RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Henry County >> Atkinson >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Atkinson, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Atkinson 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 Atkinson:
    • 41.415865, -90.010338
    • 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 Atkinson
  • 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 Atkinson ...

We found sixteen communities that share the name Atkinson.

Within Illinois, the name Atkinson is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these sixteen communities, fourteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Clarke 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 Atkinson [Clarke County].
    • Georgia
      • Brantley County
      • This Atkinson is located in Brantley County and lies 836 miles [1,345.4 km]<2> to the southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brantley County community of Atkinson.
      • Wayne 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 Atkinson [Wayne County].
    • Indiana
      • Benton County
      • This Atkinson is located in Benton County and lies 155 miles [249.4 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Benton County community of Atkinson.
    • Kentucky
      • Hopkins 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 Kentucky community of Atkinson [Hopkins County].
    • Maine
      • Piscataquis County
      • This Atkinson is located in Piscataquis County and lies 1,080 miles [1,738.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Piscataquis County community of Atkinson.
    • Maryland
      • Somerset 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 Maryland community of Atkinson [Somerset County].
    • Michigan
      • Iron 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 Michigan community of Atkinson [Iron County].
    • Minnesota
      • Carlton County
      • This Atkinson is located in Carlton County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carlton County community of Atkinson.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This Atkinson is located in Holt County and lies 466 miles [750 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Atkinson.
    • New Hampshire
      • Rockingham County
      • This Atkinson is located in Rockingham County and lies 968 miles [1,557.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rockingham County community of Atkinson.
    • North Carolina
      • Pender County
      • This Atkinson is located in Pender County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pender County community of Atkinson.
    • Nova Scotia
      • This Atkinson lies 1,341 miles [2,158.1 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
    • Ontario
      • This Atkinson lies 723 miles [1,163.6 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
    • Utah
      • Summit County
      • This Atkinson is located in Summit County and lies 1,115 miles [1,794.4 km]<2> to the west of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Summit County community of Atkinson.
    • Washington
      • King County
      • This Atkinson is located in King County and lies 1,619 miles [2,605.5 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Atkinson that is located in Henry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the King County community of Atkinson.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Atkinson ...

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.

  • Aliceville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aliceville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aliceville
    • Aliceville is located in Henry County
  • Erie
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Erie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erie
    • Erie is located in Whiteside County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,482 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Erie <5>
  • German Corner
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for German Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for German Corner
    • German Corner is located in Henry County
  • Green River
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
    • Green River is located in Henry County
  • Hickory Hills
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
    • Hickory Hills is located in Henry County
  • Leon Corners
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Leon Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leon Corners
    • Leon Corners is located in Whiteside County
  • Love
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Love have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Love
    • Love is located in Bureau County
  • Mineral
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Shady Beach
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Beach
    • Shady Beach is located in Henry County

How Far From Atkinson 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 town such as Atkinson to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Cambridge, which is the Seat of Henry County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Atkinson to Cambridge, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 114 miles [183.5 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 705 miles [1,134.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,291 miles [10,124.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,033 miles [11,318.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,920 miles [7,918 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

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 Atkinson 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 '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- Atkinson) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Atkinson. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4159, Longitude: -90.0103       In this case, the coordinates for Atkinson have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Atkinson, 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 Atkinson 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 316.021 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.078 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.875 degrees.