • This Van Buren is located in Onondaga County and lies 1,096 miles [1,763.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onondaga County community of Van Buren.
    • Ohio
      • Hancock County
      • This Van Buren is located in Hancock County and lies 699 miles [1,124.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hancock County community of Van Buren.
      • Licking County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Van Buren [Licking County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Armstrong County
      • This Van Buren is located in Armstrong County and lies 886 miles [1,425.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Armstrong County community of Van Buren.
      • Washington County
      • This Van Buren is located in Washington County and lies 830 miles [1,335.8 km] to the east northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Van Buren.
    • Tennessee
      • Hardeman County
      • This Van Buren is located in Hardeman County and lies 298 miles [479.6 km]<2> to the east of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardeman County community of Van Buren.
    • Washington
      • Whatcom County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Van Buren [Whatcom County].
    • Wisconsin
      • Grant County
      • This Van Buren is located in Grant County and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Van Buren that is located in Crawford County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Grant County community of Van Buren.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Buren ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

  • Ball
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ball have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ball
    • Ball is located in Crawford County
  • Catcher
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Catcher have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catcher
    • Catcher is located in Crawford County
  • Dripping Springs
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dripping Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dripping Springs
    • Dripping Springs is located in Crawford County
  • Figure Five
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Figure Five have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Figure Five
    • Figure Five is located in Crawford County
  • Furry
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Furry have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Furry
    • Furry is located in Crawford County
  • Greenwood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood
    • Greenwood is located in Crawford County
  • Greenwood Junction
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenwood Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenwood Junction
    • Greenwood Junction is located in Crawford County
  • Meadows
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadows have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadows
    • Meadows is located in Crawford County
  • Oak Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
    • Oak Grove is located in Crawford County

How Far From Van Buren to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Van Buren to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Van Buren and extending to:

  • Little Rock, which is the State Capital of Arkansas, lies 128 miles [206 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Van Buren to Little Rock, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 980 miles [1,577.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,753 miles [10,867.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,488 miles [12,050.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,368 miles [8,639 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Van Buren, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Van Buren) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Van Buren. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.4628, Longitude: -94.3565    
<3>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Van Buren could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<4>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.
<5>While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day.
<6>The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Van Buren to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.608 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.27 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.191 degrees.