Introduction ...
Below is our collection of tidbits, odds 'n ends for Owen.
This page contains eight sections:
- Outdoor Activities ...
- How Far From Owen ...
- Communities Also Named Owen ...
- Unique Names Near Owen ...
- Notable Births & Deaths ...
Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Owen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Owen and the surrounding area.
Weather ...
Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
The National Weather Service forecast for Owen and surrounding area.
Astronomy ...
Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help amateurs find their way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website lists the visible planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their track 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 the location for Owen. Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude for your actual position.
The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Owen.
Bird Watching ...
We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website to find local sighting reports and hotspots.
The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Cerro Gordo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
The Cerro Gordo County sighting report from eBird.
Since Owen is near Floyd County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
Sighting report for Floyd County
Sighting report for Franklin 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:
The Waymark.com website, centered on Owen.
How Far From Owen 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 Owen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<1> beginning in Owen and extending to:
- Mason City [Map], which is the Seat of Cerro Gordo County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km] to the Northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Owen to Mason City, with an average speed<2> 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 [Map], which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 103 miles [165.8 km] to the South Southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC [Map]) is 882 miles [1,419.4 km] to the East Southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 35 days and walking would take 51 days.
- The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock [Map]) is 6,316 miles [10,164.6 km] and it lies to the Northeast (NE).<4>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba [Map]) is 7,067 miles [11,373.2 km] and it lies to the Northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican [Map]) is 4,967 miles [7,993.6 km] and it lies to the Northeast (NE).<6>
Communities Also Named Owen ...
We have found 11 communities that share the name Owen.
While the name Owen is unique within Iowa, we know of another 11 communities with the same name in the United States.
Communities Outside of Iowa
Jump ahead to ...
| Georgia | Minnesota | Tennessee | |
| Illinois | Missouri | Wisconsin | |
| Indiana | New Jersey | Wyoming | |
| Kansas | Oklahoma | ||
Georgia
Pierce County
Our profile page for Owen, Pierce County [Map]
Distance: About 1,003 miles [1,614.2 km] to the Southeast.
Illinois
Winnebago County
Our profile page for Owen, Winnebago County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.<7>
Although located in Winnebago County, we don't know the location of this community within the county.
Indiana
Clark County
Our profile page for Owen, Clark County [Map]
Distance: About 505 miles [812.7 km] to the Southeast.
Kansas
Montgomery County
Our profile page for Owen, Montgomery County [Map]
Distance: About 443 miles [712.9 km] to the South Southwest.
Minnesota
Houston County
Our profile page for Owen, Houston County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.
Although located in Houston County, we don't know the location of this community within the county.
Missouri
Lincoln County
Our profile page for Owen, Lincoln County [Map]
This community is historic.<8>
Distance: About 306 miles [492.5 km] to the South Southeast.
New Jersey
Sussex County
Our profile page for Owen, Sussex County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.
Although located in Sussex County, we don't know the location of this community within the county.
Oklahoma
Washington County
Our profile page for Owen, Washington County [Map]
Distance: About 443 miles [712.9 km] to the South Southwest.
Tennessee
Polk County
Our profile page for Owen, Polk County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.
Although located in Polk County, we don't know the location of this community within the county.
Wisconsin
Clark County
Our profile page for Owen, Clark County [Map]
Distance: About 181 miles [291.3 km] to the Northeast.
Wyoming
Albany County
Our profile page for Owen, Albany County
We found mention of this community, but have little information.
Although located in Albany County, we don't know the location of this community within the county.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Owen ...
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 talk about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
Cartersville - 2 miles [3.2 km] to the South of Owen [Map]
Freeman - 13 miles [20.9 km] to the Northwest [Map]
Marble Rock - 11 miles [17.7 km] to the Southeast [Map]
Mason City - 9 miles [14.5 km] to the Northwest [Map]
Mason City Junction - 7 miles [11.3 km] to the Northwest [Map]
Plymouth - 14 miles [22.5 km] to the North [Map]
Registry Park - 11 miles [17.7 km] to the Northwest [Map]
Rock Falls - 11 miles [17.7 km] to the North [Map]
Roseville - 13 miles [20.9 km] to the East [Map]
Notable Births & Deaths ...
This is a new section for us and we are still collecting data.
Below is our list of notable people who were born, died or were buried in the area surrounding Owen. Please note that while we are collecting data on an ongoing basis, it's a big task and it's unlikely that our list will ever be more than a sample.
Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley)
Musician. He was born in Lubbock (Texas) on Monday September 7, 1936 and died in Clear Lake (Iowa) on Tueday February 3, 1959 at an age of 22. He was buried at City of Lubbock Cemetery (Lubbock County, Texas) [Map].
Clear Lake [Map] is located 16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest of Owen
Find-A-Grave Memorial: Buddy Holly<9>
Ritchie Valens (Born as Richard Steven Valenzuela)
Musician. He was born in Pacoima (California) on Tueday May 13, 1941 and died in Clear Lake (Iowa) on Tueday February 3, 1959 at an age of 17. He was buried at San Fernando Mission Cemetery (Los Angeles County, California) [Map].
Clear Lake [Map] is located 16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest of Owen
Find-A-Grave Memorial: Ritchie Valens
Robert James Waller
Author. He was born in Rockford (Iowa) on Tueday August 1, 1939 and died in Fredericksburg (Texas) on Friday March 10, 2017 at an age of 77.
Rockford [Map] is located 6 miles [9.7 km] to the east of Owen
Find-A-Grave Memorial: Robert James Waller
Other Roadside Stops ...
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Owen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cerro Gordo County: www.co.cerro-gordo.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Owen) to Point B. Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Owen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.0375, Longitude: -93.0821 [Map]. In this case, the coordinates for Owen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 Owen to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <4> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.149 degrees. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.733 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.038 degrees. |
| <7> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Owen 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. |
| <8> | 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 Owen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <9> | 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. |