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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Bessie, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bessie 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 Bessie:
    • 37.997271, -88.812563
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Bessie
  • 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin County
    • Since Bessie is near Hamilton County and also Saline County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Saline 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Bessie

Communities Also Named Bessie ...

We found nine communities that are also named Bessie.

Within Illinois, the name Bessie is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of nine communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Chilton County
      • This Bessie is located in Chilton County and lies 366 miles [589 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Bessie that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chilton County community of Bessie.
      • Jefferson County
      • This Bessie is located in Jefferson County and lies 316 miles [508.6 km] to the south southeast of the Bessie that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Bessie.
    • Arkansas
      • Faulkner 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 Arkansas community of Bessie [Faulkner County].
      • Lawrence County
      • This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Bessie [Lawrence County].
    • Georgia
      • Wilkes 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 Georgia community of Bessie [Wilkes County].
    • North Carolina
      • Jackson County
      • This Bessie is located in Jackson County and lies 368 miles [592.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Bessie that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jackson County community of Bessie.
    • Oklahoma
      • Washita County
      • This Bessie is located in Washita County and lies 591 miles [951.1 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bessie that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washita County community of Bessie.
    • Tennessee
      • Lake County
      • This Bessie is located in Lake County and lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Bessie that is located in Franklin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Bessie.
    • Texas
      • Gaines County
      • This community is historic<2> and although located in Gaines County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gaines County community of Bessie.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Bessie ...

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.

  • Diana
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Diana is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diana
  • Greenville ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Greenville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
  • Halltown ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Halltown is located in Saline County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halltown
  • Hickory Corners
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Hickory Corners is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Corners
  • Locust Grove ‑ Historic
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Locust Grove is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Grove
  • Rural Hill
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
    • Rural Hill is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rural Hill
  • Rust
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Rust is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rust
  • Smothersville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Smothersville is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Smothersville
  • Steel City
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Steel City is located in Franklin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel City

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

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

  • Benton, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies just to the West.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 131 miles [210.8 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Bessie to Springfield, with an average speed<3>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 639 miles [1,028.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,415 miles [10,323.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,145 miles [11,498.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,023 miles [8,083.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Bessie) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Bessie, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<3>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.
<4>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 Bessie to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bessie. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.9973, Longitude: -88.8126       In this case, the coordinates for Bessie have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.148 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.604 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.153 degrees.