RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Iowa >> Appanoose County >> Dean >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Dean:
    • 40.627521, -92.714083
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Dean
  • Bird Watching ...
    • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
    • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Appanoose County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Appanoose County
    • Since Dean is near Schuyler County and also Putnam County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Schuyler County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Putnam County
  • 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Dean

Communities Also Named Dean ...

We found 30 communities that are also named Dean.

Within Iowa, the name Dean is unique.

Beyond Iowa, we know of 30 communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these 30 communities, 29 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Clay County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Dean [Clay County].
      • Dale County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Alabama community of Dean [Dale County].
    • Arkansas
      • Carroll County
      • This Dean is located in Carroll County and lies 309 miles [497.3 km]<2> to the south of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Dean.
    • California
      • Monterey County
      • This Dean is located in Monterey County and lies 1,570 miles [2,526.7 km]<2> to the west of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Monterey County community of Dean.
    • Illinois
      • McLean County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Dean [McLean County].
    • Kansas
      • Jefferson County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Dean [Jefferson County].
      • Reno County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Dean [Reno County].
    • Louisiana
      • Union Parish
      • This Dean is located in Union Parish and lies 534 miles [859.4 km]<2> to the south of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Union Parish community of Dean.
    • Michigan
      • Midland County
      • This Dean is located in Midland County and lies 480 miles [772.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Midland County community of Dean.
    • Minnesota
      • Rice County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Dean [Rice County].
    • Missouri
      • Andrew County
      • This Dean is located in Andrew County and lies 123 miles [197.9 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Andrew County community of Dean.
    • Montana
      • Stillwater County
      • This Dean is located in Stillwater County and lies 916 miles [1,474.2 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stillwater County community of Dean.
    • Nevada
      • Lander County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Dean [Lander County].
    • New York
      • Chautauqua County
      • This Dean is located in Chautauqua County and lies 696 miles [1,120.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chautauqua County community of Dean.
    • North Carolina
      • Granville County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Dean [Granville County].
      • Macon County
      • This Dean is located in Macon County and lies 631 miles [1,015.5 km]<2> to the southeast of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macon County community of Dean.
    • Nova Scotia
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Ohio
      • Lawrence County
      • This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Dean [Lawrence County].
      • Montgomery County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Dean [Montgomery County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Cambria County
      • This Dean is located in Cambria County and lies 744 miles [1,197.4 km]<2> to the east of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cambria County community of Dean.
    • South Dakota
      • Hand County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Dakota community of Dean [Hand County].
    • Tennessee
      • Bedford County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Dean [Bedford County].
      • Scott County
      • This Dean is located in Scott County and lies 539 miles [867.4 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Dean.
    • Texas
      • Clay County
      • This Dean is located in Clay County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<2> to the southwest of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Dean.
      • Deaf Smith County
      • Although located in Deaf Smith County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Deaf Smith County community of Dean.
      • Hockley County
      • Although located in Hockley County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hockley County community of Dean.
      • Leon County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Dean [Leon County].
    • Washington
      • Snohomish County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Dean [Snohomish County].
      • Spokane County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Washington community of Dean [Spokane County].
    • West Virginia
      • Wetzel County
      • This Dean is located in Wetzel County and lies 643 miles [1,034.8 km]<2> to the east of the Dean that is located in Appanoose County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wetzel County community of Dean.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Dean ...

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.

  • Centerville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Chapel
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Chapel is located in Putnam County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel
  • Coal City
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Coal City is located in Appanoose County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal City
  • Coatsville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Coatsville is located in Schuyler County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coatsville
  • Mark
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Mark is located in Davis County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mark
  • Orleans
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Orleans is located in Appanoose County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
  • Pearl City
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Pearl City is located in Putnam County (MO)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pearl City
  • Thirty
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Thirty is located in Appanoose County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thirty

How Far From Dean to ...

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

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

  • Centerville, which is the Seat of Appanoose County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Dean to Centerville, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
  • Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 81 miles [130.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 839 miles [1,350.2 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,427 miles [10,343.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,172 miles [11,542.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,062 miles [8,146.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Dean 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.
<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- Dean) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Dean, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Dean to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dean. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.6275, Longitude: -92.7141       In this case, the coordinates for Dean have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.831 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.047 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.416 degrees.