Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Old Town, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Old Town and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Old Town
- 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 Old Town:
- 43.313575, -95.144162
- 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 Old Town
- 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 Dickinson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dickinson County
- Since Old Town is near Clay County and also Emmet County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- eBird sighting report for Emmet 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:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Old Town ...
We found 35 communities that share the name Old Town.
Within Iowa, the name Old Town is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 35 communities, 33 are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Conecuh County
- This Old Town is located in Conecuh County and lies 937 miles [1,508 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Conecuh County community of Old Town.
- Dallas County
- This Old Town is located in Dallas County and lies 886 miles [1,425.9 km] to the south southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dallas County community of Old Town.
- Fayette County
- This Old Town is located in Fayette County and lies 772 miles [1,242.4 km] to the south southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Old Town.
- Arkansas
- Lafayette County
- This Old Town is located in Lafayette County and lies 690 miles [1,110.4 km]<1> to the south of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Old Town.
- Phillips County
- This Old Town is located in Phillips County and lies 659 miles [1,060.6 km] to the south southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Old Town.
- British Columbia
- This Old Town lies 1,075 miles [1,730 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- California
- Kern County
- This Old Town is located in Kern County and lies 1,364 miles [2,195.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Old Town.
- Marin County
- This Old Town is located in Marin County and lies 1,472 miles [2,369 km] to the west of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marin County community of Old Town.
- San Diego County
- This Old Town is located in San Diego County and lies 1,397 miles [2,248.3 km] to the west southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of Old Town.
- Santa Barbara County
- This Old Town is located in Santa Barbara County and lies 1,441 miles [2,319.1 km] to the west southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Barbara County community of Old Town.
- Ventura County
- This Old Town is located in Ventura County and lies 1,425 miles [2,293.3 km] to the west southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ventura County community of Old Town.
- Florida
- Dixie County
- This Old Town is located in Dixie County and lies 1,160 miles [1,866.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dixie County community of Old Town.
- Lafayette County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of Old Town [Lafayette County].
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Jackson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Old Town [Jackson County].
- Warren County
- This Old Town is located in Warren County and lies 451 miles [725.8 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Old Town.
- Maine
- Maryland
- Baltimore City
- This Old Town is located in Baltimore City and lies 998 miles [1,606.1 km]<1> to the east of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore City community of Old Town.
- Kent County
- This Old Town is located in Kent County and lies 1,027 miles [1,652.8 km] to the east of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Old Town.
- Missouri
- Lafayette County
- Although located in Lafayette County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lafayette County community of Old Town.
- Oregon County
- This Old Town is located in Oregon County and lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oregon County community of Old Town.
- Montana
- New Mexico
- Bernalillo County
- This Old Town is located in Bernalillo County and lies 836 miles [1,345.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bernalillo County community of Old Town.
- Luna County
- This Old Town is located in Luna County and lies 1,015 miles [1,633.5 km] to the southwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Luna County community of Old Town.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Brunswick County
- This Old Town is located in Brunswick County and lies 1,118 miles [1,799.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brunswick County community of Old Town.
- Forsyth 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 North Carolina community of Old Town [Forsyth County].
- Northwest Territories
- This Old Town lies 1,532 miles [2,465.5 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- Ohio
- Huron County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Old Town [Huron County].
- Tuscarawas County
- This Old Town is located in Tuscarawas County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Old Town that is located in Dickinson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscarawas County community of Old Town.
- Oregon
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Old Town ...
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.
- Dickens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Fallow
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast) - Harris
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Harris is located in Osceola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- May City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- May City is located in Osceola County
- Orleans
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Royal
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
- Royal is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 400 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <5>
- Spirit Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spirit Lake <5>
- Superior
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Superior is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <5>
How Far From Old Town 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 Old Town to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Old Town and extending to:
- Spirit Lake, which is the Seat of Dickinson County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 141 miles [226.9 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Old Town to Des Moines, with an average speed<6>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 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 987 miles [1,588.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,370 miles [10,251.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,125 miles [11,466.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,032 miles [8,098.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Old Town. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dickinson County: www.co.dickinson.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Old Town) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Old Town. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3136, Longitude: -95.1442 In this case, the coordinates for Old Town have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Old Town 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. |
| <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 Old Town, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Old Town to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.603 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.434 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.067 degrees. |