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A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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The Commemorative
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The Commemorative Quarter for Illinois







Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Barr, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Barr 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 Barr:
    • 39.961994, -89.697049
    • 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 Barr
  • 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 Barr ...

We found fifteen communities that share the name Barr.

There are two communities within Illinois that are also named Barr.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Located In Illinois ...
    • Cook County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Cook County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Barr.
    • Macoupin County
      • This Barr is located in Macoupin County and lies 44 miles [70.8 km]<2> to the south southwest of the Barr that is located in Sangamon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Macoupin County community of Barr.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Colorado
      • Adams County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Barr [Adams County].
      • Arapahoe 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 Barr [Arapahoe County].
    • Georgia
      • Dougherty County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Barr [Dougherty County].
    • Minnesota
      • Goodhue County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Minnesota community of Barr [Goodhue County].
    • Mississippi
      • Tate County
      • This Barr is located in Tate County and lies 368 miles [592.2 km]<2> to the south of the Barr that is located in Sangamon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tate County community of Barr.
    • Montana
      • Valley County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Barr [Valley County].
    • New Mexico
      • Bernalillo County
      • This Barr is located in Bernalillo County and lies 989 miles [1,591.6 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Barr that is located in Sangamon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bernalillo County community of Barr.
    • Ohio
      • Tuscarawas County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ohio community of Barr [Tuscarawas County].
    • Oklahoma
      • Garfield County
      • This Barr is located in Garfield County and lies 520 miles [836.9 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Barr that is located in Sangamon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Garfield County community of Barr.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Elk County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Barr [Elk County].
      • Mifflin 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 Pennsylvania community of Barr [Mifflin County].
    • South Carolina
      • Lexington County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the South Carolina community of Barr [Lexington County].
    • Tennessee
      • Lauderdale County
      • This Barr is located in Lauderdale County and lies 281 miles [452.2 km]<2> to the south of the Barr that is located in Sangamon County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lauderdale County community of Barr.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Barr ...

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.

  • Fancy Prairie
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fancy Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fancy Prairie
    • Fancy Prairie is located in Menard County
  • Grandview
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grandview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandview
    • Grandview is located in Sangamon County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,369 people
  • Green Acres
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
    • Green Acres is located in Sangamon County
  • Greenview
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
    • Greenview is located in Menard County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenview <5>
  • Hill Top
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hill Top have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hill Top
    • Hill Top is located in Menard County
  • Hilltop
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hilltop have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
    • Hilltop is located in Menard County
  • Lewisburg
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lewisburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lewisburg
    • Lewisburg is located in Menard County
  • Peabody
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peabody have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peabody
    • Peabody is located in Sangamon County
  • Salisbury
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
    • Salisbury is located in Sangamon County
  • Sweet Water
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweet Water have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Water
    • Sweet Water is located in Menard County

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

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

  • Springfield, which is the Seat of Sangamon County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Barr to Springfield, 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 12 miles [19.3 km] to the south (S). The buggy would take nearly four hours and walking would take five to six hours.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 678 miles [1,091.1 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, 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 6,352 miles [10,222.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,089 miles [11,408.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,972 miles [8,001.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Barr. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Sangamon County: www.co.sangamon.il.us/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Barr, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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- Barr) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Barr. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9620, Longitude: -89.6970       In this case, the coordinates for Barr have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<3>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 Barr 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.
<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 Barr 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 315.785 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.606 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.091 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024