Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Allen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Allen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Allen
- 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 Allen:
- 40.305042, -89.649551
- 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 Allen
- 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 Mason County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mason County
- Since Allen is near Tazewell County and also Logan County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Tazewell County
- eBird sighting report for Logan 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 Allen ...
We found 41 communities that share the name Allen.
Within Illinois, the name Allen is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another 41 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Eagle 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 Colorado community of Allen [Eagle County].
- Garfield County
- This Allen is located in Garfield County and lies 925 miles [1,488.6 km]<3> to the west of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garfield County community of Allen.
- Gunnison 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 Colorado community of Allen [Gunnison County].
- Florida
- Georgia
- Decatur 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 Georgia community of Allen [Decatur County].
- Oconee County
- This Allen is located in Oconee County and lies 552 miles [888.4 km]<3> to the southeast of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oconee County community of Allen.
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Claiborne County
- This Allen is located in Claiborne County and lies 578 miles [930.2 km]<3> to the south of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Claiborne County community of Allen.
- Copiah County
- This Allen is located in Copiah County and lies 593 miles [954.3 km] to the south of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Copiah County community of Allen.
- Quitman County
- This Allen is located in Quitman County and lies 426 miles [685.6 km] to the south of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Quitman County community of Allen.
- Warren County
- This Allen is located in Warren County and lies 570 miles [917.3 km] to the south of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Warren County community of Allen.
- Montana
- Cascade 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 Montana community of Allen [Cascade County].
- Garfield County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Allen [Garfield County].
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Cumberland County
- This Allen is located in Cumberland County and lies 661 miles [1,063.8 km]<3> to the east of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cumberland County community of Allen.
- McKean County
- This Allen is located in McKean County and lies 586 miles [943.1 km] to the east northeast of the Allen that is located in Mason County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McKean County community of Allen.
- Susquehanna 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 Pennsylvania community of Allen [Susquehanna County].
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Lincoln County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the West Virginia community of Allen [Lincoln County].
- Morgan 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 West Virginia community of Allen [Morgan County].
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Allen ...
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.
- Bishop
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west) - Forest City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Mason County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 222 people
- Green Valley
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Tazewell County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 635 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Valley <5>
- Harness
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Hartsburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartsburg
- Hartsburg is located in Logan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 302 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hartsburg <5>
- Luther
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Mason City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason City
- Mason City is located in Mason County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,088 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason City <5>
- New Holland
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- New Holland is located in Logan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 266 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Holland <5>
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Allen 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 community such as Allen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Allen and extending to:
- Havana, which is the Seat of Mason County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Allen to Havana, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 36 miles [57.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 677 miles [1,089.5 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,333 miles [10,192 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,072 miles [11,381.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,955 miles [7,974.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Allen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mason County: www.masoncountyil.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
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 Allen 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> | 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 Allen, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Allen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Allen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3050, Longitude: -89.6496 In this case, the coordinates for Allen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Allen 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 315.761 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.626 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.982 degrees. |